Note: If your school completely blocks VPN and you need to bypass school firewall in order to torrent, please refer to The Best VPN to Bypass College Firewall guide.
Since piracy is illegal in most parts of the world, torrenting is not allowed on college WiFi connections. While many schools completely block torrenting ports to ensure their students do not abuse the network, certain schools technically allow it which is why it’s important to hide torrenting activities with VPN.
Considering that every public WiFi is a privacy nightmare because the network is setup for full monitoring and traffic logging, college admins have complete access to your browsing history and content that you download! While there are countries with more lenient piracy agencies, strict copyright enforcement is very common in European countries (France HADOPI law for example), Australia and the United States (Copyright Alert System). Legal issues can range from notices to fines and lawsuits. This essentially means that even if p2p file sharing is not blocked by college admins, torrents are illegal and should not be downloaded without a VPN that can hide BitTorrent traffic.
When you download a BitTorrent file with uTorrent, Vuze, Popcorn Time or any other torrenting software, your IP address is displayed to every person who is also downloading this torrent (BitTorrent swarm). For this reason copyright infringement agencies can monitor torrent swarms and see IP addresses of each and every person. Additionally, certain ISPs actively monitor traffic and shut down Internet access for torrenting users.
VPN, however, encrypts all incoming and outgoing data and replaces your real IP address with an IP address that belongs to a VPN provider. Once you are connected to a VPN server that logs no information about you, everything that you do online is encrypted and anonymized. Therefore, VPN is the best tool to completely hide your traffic from ISPs, college admins or any other entity that is trying to spy on you.
Lastly, college WiFis are typically insufficiently secure networks where hackers can easily steal passwords, bank accounts and other sensitive personal info. Hence, VPN is also an excellent tool to prevent data theft, ensure online security and unblock Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Imgur, Instagram, YouTube, SnapChat and other typically blocked websites.
The best VPN providers have network optimized for the best download speed and do not cooperate with copyright infringement agencies. The list below includes some of the best options that ensure excellent performance, stability and selection of servers.
ANNUAL PRICE: 3.49 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 11.95 USD
Panama based NordVPN is one of the best security oriented VPN companies with amazingly fast infrastructure. NordVPN offers over 5,000 servers in 62 countries, dedicated & shared IP types, and 6 simultaneous logins. NordVPN has a Smart Play technology offering an encrypted connection to access geo-restricted content on Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, BBC iPlayer and similar services. NordVPN implemented a strict no logs privacy policy, offers double data encryption, obfuscation tools and other advanced security features. Their custom apps run on system startup include Kill Switch feature and DNS leak resolver to protect the user from unexpected data leaks. To read a full NordVPN review and get an annual discount click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 2.19 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 11.95 USD
PIA is a leading no logs VPN provider with a massive amount of servers (over 3,000) that deliver excellent speeds and a very reliable service. PIA VPN does a great job protecting users’ privacy from surveillance, cyber attacks and other online threats. PIA offers an easy to install VPN app for all devices with advanced features that secure VPN connection from unexpected data leaks. For faster streaming and torrenting PIA software offers switching between different connection types and ports. To read a full PIA review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 2.45 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.99 USD
Romania based CyberGhost is a no logs VPN provider with over 3,500 high speed VPN servers. CyberGhost offers streaming servers to unblock Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer as well as secure torrenting servers. For faster streaming and torrenting CyberGhost VPN allows switching between TCP/UDP protocols. VPN provider offers desktop and mobile apps with built-in advanced security features such as automatic kill switch, DNS & IP leaks, anti-fingerprinting and tracking protection, an ad-blocker and anti-malware. To read a full CyberGhost review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 6.67 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.95 USD
