Explanations written for a child would be :chefs-kiss:
the reddit /r/piracy megathread is pretty good iirc
Use a VPN that is not US based (as far as ownership/control) and does not keep logs. This way, if they are subpoenaed, they have nothing to give.
TorrentFreak updates a list yearly. https://torrentfreak.com/best-vpn-anonymous-no-logging/
PPTP, L2TP are not secure. OpenVPN is a great VPN software. On Linux, there is also WireGuard, which is supposedly more secure. You only need the client. Higher encryption for the actual transmission is most important. A good provider supports at least 128 bit encryption for the data between your computer and their server.
Mullvad, AirVPN are 2 I’ve used. Both have their own clients that are easy to install.
You will want software that cuts the connection (stopping Bittorrent & other programs) if VPN connection drops. IPleak.net is run by AirVPN, tests different data including connection leaks due to WebRTC. You can also use DNSleaktest.com For non-Torrent Web anonymity, there are more things to consider which is beyond the scope of this post.
Deluge is a good software for torrenting (on Win7 & Linux).
ThePirateBay (not sure what domain extension) is a good source for torrents also.
I’ve looked at torrenting before but hadn’t got it to work. From reading the other responses, I think I found a decent torrent site but didn’t have a client (or just the right client?) installed.
