I think I fit under the category of "IT savvy" it's my major, and I spent too much time in high school learning things about networking, and for the most part "beating the system". So here goes;

1. Look at your download mediums settings! uTorrent and BitTorrent both have this setting(or something similar) "Enable outgoing encryption" you should enable that... Switching up which port you use for torrenting also can't hurt. Anything you can do to put distance between yourself and your downloading activities, or to mask them is a good idea.

2. Knowledge is power. Although it can be dry, brushing up on some networking basics, and googling around for information on relevant topics can make you a better prepared redditor. If you understand what it is that you are doing, then you can apply advanced techniques to how you download.

3. Stay away from incredibly populated(top 100 etc.) torrents. What? Why? These are the torrents that firms are actively playing search and destroy with. You may have to wait longer to get what you want, but you will be a smaller target. Less populated torrents are smaller fish to fry, and subsequently, are less monitored.

4. Avoid downloading early. Same deal as above, you download early, your also painting a big 'ol target on your back.

5. SPACE OUT ALL THE THINGS! (like someone said before, spacing out ones downloads is a good idea. High volumes of illegal downloads within a few days or weeks is generally what gets people caught. I know some people from back in high school that got ISP warnings. Every one of them downloaded thousands of songs, or dozens of movies at a time. Those are big red flags. )

6. Proxy/Tor/VPN's Using these before/during your misadventures allow for increased levels of encryption/security, and in simple terms, make it harder for your ISP to tell what it is that you are doing on the internet at 3AM. IMO, Tor(www.torproject.org) is the best, but proxies and VPN's can be effective, wikipedia those if you'd like, although there are some free ones, good VPN's usually have a subscription fee. Plenty of free proxies abound, but like anything else, you tend to get what you pay for.

Hope this helps some people. Happy downloading >:)

Edit: Numbering was/is messed up.