Trends come and go on the Internet, but some technologies claim a long-term place in the online world. In file sharing, one of those technologies is BitTorrent. Designed by programmer Bram Cohen in 2001, BitTorrent permanently changed the nature of online file sharing. While outdated networks like FastTrack and WinMX have faded away, BitTorrent has grown, cementing itself as the preferred file sharing system of millions.
Here’s how it works and how to get started:
What Torrents Are
Warning: The following information can be used for both good and evil. I’m going to assume that you will use this info based on files, videos, music that you have the correct access to. Not to be used for sharing copyrighted works.
The earliest file sharing network – Napster – operated on a centralized model. Person A downloads a song from Person B, but it’s all controlled and managed by a server at Napster headquarters. That server was the glue holding the whole network together. The next generation of software (programs like KaZaA and Morpheus) added a twist: not only did Person A download from Person B, they did so directly, with no assistance or monitoring from a central server that could be shut down by the courts. The users were the network.
BitTorrent operates basically the same way, but with another twist. Rather than downloading, say, an entire song from one person, you instead download pieces of that song from dozens of different people – all at the same time. This is called “swarming.” Once all the pieces are downloaded to your computer, they are assembled into the full song and you can play it just like normal.
Torrent Sites: Where Your Downloads Live
With older tools like Napster and KaZaA, you searched for whatever you wanted to download inside of those applications. Not with BitTorrent. Instead, you visit one of many “Torrent sites” (or trackers) and search for your software or song or video there. Think of these sites as file sharing search engines. You visit them and search for what you want to download: say, a recorded classroom lecture that a major university has decided to share with the Internet. When you find what you want, you click it and the download begins.
Key point, though: the search results you’ll get at these sites are NOT the downloads themselves. They’re .torrent files, which are basically data files containing information about the download: what it is, the file size, and, crucially, which BitTorrent users have pieces of that file for you to download. So the file would look like “HarvardLecture.torrent” rather than “HarvardLecture.avi” or the real file extension. Don’t be concerned about that, as these .torrent files are what tell your torrenting application (discussed below) where to download the real file from.
[See TorrentFreak.com’s list of the Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2011 for a list of torrent sites to start using.]
Burning Torrent Files to DVD
One of the more popular activities with torrent downloaders is to burn a video file torrent to a DVD. You don’t actually burn the .torrent file, instead you burn the movie that was included in the torrent file. For this you would need to use a Video to DVD converting software such as ConvertXtoDVD. This is a one step software where you load the downloaded movie and it will convert it into a DVD format and then burn to a blank DVD. You can then take the DVD to your DVD player (either on your PC, Mac, or standalone player) and watch it just like it was a store bought DVD. Of course the video you downloaded in the first place was not a bootlegged copy right? I’ll assume that it was a movie of the Holiday parade that someone recorded that you were not able to attend to. 
Popular Torrenting Applications
In order to download .torrent files from torrent sites, you need a torrenting application on your computer. These applications process .torrent files and start downloading each piece of whatever you searched for. Again: you don’t search for things to download inside of these applications. You search on a torrent site (discussed above), click on what you want to download, and your torrent application actually downloads it.
uTorrent is free, works with Windows or Mac and is one of the most popular torrenting applications out there. It’s not the only one – there are literally hundreds to choose from. If an app other than uTorrent was recommended to you by a friend or seems appealing, go ahead and use it. Just know that a torrenting app of some kind is necessary to download stuff with torrenting.
Seeds & Leechers
When searching for things to download on torrent sites, you will notice two key numbers next to each file: seeds and leechers. Here’s what these terms mean, in plain English. A “seed” is someone who has the file in question (or part of it) on their computer and is offering it to the network for downloading. A “leecher” is someone who is downloading the file in question (or part of it.) There are also “peers”, or people who are both downloading and uploading the file at the same time.
Generally speaking, you want to download .torrent files with more seeds than leechers. More seeds means that uTorrent (or whichever torrenting app you use) has more places to download your file from. More leechers mean that lots of people are trying to download the same thing you are, at the same time you are. In other words, your download could be much slower because of them.
Avoiding Viruses
Unfortunately, viruses, spyware and other assorted worms are lurking on torrent sites and can infect you if you aren’t careful. The good news is that you can avoid 99% of these risks with common sense and a few rules:
Look at the file size. If a .torrent file claims to be a large software application (for example) but has a ridiculously small file size like 5MB, don’t download it. A hacker has simply dressed up a virus as something desirable so gullible people will download it.
Look at the number of seeds and leechers. Chances are, a virus or spyware program wont have tons of seeds and leechers. The unlucky people who got infected most likely removed it from their computer – they aren’t still offering it for download on BitTorrent under a false file name.
Follow the tech news. Outrageously nasty viruses are often publicized and talked about on tech sites like Wired.com. Be mindful of these sites and make sure you aren’t downloading known viruses on torrent sites.
Legal Issues
It’s been said often, but bears repeating: you are not legally allowed to share copyrighted material over the Internet. Software programs, music albums, mainstream movies – all of these things are protected by copyright law. Just because you can technically get away with downloading them doesn’t mean you aren’t breaking the law.
Those who do get caught face stiff penalties. Suspension of Internet service, fines and even jail time are all on the table when it comes to copyright infringement, so be careful.
About Rob Boirun
