1337x Torrents: Proxies, Alternatives and VPNs

Online users may be moving more towards streaming content, but there is still a sizable chunk consuming content via torrenting websites like 1337x. In this guide, readers will learn about what 1337x is, how to use 1337x properly and how to remain safe while using 1337x, among other tips.

1337x is a directory/website that offers magnet links and torrent files. The main features of 1337x include easy availability of free content and a search engine allowing users to discover more content. In terms of popularity, 1337x is ranked among the top five most popular torrent websites, with over 70 million hits per month. The 1337x torrent site is popular enough to have dozens of proxy/mirror websites, a handful of which are very high quality.

An image featuring the 1337x homepage

Many domains that were considered to be tied to 1337x have gone down in the past. But at the moment, the most popular 1337x website is up and serving a range of torrent content to online users.

DISCLAIMER:

Security Gladiators in no way encourages or condones any kind of copyright violation or circumvention of restrictions. That includes torrenting or downloading illegal content. Torrenting is a great way to access and share all kinds of content on the internet and there are plenty of opportunities there to engage in legal and safe online torrenting. You need to do your own research to see if these services and torrents are legal in your own country. We suggest to always use a VPN while torrenting.

What is 1337x?

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1337x is a torrent website that offers online users magnet links and torrent files that are free to download. Via the BitTorrent protocol, users can download the content available on 1337x without any restrictions.

The most prominent features of 1337x are free content, an easily accessible search function, lots of traffic (which helps separate genuine files from bogus ones) and a fast user interface with no extra features to slow down the overall experience.

This website’s primary purpose is to make content available to anyone with a BitTorrent client for free. However, 1337x has run into legal trouble because of the way the service is used by the community to download content for free which, in more cases than not, is copyrighted. Google has banned the service and does not show results containing 1337x URLs. The website has had to change domain names multiple times in the past to get rid of various blocks. Currently, 1337x has seen a resurgence in usage after moving to a new domain name.

What are the Advantages of 1337x?

The most important advantages of 1337x are given below.

  • 1337x offers working links to other torrent websites.
  • There are no ads on 1337x.
  • The site has delivered content reliably for the past 15 years.
  • The site has a big catalog, and content is organized in an accessible way.
  • 1337x features a comprehensive search function and an easy-to-use interface.

What are the Disadvantages of 1337x?

The disadvantages of 1337x are given below.

  • Some of the old links on 1337x contain outdated information about the health of the torrent file.
  • Many users on 1337x are not seeding torrents after downloading the content.
  • A few sections do not have subsections to further divide the available content.
  • While 1337x’s search function is very detailed, some features like sorting can malfunction at times.

What are the Proxies (Mirrors) of 1337x?

The proxies (mirrors) of 1337x are given below.

  • 1337x.tw – 1337x.tw offers good speed and safety. More so than any other 1337x proxy or mirror website.
  • 1337xto.to – 1337xto.to offers acceptable speed and decent safety for downloaders and uploaders. After 1337x.tw, 133xto.to is the safest.
  • 1337x.gd – 1337x.gd offers decent speed and safety for visitors.
  • 1337x.am 1337x.am is below average in both speed and safety.

1. 1337x.tw

The 1337x.tw is one of the more popular mirrors of 1337x, with over 7 million monthly visitors. The number of visitors alone points to the fact that this 1337x proxy is offering content safely and at a good speed. Readers should note, however, that a lot of the content available on sites like 1337x is copyright-protected, and there is always an issue of safety when downloading files from such websites.

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With that said, the main usage of 1337x.tw is still downloading torrent files via BitTorrent clients. To use 1337x.tw, users can go to the website address and use a BitTorrent client of choice to start browsing files and downloading content.

There isn’t much difference between the main domain name of 1337x and 1337x.tw in terms of the content or user interface. Both the 1337x main domain and the 1337x proxy use the same interface and theme. But a more thorough look reveals that 1337x.tw does not offer the top bar (full of options) that the main domain name does.

Another difference is that 1337x’s main domain is updated more frequently than 1337x.tw. This also leads to the available content being less up-to-date compared with the main 1337x website.

The primary reason 1337x.tw exists is to act as a backup for the main 1337x website if any problems arise.

Readers should understand that sites like 1337x constantly have to deal with technical, legal and ethical issues. And the only way to make sure 1337x gives an acceptable uptime percentage (close to 100%) is to have mirrors and proxy sites. 1337x.tw is the best mirror site for the 1337x main domain. 1337x.tw provides the backup website that users need when the main domain is down or taken offline by authorities.

2. 1337xto.to

The 1337xto.to website is another semi-popular proxy site for the main 1337x domain. In terms of speed and safety, this mirror is right up there with the best. More than 3.4 million users visit this mirror site, which points to the proxy site’s reliability and safety.

An image featuring proxy network websites concept

The main usage of 1337xto.to is the same as that of any mirror or proxy site—to provide a way for 1337x users to search for and download the same torrent files as those available on the main domain. To use 1337xto.to, users need to go to the correct address and start searching and downloading torrent files, as with the main domain.

