Torrent…What Is It?

Torrent sites and servers have been growing tremendously in popularity, and in numbers, in the last five years. Previously, torrents were used only by those highly internet and computer savvy individuals. However, torrent sites, servers, and information of them has begun to emerge as increasingly more accessible to common net users.

Although some argue torrents to be slower than other forms of downloading software such as Limewire, Soulseek, or Emule, torrents offer a much greater and much wider range of material. Additionally, torrents allow one to download an entire album or series in one hit as opposed to downloading twenty separate files.

At this point it should be noted that most torrent sites forbid the downloading of licensed materials, and neither offer nor promote any material which is licensed. Although, such information and material is able to be found, neither this paper, nor torrent servers are to promote and provide for it. That being said, its time for the good stuff�

What are torrent servers and how can I download one?
There are many different torrent servers (or clients as they are more formerly called), some of which are free and others must be paid for. Each one is a little different and some times its simply best to try them for yourself to find which will work best for you. However, if you are uninterested in downloading more than one client, you can easily find user comparisons on the web by running a simple search. http://a.scarywater.net/torrent/clients/ is just one of the many sites which reviews various torrent clients.

Among some of the most reputable and used torrent clients are:
1.BitTorrent : www.bittorrent.com/download.html
2.Bit Lord : www.themxdomain.com/client-bitlord.php
3.Azureus : azureus.sourceforge.net/download.php
4.Utorrent : www.utorrent.com
5.Bit Tornado : www.bittornado.com
While there are many others, these are the most commonly used.

What is a .torrent file?
.torrent is a small file format which contains information necessary in order for your torrent server (or client) to download your requested file.

How exactly does a torrent client work?
Using a torrent client is actually very simple! Once you have downloaded and installed the client you can begin using it. By going to a site where torrent files are provided you merely search for what you are looking for and then click the download button. A file saving screen will appear in which you can decide to run from current location or save file to disk. Take your pick, if you run from the current location you can still have an effective download, so it’s really up to your preference. As soon as you’ve done that your files will be sent to your torrent client. It will be listed on the screen and you can watch its progress.

Your speed depends on just how many sources (places that provide this torrent file) you are downloading from. Generally there are a great many and you can connect to several at a time making the speed of your download greater. The more sources available the better, so it nice to leave your torrent open even after its finished so others can download from your file as well. For a complete and more technical breakdown of this process and each individual part you can turn to Monduna.com’s Bit torrent FAQ. It contains the basics, terminology, and other technical and legal issues. http://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#TERM_2

Where can I find torrent files for download?
.torrent files can be found at a number of different locations depending on what you are looking for. However, one of the most popular is a site called Mininova at www.mininova.org . A large variety of torrent files can be found there ranging from music to anime, movies, and ebooks.

In addition, many torrent clients have a built in search where you can find most anything you are looking for.

Common problems:
Most commonly people complain of torrent clients slow speed. In all actuality, torrent clients can be very quick, however often users have problems with their NAT or ports. For this and other problems you can refer to Brian’s BitTorrent’s FAQ page. http://www.dessent.net/btfaq/#ports . The page thoroughly explains the different problems that can be encountered and provides a decent explanation of how to remedy them.

For as complicated as this process may sound, it really is a breeze. Don’t be deceived by the technical jargon or the number of different providers. The sooner you jump in, the easier it is to understand and easily find all the downloads you could possibly want.