Wondering if torrenting on college Wi-Fi is allowed?
Most likely, it won’t be.
There is also a chance that your country has strict copyright laws. Getting caught torrenting could result in a hefty fine.
Discussed below are all the risks you’ll face if you’re caught illegally downloading videos, as well as what you can do to save yourself from getting caught. Let’s get started.
Why is Torrenting Not Allowed?
Your school likely won’t let you torrent. However, the question is, why? The content you are trying to download has been licensed. You would be going against the copyright when you try to torrent it.
Your school’s wi-fi is a public network. Your school doesn’t allow students to torrent because it is a looked down upon activity and sometimes even illegal.
What are The Risks?
First, let’s talk about the risks you might face with the law. If your country has stringent copyright laws, you could be fined heavily. Most countries don’t take legal action for illegally downloading content, thankfully.
What are the risks if your school catches you? You would have your laptop or computer confiscated. Depending on the school you’re attending, the other penalties you’ll face would differ.
In terms of how likely it is that your school will catch you, nine times out of ten, you would be caught if you don’t encrypt your connection.
How Do You Not Get Caught?
So, what are the ways you can encrypt your connection? The best would be to use a virtual private network. The program would encrypt your connection while also bouncing your IP. You could direct your IP to a server anywhere in the world. Your school would have no way to know that you’re trying to access torrenting sites.
Here’s the deal:
Not all VPNs work. Some of them are less thorough than others. The options that would be the most worth your time would be the ones that you’d have to purchase. They would use thorough military-level encryptions on your connection.
Also, paid virtual private networks offer more servers for you to bounce to. A paid VPN would come with more features, too, including a kill switch. If your virtual private network ever disconnects while you’re torrenting, the kill-switch would automatically disconnect you from the internet. This would prevent your school from finding out what you were up to.
A free VPN can be dangerous. One of the ways it would make money is by storing and selling user data. You likely won’t be a fan of this.
Related:
How Do You Choose a VPN?
Considering there are so many VPNs on the market, you might be overwhelmed by which one to choose. As mentioned, the one you pick up should not be a free option. It would likely not have strong encryption. What’s more, free virtual private networks have to make their money somewhere. That’s why they might store and sell your data.
Always go for VPNs that are popular and have excellent reputations. Some popular options would be NordVPN, SurfShark, and ExpressVPN. As they have the best reputations, they would be the most transparent to keep customers happy.
Being a college student, you don’t have a lot to spend. Some virtual private networks are more expensive than others. If you look around, however, you should be able to find one that is well within your budget.
How Do You Use a VPN to Torrent?
Let’s say you’ve found a great VPN. You’re now planning on using it to torrent. Here’s how you can do this:
- Open the program
- Turn on the Kill-switch
- Find the fastest server near you and connect to it
- Open the Torrent client you’re using
- Disconnect your VPN after the torrenting is done
- Disconnect from VPN
- Disable the Kill Switch
Final Thoughts
If you’re caught visiting a torrenting website, you would likely have your computer confiscated. Illegally downloading videos can result in you paying a hefty fine to the government. That being said, there is a way for you to torrent and not get caught. You would have to use a VPN. A virtual private network is a program that hides and encrypts your internet connection. Some of the best ones on the market are:
- NordVPN
- ExpressVPN
- SurfShark
