The original post: /r/torrents by /u/debianar on 2025-01-29 18:09:02.

Will an exposed IP address put my phone and computer at risk of cyberattacks? I’m more worried about cyberattacks than copyright issues. I will try to remember to use VPN next time but since I already exposed my IP, is there anything I can do to reduce the risks?

Edit: Also, since I stopped the downloading process halfway through, does it mean even if the link contained malware, it won’t have the chance to harm my computer?

Original: I’m new to qBittorrent and I think I have done some silly things. I found some magnet links to test downloading but cancelled the downloads halfway through when I suddenly realised that I forgot to make sure they didn’t contain malware. Later, I learned that not using a VPN would expose my IP address. I do regret not researching the precautions before hastily trying torrenting.