Safe torrents

[Doctordestiny]

Okay, I'm an old guy so please be patient as I learn. I have a torrent audio book that I want to download. It's at kickass torrents. I haven't done the download yet because I got wondering if these are safe. For now and future, how can I know that a site is safe to download from? Is kickass safe? What do I need to know? Thanks.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Doctordestiny

Okay, I'm an old guy so please be patient as I learn. I have a torrent audio book that I want to download. It's at kickass torrents. I haven't done the download yet because I got wondering if these are safe. For now and future, how can I know that a site is safe to download from? Is kickass safe? What do I need to know? Thanks.

Well, I am an old Luddite too, but until someone more knowledgeable jumps in... I use the Vuze client, which has a built in virus-checker. If you are extra-concerned, you can check the file with your regular virus software (be it AVG or whatever...) after it's downloaded.

[mykalberta]

Download it and then scan it with your AV.

With the sketch nature of Torrents and their community one can never be to sure, its just trial and error.

MYK does not support the torrenting of copywritten material. Torrenting should only be used for the express consent of downloading free content or transferring free files in an efficient and environmental manner.

[wooohooo]

Another one is look at how the file comes in. I'm not sure what audio books come in but stuff like movies look for .avi. .zip or .rar are usually best avoided.

[Hack&Lube]

they are mp3 files in that specific torrent that you want, it will be fine. 6 seeders too so healthy but it may take some time.

[normtwofinger]

I always look at the comments of the torrent. If the whole vibe is postive (ie not: torrent is fake, it's a virus, this doesn't work on my comp...) then i view it as safe.

Take a look at what kind of files the torrent contains. If it's a video, then there should be a *.mpg *.avi or something similar. If it's audio, then there should be *.mp3. If there are strange files that you are not familiar with, you can unselect them.

Also if there are several torrents for a specific item that you want, choose the one that has higher seeds. Kickass is a good site.

[Matata]

Vuze is awesome, just get vuze and never worry again.

[llama64]

Just check the comments and ensure the files are not hidden in some zip/rar archive.

Or... you could just buy the audio book legitimately. The cost of repairing your computer after an infection in both dollars and time lost has gotta be more then the cost of the audio book... just sayin... (I use this as my default response to family wants me to teach them how to 'pirate').

I've grown to hate Vuze - but then I'm on a Mac and anything made with Java is absolute crap on this platform. I've used uTorrent on the PC before and have been impressed.

[Hack&Lube]

I used to like Vuze when it used to be Azureus. Now it's Vuze and I can't stand it. I switched to μtorrent because of that.

[darthma]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I used to like Vuze when it used to be Azureus. Now it's Vuze and I can't stand it. I switched to μtorrent because of that.

+1 for utorrent. Vuze is full of bloat now.