The United States government shut down KickassTorrents (KAT) last weeks and it seems like the website will not come back online anytime soon. The piracy community is now turning on alternative sites to access torrent material. The Pirate Bay (TPB), Extra Torrent, and Torrentz are benefiting the most in terms of traffic.
While there were reports that KAT would return soon, this cannot be substantiated since many misinterpreted the pop-up of clones and mirror sites with cached files as the comeback of KickassTorrents' main domain. Essentially, clones and mirror websites, when legal, could only offer content available on KAT before it was brought down, with no new materials due to the absence of upload capabilities. However, the possibility of clones and mirror surviving is very low since law enforcement agencies will eventually sniff them out, according to Techplz.
When former KickassTorrents users started looking for alternatives, TPB emerged as the best option, with the community claiming to back gone back to the old stalwart. The Pirate Bay has had its own issues when it comes to copyright infringement, but the site has remained remarkably resilient.
Apparently, the former inconsistency of TPB made many torrent users to switch to KickassTorrents. Therefore, they have opted to return to The Pirate Bay because they are familiar with its format and interface.
Apart from TPB, the torrent community has visited the popular Torrentz site. The website not only host any files, but also serves as a Meta search engine that redirects users to other sites on the Internet.
Extra Torrent has seen a remarkable increase in traffic following the shutdown of KAT. In fact, the site was recently rated the third most popular torrent website this year, and one operator on the site confirmed a huge influx of new users just a day after KAT was brought down, according to Torrent Freak. There is a 200 percent surge in signups and a 300 percent increase in traffic.
"It is sad to see an iconic site go this way, and it shows how the torrent community is targeted by all means," the operator said. "But, I guess torrenting will prevail and this doesn't mean the death or end of this era."
Meanwhile, the active and large community of KAT has come together without torrents at a new website, Katcr.co. Former moderators and administrators are also gathering at this website with one objective: to keep the community alive with the hope that KAT main domain will resurrect.
Here is footage for more information on KickassTorrents: