Good ol "not all Trumpists, covid conspiracy theorists, and anarcho-capitalists are fascists, but all fascists are Trumpists, covid conspiracy theorists, and anarcho-capitalists."

There's controversy over whether VPN + TOR is a good combo. Some say it's an added layer of anonymity, others say it could be decreasing anonymity because your VPN could be logging your traffic. Some also say the two don't mesh well. But honestly the juries out so everyone should probably come to their own conclusion

Also, how do I safely download from these sites?

I thought there was a mirror on lemmy for r/piracy's spectacular megathread but I don't see it. Rough guides from a semi-noob:

Direct download:

1. TOR with Ublock Origin add-on

2. After downloading your file, upload it to virustotal.com and scan it. If it passes you're probably pretty safe.

Torrent:

1. Find and copy your file magnet in TOR.

2. Turn on VPN.

3. Open qbittorrent with your connection bound to your VPN's network.

4. Paste your magnet link when it prompts you and download.

5. Once it's done downloading, upload it to virustotal to scan it.