im not exactly the best pirate ever but let me help you. First of all please check the catalog before makin' new threads, we already have one thread about the basic stuff >>4861, one about VPNs >>1779
and one about anti virus >>1817.
>What are the best ways/places to torrent? Where do I go for vidya? Where do I go for anime/television and the like? How do I go about usin' them?
since im a pleb i can only recommend a bunch of public trackers: TPB, KAT, RARGB and Demonoid but the big dogs hang out in private trackers, unfortunately i dont know jack about private trackers, i only know that some of them may focus on just one type of content (some are weeb stuff only, others vidya, others only movies and etc). the public ones i listed can cover most of yer needs.
>Are there special compilers or platforms for anythin' special I need to run me vidya? Do I need to do anythin' special with them so they'll run on me machine?
i cant understand this question well but im goin' to say yes and no, it depends on what ye want to play, different games have different hardware and system requirements and different groups kraken their games in different ways, for example some cracked games require steam to be installed or logged in/runnin' in order to be played, some require ye to mess with the system location/timezone (mostly weeb stuff such as AA2 does this) but most of the time all ye need to do be follow the instructions and everythin' will be alright.
>What kind of anti-virus should I be using? Should I invest in a subscription? I have AVG Free, but I'm not sure if that'll cut it.
while i dont use it, i recommend malware bytes antimalware + avast, from what i read around it seems to be the killer combo, the only reason i dont do this be because i use a different antivirus that works well despite bein' unpopular and i follow the "if its not broken dont fix it" way of life.
>I don't need any proxies, do I? I don't have much experience with usin' those either.
Depends on where ye live mate, if ye live in a country with hardline anti piracy laws ye MUST have a VPN or else yer ISP will nag ye alot, cut off yer service or even fine you, if ye are a third worlder like me ye probably dont need it(unless ye in one of the TPP countries such as chile or malaysia).
>What are some things that I need to remember for keep an eye out for?
use yer common sense and yer intuition, be always aware of file size in order to not download fake shit, always check comments (despite them bein' filled with people sayin' it does not work or has viruses sometimes they can be useful, when a page be literally nothin' but complaints the comments are usually right), always scan downloaded files before unpacking, scan them after unpackin' and do a quick scan after installin' new games and before turnin' off yer computer, dont download new shit too early, be patient and give it a month or two.
Like i said before, im not a very experienced or smart pirate but this be all the advice i can offer you, have a nice day and good luck plunderin' booty!