Bit Torrents
If you’ve ever tried to move a huge file through email you know what a huge pain it can be. Most email programs might let you exchange a photo or two by email but anything bigger gets rejected. So how do you move those huge files like movies, videos or presentations? Bit Torrents that’s how.
Bit Torrent is not a program it’s a method of transferring huge files using a peer-to-peer file sharing system. Much of the Bit Torrent traffic is the illegal sharing of copyright protected materials but there is lots of legal and interesting public domain stuff out there too from episodes of your favourite TV Shows to educational how to videos.
Bit Torrents are different from Napster, Limewire and Kazaa file sharing software you may have seen before. Bit Torrents download bits of the program you want from a multitude of hosts not one. It breaks down the file into a multitude of packets and grabs packets of data from whoever has them. Even as you download a file parts of your new file are being shared with others looking for that packet. This is what accounts for Bit Torrents speed and ability to move large files.
To get started you will need a bit torrent client. This is a software program you download from the internet for free. If you work on a PC try uTorrent, Azureus or KTorrent. If you have a Mac use Transmission.
So when you go looking for bit torrent files to download you really are not getting a complete file but a smaller file that contains the information that tells your bit torrent client where to find many peers who have parts of the file you need. Still with me?
Once you have successfully downloaded a bit torrent client then you can begin to search for the torrent files you want to download. Many libraries of files exist and an incomplete list might include Bitnova, Torrentscan, Mininova, and Torrentportal. Type in the name of the file you are looking for and up will pop a bunch of files that fit your request.
The key thing to look for is the number of seeders vs downloader’s. Seeders are those folks who already have the file you want and downloaders are folks who, like you, are looking for the file and have begun to download it. The more seeders the better obviously. But remember downloader’s have bits of the file too and you can get packets from them too. Once you have located a nice fat torrent with lots of seeders and downloaders find the download link and click it. Your browser may ask you what to do with the file and direct it to your bit torrent client. Your client should open and ask you where to save the file. Select a location (desktop is fine). You should notice the file begin to download. They start off slowly as they look for people with the file you want. If you are not happy with the speed try another torrent link.
Once the file downloads try to open it. You may need to download a different player that handles torrent files better than what you have. I like VLC and have had no trouble getting it to work.
Have fun and keep it legal.
Chris Brown
Bit Torrent is not a program it’s a method of transferring huge files using a peer-to-peer file sharing system. Much of the Bit Torrent traffic is the illegal sharing of copyright protected materials but there is lots of legal and interesting public domain stuff out there too from episodes of your favourite TV Shows to educational how to videos.
Bit Torrents are different from Napster, Limewire and Kazaa file sharing software you may have seen before. Bit Torrents download bits of the program you want from a multitude of hosts not one. It breaks down the file into a multitude of packets and grabs packets of data from whoever has them. Even as you download a file parts of your new file are being shared with others looking for that packet. This is what accounts for Bit Torrents speed and ability to move large files.
To get started you will need a bit torrent client. This is a software program you download from the internet for free. If you work on a PC try uTorrent, Azureus or KTorrent. If you have a Mac use Transmission.
So when you go looking for bit torrent files to download you really are not getting a complete file but a smaller file that contains the information that tells your bit torrent client where to find many peers who have parts of the file you need. Still with me?
Once you have successfully downloaded a bit torrent client then you can begin to search for the torrent files you want to download. Many libraries of files exist and an incomplete list might include Bitnova, Torrentscan, Mininova, and Torrentportal. Type in the name of the file you are looking for and up will pop a bunch of files that fit your request.
The key thing to look for is the number of seeders vs downloader’s. Seeders are those folks who already have the file you want and downloaders are folks who, like you, are looking for the file and have begun to download it. The more seeders the better obviously. But remember downloader’s have bits of the file too and you can get packets from them too. Once you have located a nice fat torrent with lots of seeders and downloaders find the download link and click it. Your browser may ask you what to do with the file and direct it to your bit torrent client. Your client should open and ask you where to save the file. Select a location (desktop is fine). You should notice the file begin to download. They start off slowly as they look for people with the file you want. If you are not happy with the speed try another torrent link.
Once the file downloads try to open it. You may need to download a different player that handles torrent files better than what you have. I like VLC and have had no trouble getting it to work.
Have fun and keep it legal.
Chris Brown
Comments