Since 1337xto.to is a proxy site of the main 1337x domain, there is not a lot of difference between the content available and the way the website presents options to users. The content library is the same, but the main domain’s content library will be, by definition, more up-to-date and bigger because of the new content coming in. 1337xto.to has the same theme and user interface as the main website.

Note:

Unlike 1337x.tw, 1337xto.to provides users with access to the main options bar at the top of the home screen. 1337xto.to also allows users to sign in with a Kickass login account. However, the main domain of 1337x is more up-to-date than 1337xto.to.

The main reason why 1337xto.to and other mirror sites exist is to act as a second option for when the main website is down for maintenance or as a result of a cyberattack. Another reason why 1337xto.to exists is to allow continuous content access even in countries where the main domain is blocked.

3. 1337x.gd

1337x.gd is one of the lesser-known and less popular mirror sites for 1337x. This 1337x proxy site gets close to 2.5 million hits per month, pointing to the speed, safety and reliability of the service.

An image featuring a Torrent file concept

The main usage of 1337x.gd is to enable users to continue having access to content even when the main domain is not available. To use 1337x.gd, users need to input the correct URL to visit the site and then use a BitTorrent client to download files.

Since 1337x.gd is a mirror to the 1337x main domain, everything generally looks the same. The home page uses the same theme and offers the same options. 1337x.gd is different from other 1337x proxy and mirror sites because the site is new and mimics the main domain well.

Unlike some of the other mirror and proxy 1337x sites, 1337x.gd does not provide any information about what 1337x is or what the mirror site is supposed to do.

1337x.gd exists to further strengthen 1337x’s mirror and proxy network, providing users with more options in cases where the other mirrors do not work.

4. 1337x.am

1337x.am is the newest 1337x mirror site and only gets about 70,000 visitors per month. The amount of traffic this proxy site generates is in part indicative of the speed and safety of the service. Of course, being a new mirror site means that few 1337x users would know about the alternative 1337x option, which could be a reason for low monthly hits.

An image featuring proxy servers concept

Regardless, the main usage of 1337x.am is to allow 1337x users from the main domain to search for and download torrent files via a BitTorrent client. To use 1337x.am, users need to input the correct URL in the web browser’s URL bar and start downloading content as with the main 1337x domain.

The difference between 1337x.am and the main domain is not much since, ultimately, 1337x.am is a mirror site that aims to provide as close an experience to the original primary domain as possible. Even though the content, theme and user interface are the same, there is no Bitcoin donation address on the home page as in the case of the main 1337x domain.

The reason for 1337x.am’s existence is to act as a third or a fourth backup website for users who can’t access either the main domain or the main mirror site. Being a verified proxy site means 1337x.am wants to maintain the brand value of the 1337x service.

How to Use 1337x Torrent

Before covering how to use the 1337x torrent site, readers should know that the steps below are only for instructional purposes. Users should always seek permission from the creators of the desired content before downloading files from sites like 1337x. Copyright infringement is illegal, and users should exercise care while using 1337x.

The steps users need to take to use the 1337x torrent site are given below.

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  1. Pick a BitTorrent client, such as Deluge or QBitTorrent.
  2. Go to the BitTorrent client’s website.
  3. Download the BitTorrent client for the relevant device operating system/platform.
  4. Install the BitTorrent client on the device.
  5. Open a web browser and input the main domain URL of 1337x.
  6. Once 1337x opens, input the name of the desired content into the search field.
  7. When the results page is shown, click on the option that is the most relevant.
  8. From the content’s 1337x page, click on either “Magnet Link” or “Download Torrent File” (these usually come in the form of a red and green button, respectively).
  9. If installed correctly, the BitTorrent client will automatically pick up the download and start the downloading process. Then, users can view the file.

How to Register 1337x

The steps to register 1337x are given below.

An image featuring successful registering concept
  1. Go to the official website of 1337x.
  2. Click on the button in the top-right corner of the screen that says “Register.”
  3. From the new window, input a username and then use a password manager to generate a strong and unique password. Retype the password in the relevant field.
  4. Use a burner email service to generate a temporary email address and then copy/paste that address into the email field provided on the 1337x registration page.
  5. Pick any country. For privacy reasons, users should go with a random country rather than the actual country where the device is located.
  6. Complete the Captcha.
  7. Click the button that says “Register” at the bottom of the page.
  8. And that should finish the registration process. 1337x normally does not require users to verify email addresses. But if 1337x does send a verification email, simply log in to the provided email address and click on the verify link in the message from 1337x.

What Content can be Downloaded from 1337x?

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Examples of content that can be downloaded from 1337x are given below.

  • Movies
  • Games
  • TV series
  • Documentaries
  • Software applications
  • E-books

Note:

As mentioned, most of what is available on sites like 1337x is copyrighted content, and users accessing the site should take care to respect copyright laws in the country of residence.

