Most uploaded software is obtained from friendly crackers (people who remove copy protection) before being run through a virtual machine and then scanned for viruses. However, since reputations can be gone in a flash if an uploader lets something nefarious slip through the net, Thumper says that precautions are carried out in advance. There’s also a bit of a stigma attached to software uploads because unlike movies and TV shows, they have the potential to contain a virus or malware. Uploading and seeding so many torrents is a big undertaking, especially over a large number of years. In the interim, Thumper was also an uploader at the now-defunct original KickassTorrents, but still continues over at that platform’s namesake, KATCR. More than nine years ago she joined 1337x and for the last eight has been a trusted moderator there. The Pirate Bay is obviously a very high-profile site but Thumper is a bit of a celebrity elsewhere too.

If we take her Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2016 release as an example, that has received more than 801,000 downloads on 1337x alone. What cannot be denied, however, is the popularity of Thumper’s torrents. Thumper also claims to be from Switzerland but in this game, such ‘facts’ should be taken with a pinch of salt alongside a knowingly obvious nod to security. It’s an image used by many Internet users so probably isn’t an accurate depiction. Thumper identifies as female (impossible to confirm, but we’ll proceed on that basis) and sports the profile picture as seen top right. Thumper is responsible for almost 1,000 torrent uploads over the past nine years, leading to millions of downloads across the Internet. We recently spoke with Thumper, aka ThumperTM, one of the longest-standing uploaders on public torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and 1337x.

Today we can put a little meat on those bones. What most people never question is why these tools are available for free and indeed, who puts them online. Whether they’re looking for the latest operating systems, graphics tools, or DVD/Blu-ray burning software, most things are available for free download.

Every week, millions of pirates head off to popular torrent sites for their software fix.

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