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Is qBittorrent Safe to Use in 2024? 

Last updated: July 29, 2022

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qBittorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients for P2P file sharing.

While many of us think about torrenting, it is only natural to wonder, is qBittorrent safe to use?

While most of the other torrent clients available on the Internet are closed-source, have malware or bloatware, and are filled with irritating ads, qBittorrent is a safe, legal, open-source software, and a malware-free torrent client that is legal to use and doesn’t interrupt your activity with a host of ads.

qBittorrent has something called Anonymous Mode that can help ensure safer downloading, but you can’t rely only on this feature to protect you online. Even though qBittorrent has this Anonymous Mode, this alone will not encrypt your online traffic to keep you completely protected.

Let’s see how you can use qBittorrent even more safely and find out what tools can help you do this.

In a Hurry? Here Are the 3 Best VPNs to Use with qBittorrent

Is qBittorrent Safe to Use?

If you download qBittorrent from its official site, it is safe to use. It has open-source code so one who understands coding can easily understand what’s going on inside the software when you are downloading torrents with it. Moreover, it is completely ad-free, malware-free, and bloatware-free.

On top of this, qBittorrent also has Anonymous Mode, which is a good privacy feature, but it doesn’t replace a VPN.

Is qBittorrent Safe to Download?

qBittorrent is safe to download, but only from its official site, which will ensure that you aren’t downloading bundled software.

Downloading qBittorrent might be safe from a third party, but you cannot always guarantee that. Being open-source software, anyone can easily tamper with the coding and make it available for download with malware that might harm your device.

Why qBittorrent Is (Generally) Safe to Use

We say qBittorrent is one of the very few safe torrent clients because:

qBittorrent is bloatware or malware-free

qBittorrent doesn’t have any malware or bloatware.

Unlike most other popular torrent clients on the market, the qBittorrent client doesn’t have any unwanted programs, so you can easily start torrenting rather than downloading unwanted files.

qBittorrent is open-source

Since the qBittorrent client is an open-source torrent client, it becomes one of the safest P2P platforms on the web. This is because it is continually checked by dedicated groups of developers on the qBittorrent forums and communities who patch up the bugs and errors quickly.

Trusted by an active community

This very safe torrent client has an active and trusted community that not only comes in handy when you need help or face issues, but also patches the bugs quickly so that the reputation of qBittorrent doesn’t get diminished.

qBittorrent Security Risks (If Used Not Properly)

Now and then, people ask on several forums, “Is qBittorrent safe?”.

Well, qBittorrent is safe and secure as standalone software, but like any other torrent client, qBittorrent too is vulnerable to security risks if not used properly.

To start, qBittorrent, when used without a VPN, may leak your IP address to anyone in the same peer network. Further, if you download torrents or the torrent client from an untrustworthy source, you might end up downloading malware or other unwanted programs.

It is easy to avoid these issues by being careful while using qBittorrent and by using a reputable VPN.

Tips to Use qBittorrent Safely

If you use qBittorrent safely and with a few precautions, you will rarely face any security issues while torrenting.

1. Use a VPN for downloading Torrent Files

By using a reputable torrenting VPN, you can ensure that your security and privacy are robust.

A VPN not only hides your true IP address but also encrypts your torrent traffic if it is capable of supporting P2P activities. It provides you with the high-level security that you need to keep your data and device safe.

☑️ A VPN can mask your real IP address and save you from copyright issues.

☑️ With AES-256-bit encryption and strong encryption protocols, it hides your online activity from your peer network and your ISP.

☑️ The split-tunneling feature can easily separate your regular traffic from your VPN traffic.

☑️ The automatic Kill Switch prevents your torrent IP address from leaking if your encrypted VPN connection drops unexpectedly.

☑️ Thanks to the changed IP address, hackers are unable to track your IP address, so you are safe from cyber threats, like DDoS attacks.

☑️ Some VPNs come with malware or ad-blocking features that can prevent your access to an ad or a malicious file.

☑️ A P2P-friendly VPN also supports a SOCKS5 proxy service to manage qBittorrent peer communication. It hides your IP address and helps in downloading torrents fast.

