The Pirate Bay is a very popular search tool used for torrent files as well as magnet links. It became wildly popular a few years ago for having the latest torrents and magnet links. Pirate Bay was downloadable in a torrent download, and its huge popularity was mostly because it made illegal link downloads easy.
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Is Pirate Bay Legal?
The Pirate Bay founders were charged and found guilty of copyright infringement and imprisoned. In some countries, ISP providers have to block site access, while in some countries; it is possible to access it legally. Even in the countries where the site is legal, using it to download trademark-protected content is still not legal.
Is Pirate Bay Safe?
Pirate Bay is a website and it does not host content or even display ads, and in the countries where it is legal, it is safe to use it. In regions where the site is illegal, some proxies or sites mirror or reflect the original, but carry a different IP and domain address. It is not a guarantee that the proxies are secure, but most of them are. Some of the proxies may be adware and other malware hosts.
Pirate Bay might be safe, but the torrents and magnet files that appear in the search results are not necessarily safe. Individuals typically host these files on their devices rather than the files being centrally hosted in a location. This means the files are not regulated and you can click on a magnet link for a file download and instead download malware.
How To Stay Safe
Since you cannot be sure that everything you download is safe, you can take a few measures.
1. Use A VPN
The first thing you can do before using Pirate Bay is to install a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Redditors say that using a VPN is safe because you can change your location to a virtual one. A VPN encrypts data traveling on the network, which gives you a better protection level. If you need to seed files for other people, you can remain anonymous.
2. Be Vigilant
When downloading torrents or magnet links, you need to stay vigilant. You need to confirm that the file you intend to download is what it is, and not malware disguised as a torrent file or magnet link by:
- Only download torrents with many seeders. Seeding is where you share your downloaded files with other Pirate Bay users
- Download torrents from those users who have skulls displayed next to their name. This skull shows the user is a VIP or trusted user. This is the best way for you to tell if you can trust the torrent or magnet link.
- Read the comments that appear next to the download links. If you see any comments about malware or viruses, avoid that link.
- If you are a Windows user, do not download any .exe files from a torrent
What To Do If You Download Malware
If you notice your computer running slowly or behaving unusually, you might have downloaded malware or virus. Some malware display ads on your computer screen, demand a ransom, or steals data. You may have a destructive code in your drive. To be safe, scan your computer.
There are various options available for scanning malware:
Antivirus Tools
There are numerous options for both Windows and MacOS. Some of these options allow scanning free, and once they report the results, they might allow you to delete the offending programs or ask you to pay the application to do the job.
CleanMyMac X
If you use a Mac, use the CleanMyMac X Malware service. Part of this cleaning tools scan your Mac for any known threats and reports its results. If it comes across anything, it allows you to remove the malware at the click of a button. The database of CleanMyMac X is regularly updated and up to date with the latest malware and viruses.
Conclusion
Pirate Bay does not have centralized control, and nobody monitors the torrents for viruses and malware. When using Pirate Bay and the internet in general, the two tools you should trust most are your common sense and vigilance.
Always be careful about the files you download and do not go overboard when downloading torrents or magnet links. Use a VPN and scan your computer regularly, whether you use MacOS or Windows. If you follow the above tips, you can safely use Pirate Bay without downloading malware to your computer.