What are the Tips for Using 1337x?

The tips for using 1337x safely are given below.

An image featuring copyright concept
  • The most important point for readers to note here is that the majority of the content available on 1337x is copyrighted. Depending on the laws of the country the user lives in, law enforcement agencies and copyright protection groups may take action against any copyright violation. All users should avoid infringing copyright laws to avoid legal trouble.
  • 1337x is not an official website representing any organization. The website simply lists the torrent files uploaded by other users. This gives rise to several other problems that may compromise user privacy and safety.
  • Since the content available on 1337x is uploaded by other users, there is no guarantee that an uploaded torrent file actually contains the content claimed in the title or description. To combat the problem of junk files masquerading as genuine content, users should always look at the number of seeders and leechers of a given file. Genuine files would have lots of seeders and leechers (uploaders and downloaders, in other words). Moreover, users should also pay attention to the comments and reputation of the user who has uploaded the file on the site.
  • For the best experience possible, users should use the comprehensive search function available on 1337x and all of 1337x mirror and proxy sites. The search function allows users to sort via uploaders, downloaders, seeds and the health of the torrent file in question.
  • 1337x provides content categories on the home page, such as movies, television games, applications, anime and documentaries, among other genres. Users should take advantage of these categories to discover new content.
  • Once the primary category of content has been accessed, 1337x provides users with other useful features as well, such as popular files, popular weekly content, trending content and the top 100 of the month. All of these features give users an idea of which titles other users are watching.
  • Finally, sometimes 1337x will not allow users to sign in and would instead show an error page when the “Login” button is clicked. In such cases, use a VPN and keep changing countries (via server locations) until the login page starts working.

How to Ensure Your Safety While Using 1337x

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To ensure safety while using 1337x, users should use a VPN, an antivirus application, an ad-blocker, a secure and private web browser, and a lesser-used operating system (if possible).

Users normally do not know anything about the content being uploaded on sites like 1337x because there is no central authority overseeing operations. This is why users have to rely on the community to see if the content available on 1337x is safe to download and play. For that, keep an eye on the comments, the seeders/leecher ratio, the description section of the torrent file, the uploader and the “Files” section (to check if a torrent file claiming to be some video actually has files with the video format). 1337x provides the names of the uploaders. Users should click on these names and look at their other uploads and the comments in those uploaded torrent files, along with reputation points.

An image featuring peer to peer p2p concept

Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology exposes each user’s IP address to other users in the same swarm. To protect against IP address leaks, VPNs should be used. For even more protection against an accidental download of malicious files, a good antivirus product should be used to scan any downloaded files. Apart from that, not using a Windows computer/device can help since hackers usually target users with .exe files. Using an ad-blocker to get rid of any shady social media buttons or ads (though 1337x doesn’t have many) is also helpful.

There are several ways to know if the content available on 1337x is copyrighted. Users can read up about the content on sites like Wikipedia and IMDb TV to check if the content is copyright-protected. Contacting the producers/publishers of the content in question is a sure-fire way to know if downloading from sites like 1337x is okay. By default, all recent content (past 50 or 60 years or in some countries, even beyond that) is under copyright protection unless explicitly mentioned otherwise by the producer, author or publisher of the content.

Do 1337x Proxies Affect Security?

Yes, 1337x proxies do affect security since the main domain may be safe, but there is no guarantee that the owner of the mirror or proxy site is as reliable as the original domain website.

To guard against that, users should generally only access mirror and proxy sites that have been approved and verified by the original domain website (like 1337x).

What VPNs Should You Use for Safety in 1337x?

The VPNs users should use for safety in 1337x are given below.

An image featuring VPN and proxies concept
  • NordVPN: NordVPN encrypts user data and changes the user’s IP address to make downloading files from 1337x more safe and anonymous. NordVPN is generally considered one of the best VPNs for torrenting because of advanced security features such as a double VPN and a kill switch.
  • ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN also utilizes encryption to secure the user’s connection and changes the user’s IP address. ExpressVPN offers fast servers to ensure the user’s time on 1337x is minimized.
  • Surfshark VPN: Surfshark uses AES 256-bit encryption to secure the user’s connection. This VPN service also offers unlimited simultaneous connections to allow users to switch devices periodically for more privacy and anonymity.
  • CyberGhost VPN: Apart from providing encryption and changing IP addresses, CyberGhost VPN offers specialty servers to enhance users’ privacy on 1337x and other platforms.

Note:

With that said, users should note that changing one’s location and accessing blocked content may be illegal in some countries. Hence, users should try to avoid bypassing geo-restrictions.

What are the Alternatives of 1337x?

The best 1337x torrent alternatives are given below.

Zohair A. Zohair is currently a content crafter at Security Gladiators and has been involved in the technology industry for more than a decade. He is an engineer by training and, naturally, likes to help people solve their tech related problems. When he is not writing, he can usually be found practicing his free-kicks in the ground beside his house.
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