Kickass Torrents proxy sites spawn after arrest of Artem Vaulin

When Kickass Torrents was shut down on July 23, numerous mirror sites of the iconic torrent website were released. However, many of them were revealed to be unofficial clone sites, and users who follow the links are advised to take caution.

Kickass Torrents founder Artem Vaulin, 30, has been arrested by US investigators after his purchase on iTunes was traced. The Department of Homeland Security spearheaded the operation. A petition for the release of Vaulin was then posted at Change.org. Netizens who created the petition claimed that the KAT founder has created a stepping stone for people to further exercise their right to online freedom.

A seizure notice has been posted on Kickass. After his arrest, former users of KAT created supposed "backups" of the Torrent site. Emails and links to these unofficial mirrors began circulating the Internet.

According to The Next Web, there is a mirror that features every file uploaded from around 2013 to 2015, albeit the lack of forums, community and support. Speculations claimed that the team behind Isohunt was responsible for building the site. When Pirate Bay, a Torrent website with online notoriety, was closed down, Isohunt created a highly similar copy until the site was rebuilt.

TorrentFreak, however, released a statement that the user who allegedly operates the website has admitted that it was not an official proxy. The site was revealed to be Kickass.la and is one of the many accurate clones of the original KAT.

“It’s not perfect but if users need to save and archive something it’s time. We don’t know how long it can last, but at least it’s something,” the creator of the Kickass.la told TorrentFreak.

Prior to its closure, Kickass Torrents was one of the Most Visited Websites. It has beaten major websites such as Craigslist and BBC in the ranking.