What is qBittorrent & Is it Actually Safe to Use in 2024?
- qBittorrent is a free, open-source torrent client favored for its ad-free and secure nature, compared to proprietary clients like uTorrent and BitTorrent, which have faced controversies over bundled software and ads.
- Torrenting uses a P2P network model to share files directly between users without a central server, enabling more efficient and resilient file distribution.
- Torrenting safety concerns arise from public trackers exposing users to potential copyright issues, but using a VPN can help protect your identity while torrenting.
qBittorrent is a very popular, free, and open-source alternative to the likes of BitTorrent and uTorrent. This torrent client among other open source options gained popularity especially when most of the torrenting community developed a negative outlook regarding proprietary torrent clients.
As the name suggests, qBittorrent is at its core, a torrent client. A very simple definition of a torrenting client is software enabling P2P (Peer-to-peer) sharing using the BitTorrent protocol. In fact, if you’re not up to speed with the concept of torrenting, here’s a general overview.
Table of Contents
How Does P2P Sharing Work?
Torrenting allows users to share files among each other, through a P2P network model and not depend on any central computer. For example, if you’re downloading a game from Steam, your PC connects to Valve’s servers. It is imperative that this said server has sufficient bandwidth and capacity to handle outgoing data.
Back in 2020, when Epic Games announced to give free copies of GTA V, their store received such an influx of users, downloads, and purchase requests that the Epic Games Store servers were shut down for almost 8 hours. This is one of the main flaws behind the Client-Server model.
In a P2P network, data is shared between peers or users. The network isn’t dependent on a central node or server. A person, say A, starts uploading files, B downloads them, and so forth. If another user, say C requires the files but A is offline, they can get the data needed from B instead.
However, in order to initiate such a process, we need a client or software through which we can download these files. Here’s where qBittorrent comes in. To evaluate its safety and piracy-related concerns, we must understand torrenting in depth.
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What is Torrenting?
The concept of torrenting falls under the umbrella of P2P sharing. There are many terms associated with torrenting, but we’ll go through them one by one while keeping things simple.
1. Torrent File
The starting point of everyone’s torrenting journey is to obtain the .torrent or a magnet file. Remember, the .torrent file does not contain the contents you require. It is, in fact, the metadata about the content being distributed.
The .torrent file only contains the details about the files to be downloaded. It also contains addresses of different trackers, which basically tells your client which users it should contact to download the required files.
These files also store the SHA-1 hashes of each piece in the torrent. These hashes are used to verify if you’re receiving the correct data from fellow seeders. Since hashes are extremely distinct and computationally secure, they offer an effective safeguard against potential tampering if you’re concerned about downloading files from other users.
2. Tracker
In simple terms, a tracker is a database that allows you to see the users from whom you’re downloading/sharing data. Users who are actively downloading a file are called “leechers“. Likewise, users who are uploading the file for other users are called “seeders“. Collectively, seeders and leechers form what is known as a “swarm“.
Sometimes, torrents may have multiple trackers with their own set of seeders and leechers. Just like having multiple roads on the highway can allow you to readjust your route, multiple trackers allow you to access a larger swarm.
There are two kinds of trackers; public and private. Public trackers are visible to everyone. This is the main weak link of torrenting that exposes users to DMCA claims and potential copyright lawsuits. We’ll discuss more in a later section. Private trackers on the contrary mostly require registration to enforce quality of life and better security.
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3. Pieces
One of the key differences between torrenting and P2P networks is that torrents split up a file into many different parts or “pieces”. Each piece usually has a fixed size (64kB -> 8MB) and its own hash in the .torrent file for integrity and verification.
If you’re downloading a very large file, say a 10GB .mp4 format video, normally you’d have to wait until the entire file is downloaded before seeding. Torrenting enables users to seed as soon as they download the first few initial pieces, which increases efficiency and modularity.
4. Seeding and Share Ratios
Seeders are users who share (upload) the downloaded pieces/files with other users. If people stop seeding, then the entire ecosystem of torrenting will collapse. In this context, there exists a term known as a “Share Ratio“.
A share ratio is the ratio of how much you’ve uploaded to how much you’ve downloaded. A seed ratio >1 has a positive connotation whereas a ratio <1 has a negative connotation. Torrenting works on the simple rule of give and take.
↪ The Big Picture
Let’s discuss how torrents are born from the ground up. The initial seeder or the uploader seeds a file, we’ll call him A. An interested user, say B, downloads this file and starts seeding on their own. This creates a ripple effect and newer users will have various seeders to download (leech) the files from.
Now that we’ve learned about the basics, why do you need to choose a torrenting client? A torrenting client offers you an interface to easily navigate through your torrents, and trackers, limit your bandwidth, enable encryption, and allow you to manage your data. It is of the utmost importance that we choose a capable client fit for the task.
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Why qBittorrent?