ExpressVPN has one of the largest and fastest infrastructures with over 2,000 servers in 94 countries. Ultra fast ExpressVPN network supports gigabit Internet connection which makes it a perfect choice for ultra high speed streaming and torrenting. Besides, ExpressVPN aligns itself as one of the Internet’s leading advocates for net neutrality, for a democratic and open internet. Considering they have a no logs policy, accept Bitcoin and are located on the Caribbean Island, they are a great choice for privacy oriented customers who want to protect their data from surveillance, bypass censorship and access restricted materials. To read a full ExpressVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.66 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 12.95 USD
VyprVPN is a leading no logs VPN provider (independently audited) with over 700 ultra fast servers worldwide that support gigabit Internet connection (1,000Mbps). VyprVPN has done independent public audit by Leviathan Security to ensure that no Personally Identifiable Information is collected with respect to the use of the VyprVPN service. Unlike most VPN providers, VyprVPN doesn’t rely on 3rd party hosting – they own and manage their own VPN servers. VyprVPN infrastructure is amazingly fast offering ultra fast speeds and low ping times for high speed HD streaming. VyprVPN custom software is very reliable and protects users from various IP leaks. VyprVPN apps offer port forwarding to port 433 and ports 15000-20000. In addition, VyprVPN is an excellent provider to bypass even the strictest firewalls that block VPN connection. To read a full VyprVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 4.49 USD/mo [promocode]
MONTHLY PRICE: 8.99 USD
Offering over 3,000 servers in 50 countries, all mainstream protocols and 5 simultaneous connections, TorGuard rightfully earned its place as a top VPN provider. No logs TorGuard offers a reliable, fast and secure VPN connection. Their SOCKS5 proxy is an excellent feature for high speed multimedia streaming and torrenting as it integrates with the main BitTorrent applications. TorGuard native apps offer advanced security features like Kill Switch to ensure no data leaks, even when the connection drops, and port forwarding to custom TCP/UDP ports. TorGuard’s StealthVPN protocol is an effective tool to bypass strict firewalls and VPN blocking. To read a full TorGuard review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.99 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 8.88 USD
No logs Trust.Zone is a Seychelles based VPN provider with user privacy as their foremost priority. Since Trust.Zone is a VPN service launched by one of the largest torrenting websites ExtraTorrent, it’s no wonder they are one of the best providers for p2p file sharing. Their apps have DNS, WebRTC leaks protection, Kill Switch and port-forwarding features. To read a full Trust.Zone review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 3.25 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 10 USD
IPVanish is a no logs VPN provider with a global servers infrastructure secured behind NAT Firewall. IPVanish offers native apps for desktop and mobile clients and allows 10 simultaneous connections. IPVanish servers are specifically optimized for streaming and gaming which ensures excellent download speeds and low ping times. IPvanish software protects users from unexpected data leaks and offers a number of advanced features especially useful for torrenting. To read a full IPVanish review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 1.32 USD/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 10.95 USD
Hong Kong based PureVPN is a proud owner of a massive 2,000 servers network in over 140 countries with over 60 server locations specifically optimized for torrenting. PureVPN is a fast and reliable VPN provider with exclusive streaming servers to unblock Netflix, Hulu and similar services. PureVPN online gaming VPN servers are dedicated for gamers’ traffic only. Low ping offered by optimized PureVPN servers make it possible for gaming and streaming users to enjoy entertainment with the fastest load time. Secure PureVPN infrastructure is protected behind NAT Firewall. PureVPN offers custom apps for all devices, while desktop apps have a built-in Kill Switch feature that guards the users from unencrypted data leaks when the internet connection drops. To read a full PureVPN review click HERE.
ANNUAL PRICE: 4.50 EUR/mo
MONTHLY PRICE: 7 EUR
AirVPN is an Italian VPN provider created by privacy activists whose main goal is data protection. AirVPN has over 200 servers in 23 countries that have Perfect Forward Secrecy through Diffie-Hellman key exchange DHE. Essentially key negotiation is performed every 60 minutes to avoid data breach if the key is compromised. AirVPN offers OpenVPN dynamic port forwarding on 80 TCP/UDP, 443 TCP/UDP and 53 TCP/UDP. Additionally, AirVPN offers OpenVPN over SSH and OpenVPN over SSL that mask OpenVPN and make the use of encryption tools invisible to some of the most advanced firewalls. To read a full AirVPN review click HERE.