Digital piracy has recently been on the rise as prices for digital products continue to soar.

Sentiments toward the unauthorized distribution of games, services, shows and movies are becoming more favorable with digital platforms increasing prices for their subscriptions or filling their basic services with ads.

It comes as no surprise that people, either due to being region-locked from certain services or due to financial issues, will choose the free option to just pirate.

While all piracy websites pose a risk, some are notorious for hosting multiple malware that a VPN and a virus firewall cannot easily solve.

With many people just starting to jump into the so-called digital "high seas," it is important to always remember cybersecurity and safety.

Also Read: Analysts Predict Increased Price for Netflix Subscription

Pirate Bay

What might be the most known piracy website, Pirate Bay and its proxy sites host the most amount of malware and virus that can infect a device when people try to download from it.

If not malware, users may also be greeted by broken programs or explicit adult videos rather than the product they were looking for since some uploaders often troll people just wanting an app, game, or video for free.

The platforms are also often poorly moderated, making it more difficult to identify which link can be trusted.

LimeTorrent

Lime Torrent used to be a common piracy website during the heydays of the internet. Over two decades and several changes in internet security after, Lime Torrent is not what it was before.

The original torrent site is already gone. All that is left are imitation sites filled with pop-up ads or fake torrent links that can easily lead to phishing or scam sites.

IGG Games

Compared to other torrent sites in the list, IGG Games only offers cracked and repackaged versions of video games.

The site is considered unsafe due to unknown files and programs added to the game discovered when people try to download gaming titles.

It does not help that uploads from IGG Games also have performance issues, even those that are supposed to be safe.

Torrent Galaxy

Different from other piracy websites mentioned, Torrent Galaxy is considered safe by most people using the website.

However, the original Torrent Galaxy was recently taken down and has yet to return online. The imitations that replaced the original site are less reliable as they host many suspicious ads and redirecting links.

µTorrent

Rather than a piracy website, µTorrent is an application used to "magnet" torrent links to download it to a device.

The app is commonly used by people just starting to figure out how to pirate and a program that allows malware to infect unsuspecting victims.

Much worse, the malware downloaded is harder to detect as it is often embedded in the file folder downloaded where the pirated product is also located.

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