The Guide on How to Use Torrent Clients Properly and Avoid Various Issues

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In general, BitTorrent (or simply “torrent”) is an Internet protocol that allows you to download large files quickly. Unlike downloading from a regular site, when using BitTorrent, the file is “taken” in pieces from a large number of users.

This allows you to download large files like music albums, movies, and TV shows much faster than it would have been through other protocols.

The Simple Instruction – How to Make Your Torrent Client Work Properly

To understand how uTorrent works, it’s worth considering what happens when we get utorrent download free file from the site in the traditional way. And about the following happens:

1.     The user opens the web page and clicks on the link to start downloading his file to the computer;

2.     The browser (client) informs the server (computer on which the required file is located) that it is necessary to transfer a copy of the file to the computer;

3.     Transmission is started via one of the protocols (list of rules), for example, FTP (File Transfer Protocol, file transfer protocol) or HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol).

The speed of information transfer is influenced by a combination of factors, including the type of protocol and the load on the server. If the file is “heavy” and at the same time popular, the load on the server is high, and the download speed is correspondingly low.

How does BitTorrent work – The Full Mechanism

When we download files via torrents, everything is completely different. The file is not downloaded from any single server, but, as already mentioned, it is taken in parts from a multitude of users (thus, we are not dependent on the load on a single server and its availability). However, it doesn’t do without a server: through the server, called a tracker, the individual elements of a file are tracked on the Internet.

A torrent client is also required – a special program for downloading and assembling file elements together. BitTorrent’s work is based on the principle “you are for me, I am for you”: it is customary not only to download, but also to distribute, and the download speed often depends on the speed of distribution (it all depends on how important the owners of a torrent tracker are in this). Here’s how it works:

  • The user opens a special .torrent file in the torrent client — a tiny file that corresponds to a “large” file distributed over the Internet (where we will find the .torrent file below);
  • The torrent client reads the .torrent file and communicates with the tracker specified in it to find the computers where the client program is currently also running, and there is the entire file we need (the so-called seeds) or its parts (peers – peers, most likely, they, like us, are now busy downloading);
  • The tracker identifies a “swarm” of computers that have fragments or a whole file and are in the process of downloading or distributing, and includes you into it;
  • The tracker helps the client program to exchange file elements with computers in a “swarm,” as a result, your computer receives pieces of the file from different sources, and the client assembles them.
  •  If you leave the torrent client running after downloading is allowed, you will find yourself in the series of seeders, and you can raise your rating on the tracker to continue downloading faster. If the rating is too low, various download restrictions may apply, for example, no more than one file at the same time, or the download may be temporarily prohibited for those who try only to receive, without giving away – for so-called leechers.

It is noteworthy that the more popular a file is, the more seats it has and the faster the download is (remember, with traditional server boot, the situation is exactly the opposite).

How to Adjust All Settings According to Your Provider

To download using BitTorrent, you first need to install a special program – a torrent client. You may also need to adjust the firewall settings if you are using it so that it is allowed to accept torrent files. But first things first:

1.     Download the torrent client, launch the installation by double-clicking on the icon (the installation process is intuitive, you can leave the default settings, and after it is completed, a message about the successful installation);

2.     Find on the Internet a .torrent file corresponding to, say, a movie you want to download, and open it in uTorrent;

3.     Wait until uTorrent downloads the movie, simultaneously distributing it in fragments;

4.     If you wish, we leave uTorrent running, that is, we remain on hand.

Legal aspects

Contrary to popular belief, the use of BitTorrent in itself is completely legal. Confrontation with the law begins if you download and especially distribute copyrighted content. It should be noted that downloads via BitTorrent are not anonymous: tracking the IP address of your computer and what exactly you are downloading is not difficult.