ExtraTorrent is Gone for Good; Here are Top Alternatives

By Charissa Echavez / 1495037760
ExtraTorrent permanently shut down its website on Wednesday.

ExtraTorrent has officially bid goodbye to its users, posting a brief farewell message on its homepage on Wednesday.

Users who attempt to access ExtraTorrent's homepage are now welcomed with a short message, saying that the popular torrent index will not be returning.

"ExtraTorrent has shut down permanently," the message said. "ExtraTorrent with all mirrors goes offline."

The also warned users about potential fake websites claiming to be ExtraTorrent.

"We permanently erase all data. Stay away from fake ExtraTorrent websites and clones."

ExtraTorrent further thanked its users and the online community for the support it received.

"Thx to all ET supporters and torrent community. ET was a place to be..."

ExtraTorrent operator SaM confirmed that the torrent site would forever be closing its doors.

"It's time we say goodbye," SaM told Torrent Freak, without giving specific details.

As for ExtraTorrent's release groups. SaM said that "Ettv and Ethd remain operational if they get enough donations to sustain the expenses and if they people handling it [are] ready to keep going." The ETRG, on the other hand, is also gone now.

It is, however, unclear if the decision was made because of legal pressure.

ExtraTorrent's permanent shut down means that following the demise of Kickass Torrents and Torrentz.eu, the BitTorrent community has against lost another major player.

ExtraTorrent was established in November 2006, a time when sites like TorrentSpy and Mininova were dominating. ExtraTorrent, however, worked hard and attracted an audience, even outgrowing its predecessors. The site ended up becoming the second largest torrent site, next to The Pirate Bay.

As the online community laments ExtraTorrent's surprising move, here are the top three torrent download alternative websites.

ThePirateBay - As mentioned earlier, The Pirate Bay is currently the most popular torrent download site and thus deserves to be at the top of the ExtraTorrent.cc list alternative.

YTS aka YIFY.ag - Although this is not the original YTS or YIFY website, this is a good clone and has gained an audience with its unique look.

RARBG - The site was quick to hit stardom as it provides torrent files and magnet links to facilitate p2p file sharing. This site is, however, blocked in several countries like the UK, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, and Portugal.