BitTorrent is the pioneer of torrenting, in fact, the word “Torrent” is derived from “BitTorrent“. Another fun fact, torrenting revolves around the BitTorrent protocol, which as you guessed, is linked with the BitTorrent client. Then why are consumers willingly shifting to open-source alternatives like qBittorrent?
↪ uTorrent’s Mining Scandal
In 2015, uTorrent received an update to version “3.4.2,” which infamously included bundled Bitcoin mining software. This small mistake took away the trust of many customers and warranted a shift to other options. Another factor is that uTorrent is closed source and shows ads unless you pay $4.95 yearly.
Even if installing the miner was consensual, who reads the EULA these days? People simply press “Next” and try to install the required program as soon as possible. If you’re downloading uTorrent, you expect the installer to only install uTorrent and not anything else.
↪ BitTorrent’s Ad Problem
BitTorrent and uTorrent are owned by the same company, Rainberry, Inc. As such, BitTorrent (the client) also comes jam-packed with ads and requires a subscription if you wish to remove them.
At this point, you’d question yourself, “Why even bother?“. Both applications are proprietary and adware. What is so incentivizing that users would not jump ship and move to a trusted, open-source, and ad-free alternative?
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What is qBittorrent?
qBittorent is an open-source and cross-platform torrenting client written for Windows, Linux, macOS, and various other Operating Systems. It was originally developed in March 2006 and is currently being maintained by various contributors globally through donations.
Since the code is open source, you may compile the program yourself if you so desire. You can easily access and review the code if you have safety concerns. So, without bringing into question legality, qBittorrent is absolutely safe, if your downloaded files are virus-free.
Is qBittorrent Safe?
The real question should be, “Is torrenting safe?“. In most third-world countries, the policies aren’t stringent enough that you’d have the cops knocking on your door minutes after you download a torrent. Let’s discuss why some people may get filed DMCA notices by their ISPs and could potentially be sued.
If you use a public tracker, which most of us do, there are tons of services and websites that log which IP is downloading which torrent. Don’t trust us? See for yourself. Your ISP will generally not care if you pirate something until they get served with a subpoena from the law office of the respective copyright holders.
When large multi-billion corporations pressurize ISPs, they are forced to either cut off your internet service or take the matter to court. In Singapore, Anime distributor Odex sent legal threats to users for downloading fansubbsed anime in 2007. Court orders caused the disclosure of many identities with settlements coming in at a minimum of $2,000 (USD) per person.
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In the US, the US Copyright Group obtained the IP addresses of users downloading copyright-protected movies, mostly through the transparency of public trackers. Again, ISPs were forced to disclose identities, and settlements were offered in the range of $1000–$3000. In just 9 months, over 16200 people were served with legal notices.
Torrenting does come with a lot of risk, but there are certain ways you can get around these issues, for the most part.
↪ Down the Privacy Rabbit Hole
Using a VPN is a very simple way to mask your identity when torrenting. Since users are tracked and pinpointed via their IP address, with a VPN, public trackers are unable to reveal your real IP. That is unless authorities or your government forces the VPN providers to hand out personal information. Therefore, make sure you use a privacy-focused VPN.
For context, Mullvad was subject to a police search warrant but they couldn’t find any data since Mullvad doesn’t log its users. The short answer is that unless you’re distributing stuff that could compromise national security, the FBI won’t use underhanded trickery to apprehend you.
Most ISPs are still using IPv4, which basically means that your IP is likely shared amongst many users. Thus, it becomes a chore, even for the ISP to precisely point out the specific internet connection. Alternatively, users also opt for seedboxes which are PCs set up somewhere else for seeding purposes.
While it is possible to track you down, if your seedbox is hosted in another country and your seedbox actually cares about your privacy, it simply wouldn’t be worth the extra cost for the authorities.
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Conclusion
We are no longer in the peak days of torrenting and the entire industry is declining with each passing day. However, it is still essential that you do whatever you can to protect your identity online. Aside from downloading pirated content, the concept of torrents is extremely useful for small-scale business to promote their software.
There are open-source alternatives to qBittorrent as well such as Deluge, Transmission, and whatnot. But qBittorrent is generally accepted as THE alternative, not something you’d find alternatives for. We have not explicitly stated that uTorrent and BitTorrent are unsafe, however, there are other better and hassle-free options.
Lastly, always use a VPN when torrenting. You may pair this with a VPS, seedbox, or a docker setup but they have diminishing returns. Torrenting is safe if you take the necessary precautions and keep away from malware-infested files.
FAQs
If your downloaded files contain malware or a virus, you are susceptible to infection. Torrents don’t inherently contain malware; however, exercise caution when torrenting.
uTorrent and BitTorrent are adware and closed source. Since similar open-source and free alternatives are readily available, people have been quick to shift from uTorrent and BitTorrent to options like qBittorrent and Transmission.
Your IP address can be targeted if you are downloading specific copyrighted content using torrents. Piracy is illegal and immoral but to answer the question, generally, all you need is a VPN, as that’s the most vulnerable point of failure. There are other methods to detect you, such as fingerprinting, but they’re usually not worth the cost.