☑️ The built-in encryptions in qBittorrent make it slow. A VPN app can instead give you lightning-fast speed by connecting to the closest and fastest servers.

2. Use Antivirus Software

Cybercriminals and hackers upload infected files that may contain malware or spyware. When you use a torrent client, you can unintentionally download such a malicious file that can spread a virus to your system, slow it down, or even lead to data leaks.

It is imperative that you use good antivirus software along with qBittorrent to ensure your safety. Every time you download a file, you should run antivirus software to scan and remove any malware or viruses that might impact your system negatively.

3. Properly configure your qBittorrent client

Tweaking certain settings during the configuration of qBittorrent software will give you a secure torrent client. We will discuss these settings later in our article.

Why You Need a VPN for Downloading Torrents with qBittorrent

A VPN masks your original IP addresses and changes them to IP addresses of any country of your choosing. It does so by encrypting your Internet traffic and sending it through a remote server that you choose in your desired location.

While torrenting, your peers can see your new IP address that belongs to a remote server and not your original IP address. This protects you from cyber crimes and DDoS attacks. Though you can always enable anonymous mode of qBittorrent, it can never replace the security of a VPN.

A VPN also masks your identity and location, so when you use qBittorrent and unwittingly download copyrighted media or materials, you can get around the issues of receiving DMCA notices, fines, or even jail time.

A VPN service with a Kill Switch feature protects your torrent traffic if your VPN connection cuts out suddenly, ensuring that it is not leaked.

The ad-blocking feature of VPNs helps you identify fake websites like malicious torrent trackers and prevent downloading from these sites.

In addition to all these features, a VPN can also help you get past network or regional blocks, which is important, as some countries or networks block torrent sites or clients.

How to Choose the Best VPN for qBittorrent

To choose the best VPN client for qBittorrent:

☑️ Your VPN should have features like a Kill Switch, an ad-blocker, split tunneling, AES-256-bit encryption, and a no-logs policy.

☑️ Your provider should have a wide VPN server network spanning several countries so you get access to a lot of content, torrent files, and websites.

☑️ The VPN should have user-friendly apps for all the operating systems and devices that you generally use.

☑️ Blazing-fast speed of the VPN helps you connect to servers and download faster.

☑️ Your VPN should be able to bypass the geo-blocks so you can easily get access to torrenting sites from different nations.

3 Best VPNs for qBittorrent Torrent Client

My recommendations for the 3 best qBittorent VPNs are:

Devices compatible with ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN offers the fastest speed and the largest VPN server network of all the three recommendations on my list, and it supports P2P sharing on all of its servers.

It has all the high-grade security and privacy features that you need for downloading torrents, and it also offers port forwarding support if you are using a router app.

Pros:

  • Supports P2P sharing
  • Blazing fast speed
  • 3000+ servers in 94+ countries
  • Simultaneous connections to 5 devices
  • Military-grade security
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

  • Pricey plans

2. NordVPN

Devices compatible with NordVPN

NordVPN is the perfect choice for those who want good speeds, a large server network, and excellent security features at an affordable price.

Not all NordVPN servers are optimized for torrenting, but you can still torrent with great protection on a good number of servers.

Pros:

  • Supports P2P sharing
  • Fast speeds
  • 5,500+ servers in 60+ countries
  • Simultaneous connections to 6 devices
  • Military-grade security with double VPN feature
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

  • Desktop apps are slow

Devices compatible with Surfshark

Surfshark offers the same top privacy and protection features as NordVPN and ExpressVPN, but at a much more affordable price.

It also offers unlimited simultaneous device connections, which means you can use your VPN for torrenting while using other household devices for unblocking streaming content or gaming.

Pros:

  • Supports P2P sharing
  • Good speeds
  • 3,200+ servers in 65+ countries
  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Great security features
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

  • Slow speed on some servers

Can I Use a Free VPN with qBittorent?

Using a free VPN for torrenting is a pretty bad idea, especially given that the risks of torrenting are already pretty high.

Free VPNs simply don’t have the resources and privacy features to keep you protected and anonymous when torrenting, so we would urge you to steer clear.

