The Pirate Bay is an online index of digital content , founded in 2003, where visitors can search, download and contribute magnet links and torrent files, which facilitate peer-to-peer file sharing. (Photo : YouTube/ReviewTechUSA)
The Pirate Bay shutdown rumors appear to be swirling anew as major web browsers Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox again labeled the King of Torrents a hazardous phishing site. However, the best alternative to Kickass Torrents and Torrentz.eu remains safe and fully accessible for torrenting.
The Google Safe Browsing tool that is in effect on both Chrome and Firefox once again declared TPB as "deceptive and dangerous" website, according to TorrentFreak. But the report was quick to add that the browsers are not blocking ThePirateBay.org domain.
"The homepage and various categories can be reached without problems, but when visitors navigate to a download page they are presented with an ominous red warning banner," the report said.
The advisory reminded users that when heading to TPB's download pages "attackers on Thepiratebay.org may trick you into doing something dangerous like installing software or revealing your personal information." Users on both Chrome and Firefox are getting the same warning.
The same incident was seen in September that TPB said was due to third-party advertisement, which was quickly resolved. With the swift correction, Google Safe Browsing's phishing alert was lifted in a just a few days.
TorrentFreak said that TPB has been informed of the latest red flag from Google and Mozilla, and work is likely underway to identify the security error that likely will be fixed immediately to again zap out the presence of harmful elements.
But the same report made clear that with the browser security warnings becoming more frequent lately, advanced torrent users can actually ignore or even bypass if active TPB blocking is in effect. In the past, The Pirate Bay has made sure that visitors are protected when navigating through the site as admins regularly vet uploaded contents for possible malware and virus infections. It is understood that the same security measures remain in place.
In the immediate aftermath of Kickass Torrents, Torrentz.eu and TorrentHound going out of business in a span of three months, The Pirate Bay and ExtraTorrent.cc emerged as the best torrenting alternatives. But it is TPB that came out as not only the most popular KAT alternative but also the safest free download option.
And in the past days, The Pirate Bay also became a clean torrenting destination, thanks to its porn-free clone called TPBClean.
