After January 19th Megaupload’s shut down, one of the most popular bittorrent websites, BTjunkie voluntarily closes with the following text:
This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we’ve decided to voluntarily shut down. We’ve been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it’s time to move on. It’s been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!
BTJunkie was one of the search termes censored by Google because it was related to piracy. One visitor to the reddit.com feed about the site’s closure wrote: “This is like seeing a library that was burned down with all its books inside … This was my go-to for torrents.”
BTJunkie alternatives
For torrentfreak.com, here are BTJunkie’s best alternatives:
- The Pirate Bay: (unreachable from Holland, how to bypass ?) (…) despite the various legal troubles and blockades that were designed to hurt the site in recent years, The Pirate Bay currently has close to 2 billion page views a month.
- Torrentz: (…) does not host any torrent files, it merely redirects visitors to other places on the web.
- KickassTorrents: (…) responding to the increasing worries about domain seizures, the site moved from its kickasstorrents.com domain to kat.ph a few months ago. The site continues to innovate and release new features every other week.
- IsoHunt: In 2010 isoHunt became the first search engine forced to implement a keyword filter provided by the MPAA.In 2012, isoHunt hopes to get rid of the filter through the Appeals Court.
- ExtraTorrent: one of those robust torrent indexes that doesn’t make the news very often. Compared to last year the site has moved up a spot and is now the 6th most popular torrent venue.
Source: torrentfreak.com
Use Torrent safely with a VPN service
The Virtual Private Network (VPN) gives you the opportunity to use torrents with a total anonymity. This kind of software establishes a secured connection between your computer and your provider’s server. Once you are connected, you benefit from a new IP-address (depending on the country location that you choose). Neither your ISP, nor any organizations could be able to define your identity.
Selecting a VPN service
- Choose a provider, by comparing the providers who offer a good compromise between the VPN protocol, and the available server locations: in order to benefit from the best browsing speed you have to choose the closest server from your actual location.
- Download the software
- Connect yourself to a server
- Enjoy your new online privacy
Some providers doesn’t allow the torrent use.
Top 3 VPN providers for torrent use
Server locations: 38 countries
Torrent allowed
Price: $11.52
Server locations: 12 countries
Torrent allowed
Price: $12.95
Server locations: 62 countries
Torrent allowed
Price: $9.95
Bottom line
With BTJunkie latest closure, the Megaupload’s chain reaction doesn’t seem yet ended. Facing increasing internet censorship throughout the world, with the SOPA/PIPA protest, and now the recent ACTA protest, the needs to use a VPN are really growing.
The Virtual Private Network stands as an actual mean to bypass any censorship and to restore your online privacy and freedom. However, if you are looking for a torrent alternative to keep watching entertainment content, the VPN also provides the ability to access to great websites such as Hulu or Netflix.
