I can’t give a ton of advice but I have done well in avoiding things like viruses through a combination of making sure that I always try and get torrents from more well-known and trusted sources and also by running Linux. I’m sure I have been previously saved simply due to running Linux.

It’s been a while since I have used Windows as a main OS so forgive me if it doesn’t work like this but I do remember Windows Defender having the ability to quarantine folders. Is it possible to quarantine your torrent downloads folder and scan it before you run anything that’s been downloaded? Even if that works it’s obviously not foolproof and will only prevent you from being infected by things that are caught in the scan, but it’s at least better than nothing.

But it’s not complely free shipping. It’s $140/year free shipping.

That’s the thing. The more expensive Prime gets the more people who do pay for it feel locked in.

People end up feeling like they need to do more and more shopping on Amazon in order to justify that steep yearly subscription cost. Dumping Amazon completely is more effort than simply shifting more of your shopping over to Amazon. This causes people to get more and more locked in and comfortable with using Amazon for the vast majority of their online shopping.

The other side of that coin is once you do drop Amazon Prime you realize that Amazon isn’t irreplaceable. It’s fairly easy to avoid them if you are willing to compromise a little.

You got hit with a bunch of down votes but it’s not incredibly hard to avoid Amazon, it’s just a little less convenient. Of course, it’s going to depend and vary based on where you are located.