Instead, use a reputable paid service for torrenting and you can cancel at any point in the first month if you want a refund.

How to Use qBittorrent with a VPN

Configuring qBittorent with a VPN is quite simple using these methods:

1. Standard Method (VPN + qBittorent)

  1. Get a subscription to a reliable VPN service that supports P2P sharing, like ExpressVPN.
  2. Download the VPN app and after signing in go to the settings menu.
  3. Search for the Kill Switch button and enable it.
  4. Choose a fast protocol in the Auto-connect menu, WireGuard, or any proprietary protocols.
  5. Connect to a server that is P2P optimized.
  6. Install qBittorrent.
  7. Launch the downloaded qBittorrent and begin torrenting.

If you bind qBittorrent, you can ensure even more security to your torrenting.

2. qBittorrent + VPN + IP Binding

If your device goes into hibernation mode, there are chances of malfunctioning that can leak your IP address. So, here’s another way to bind qBittorrent.

  1. Follow all the steps mentioned in the first method.
  2. Launch qBittorrent and go to Tools > Options.
  3. Open the advanced settings by clicking on the Advanced button on the left side.
  4. Go to the network interface filtering feature by clicking on the Network Interface button.
  5. From the drop-down menu, select your VPN adapter.
  6. Click Apply and then OK.
  7. Relaunch qBittorrent app and start torrenting.

IP binding helps limit torrenting to one network adapter or IP to avoid IP leaks.

3. Split Tunneling VPN with qBittorrent

If your VPN offers a split tunneling feature, you can enable it to route your VPN traffic through qBittorrent only.

  1. Open the VPN client and navigate to Settings > Split tunneling and enable it.
  2. Select Enable VPN for selected apps only.
  3. Select Add apps and click on qBittorrent.
  4. Connect to a P2P-optimized server and launch qBittorent.
  5. Start torrenting!

Best Configuration for qBittorrent

The best configuration for a faster and more secure experience is:

☑️ Set Global Rate Limits to infinite.
☑️ To get rid of slow peers, under Rate Limit Settings, apply rate limit to –

  • UTP protocol
  • Peers on LAN

☑️ qBittorrent should always use a port above 10,000.
☑️ Enable PEX, DHT, and Local Peer Discovery in the BitTorrent section to locate more peers in the torrent swarm.
☑️ Disable Torrent encryption in the BitTorrent section.
☑️ Go to Tools > Options > Connection> TCP for the Peer connection protocol option.

FAQs

Is qBittorrent legal?

Yes, using qBittorent is legal to use as long as you don’t download copyrighted materials. Downloading copyrighted torrents can lead to getting DMCA notices and a lot of trouble.

Is qBittorrent safer than uTorrent?

Both the clients have a lot of features to compete with each other. However, qBittorrent wins the battle because of its open-source code and an ad-blocker

Is qBittorrent a virus?

The qBittorent software isn’t a virus in itself, but you can accidentally download a virus while downloading a torrent file. To avoid this, always ensure that the website you are downloading content from is trustworthy. Also, check for the ratings of the uploader before you hit the download button. To be safe, use anti-virus software to scan and delete any unwanted viruses.

Why is my antivirus blocking qBittorrent?

Antivirus programs flag qBittorrent sometimes. However, this is mostly a false alarm. If that happens, apparently your client is connected to peer servers that have malicious content. If you trust the torrent file and the source link, you can go ahead with downloading.

By using the IP filtering feature, you can easily stop these false flags of antivirus software and still keep a check on downloading unwanted files.

Is qBittorrent safe without VPN?

I never recommend using qBittorrent without a VPN, as that will make your real IP address visible to your peers on the same network, putting your privacy and security at risk.

Is qBittorrent fast?

Undoubtedly, qBittorrent is fast, reliable, ad-free, malware-free, and transparent open-source software that you can safely use for torrenting with a VPN.

Conclusion

With qBittorrent features mostly focused on security, it is safe, legal, and the most popular torrent client that is open-source. You can make the most out of it if you enable anonymous mode and use some other features, like IP filtering. Also, you should always use qBittorrent with a VPN and antivirus programs to ensure your security.

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