Alongside streaming geo-restricted content, torrenting is the biggest reason people invest in VPN services. Windscribe is mostly known for its free VPN plan, but it offers so much more than that.
We’re here today to talk about Windscribe’s torrenting potential and determine whether the company looks favorably upon BitTorrent apps or not. So, if you’re wondering if Windscribe is a good torrenting investment, keep on reading.
P2P File Sharing
P2P traffic is a prerequisite for running BitTorrent-based apps like your favorite torrent clients (uTorrent and others). So, the first question we always ask when determining torrenting potential is whether the VPN provider allows peer-to-peer file sharing.
We’re in luck with Windscribe since it allows P2P without imposing any restrictions. Some companies that allow P2P traffic actively pursue users who download copyrighted content, which kind of defeats the entire purpose of torrenting.
Security
Windscribe is based in Canada, which is not exactly good news for VPN users since Canada belongs to the Five Eyes surveillance network. CSIS, which is the Canadian equivalent of the NSA, has also been collecting citizens’ data illegally for over a decade now. Luckily, the company doesn’t keep any activity logs, which means it has nothing to give to the authorities, even if requested to do so.
Although the location is not ideal, Windscribe uses AES-256 cipher with SHA-512 authorization and RSA-4096 key. It also supports perfect forward secrecy. This encryption setup is more than solid and should protect your identity online without a hitch. RSA-4096 might even be a bit of an overkill since 2048-bit keys are more than enough for optimal protection.
Windscribe also provides protection from IPv6 and DNS leaks and features a kill switch, which will automatically disconnect you from the Internet if your VPN becomes compromised for whatever reason.
Windscribe comes with OpenVPN as its default protocol, but you can also use IKEv2, which is an excellent security option as well. On top of this, you also have Stealth options at your disposal, primarily designed to combat heavy censorship in countries like China.
Windscribe is one of the most secure VPNs out there and its FAQ is brutally honest with its users. As such, it states that the service is unlikely to keep you 100% anonymous online. The VPN provider admits that 10% of online privacy and security depends on the user itself. Windscribe will take care of the remaining 90%
Torrenting On All Servers
Even though Windscribe allows torrenting, not all servers should be used for this purpose. Once you start browsing the available servers, you’ll see a crossed-out P2P icon appearing next to some of the locations. These servers can but should not be used for torrenting, according to the company’s recommendations.