KickassTorrents mirrors go down, but new KAT sites quickly spring up

The official KickassTorrents website (also known as Kickass Torrents, or just KAT) may be dead, but the war to keep its name alive rages on. The torrent site version of whack-a-mole is never-ending.

Earlier this month, the original KAT site went down after alleged founder Artem Vaulin was arrested. Soon after the most popular torrent site disappeared, genuine mirrors and fake sites quickly sprang up to take its place.

Update on December 16, 2016: KickassTorrents is back thanks to original KAT staff

One apparently legitimate mirror was kickasstorrents.website, which came online courtesy of an isohunt member’s handiwork. It no longer works.

Another alternative was kat.am, referred to by many as the “official” reincarnation of the original KickassTorrents site. It too has died.

But the owner of kat.am has already launched two replacements: kickass.cd and kickass.mx (Update: kickass.mx is dead). And, in contrast to other mirror sites, new torrents are being added frequently.

“We are not worried, because if it’s not us, someone else will keep the game running,” the owner told TorrentFreak. “If not the alleged owner, it can be us. If we are not there, still there will surely be someone else. This never ends.”

Another alternative is kickass.la (Update: This one is gone as well). This site doesn’t appear to have any new torrents being uploaded, meaning it is a very basic mirror of the original.

It’s important to remember that all of these torrent sites have nothing to do with the original. Logging in with your existing account won’t work, for example, because these are simply copycats piggybacking on the KAT brand.

For now, at least, it looks like KickassTorrents is gone for good. KAT may have outgrown The Pirate Bay, but that may have been its ultimate mistake. The Pirate Bay may not be as large as it once was, but it is definitely the most resilient torrent site. And with KAT all but out of the picture, The Pirate Bay will likely gain more users.