Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Installing BitTorrent
• Part 2 of 4: Downloading torrents
• Part 3 of 4: Serving the downloaded file
• Part 4 of 4: Run the downloaded files
• Tips
• Warnings

Torrent files are one of the most popular forms of file sharing on the Internet. Once you have mastered the torrenting technique, you will have access to almost any file. Using a torrent client is not illegal as long as you have the rights to download, view, and distribute the file. Before downloading the file, make sure that you are authorized to use it.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Installing BitTorrent

1. 1 You can download a torrent client for free from the BitTorrent website. The download link is in the center of the page.If you need an installer for a different operating system, click Other Platforms + Betas (under the Download BitTorrent button).
2. 2 You will be asked to choose between the free version of the client and BitTorrent Plus. Most users do not need the Plus version as you can open and download an unlimited number of torrents with the free version.
   • Download the BitTorrent client from the official site (that is, from the site of the developers of this program).
3. 3 If you want to use BitTorrent by default, make sure that this client is associated with .torrent (.tor) files and magnet links. To do this, during client installation, select the required file formats; otherwise, the web browser will only download small torrent files. If the BitTorrent program is associated with TOR files, then it will automatically detect that the browser is downloading the TOR file; the BitTorrent client will open the downloaded torrent file and automatically download the file you want (program, movie, game, etc.).
   • During the installation process, BitTorrent will try to download music files. Uncheck this option (if you don't need music).
4. 4 The first time you launch BitTorrent, your firewall will most likely warn you that a program is trying to access the internet. If you intend to download any torrents, allow BitTorrent to connect to the network in your firewall. If the firewall does not display any message, please configure it manually.
5. 5 Before you start working with a client, you need to configure it. To do this, launch BitTorrent and click "Settings" - "Program Settings".
   • On the "Folders" tab, specify the folders where the downloaded and downloaded files will be placed (you can specify one shared folder or two different folders).
   • On the "Speed" tab, you can limit the download and upload speed of files. If the value is "0", the speed is unlimited.
   • On the Sequence tab, you can set how many files can be downloaded and uploaded at the same time. Also here you can configure distribution parameters (minimum distribution time and others).

Part 2 of 4: Downloading torrents

1. 1 Find the right torrent tracker. These are the sites that host torrents. Some are more reliable than others. There are two main types of torrent trackers: public trackers and private trackers.
   • Public trackers are available to all users. These are the sites that appear in the search results for torrent trackers. Since they are public, they are monitored by the copyright holders, and downloading files from such trackers may be subject to penalties from your ISP.
   • To get on a private tracker, you need an invitation from another member of this tracker. Moreover, on such trackers, you should distribute as much as you download yourself. Private trackers are generally not tracked by copyright holders.
2. 2 Find the torrent you want. Most public trackers contain torrents of old and new shows, movies, music albums, and games.
   • Use popular abbreviations when searching for torrents. For example, if you want the second episode from the third season of a show, enter the show name> s03e02 in the search bar.
3. 3 Download the torrent to be distributed. The high speed of downloading a file (movie, album, game) depends on a large number of seeds (these are users who distribute the file you need), a small number of leechers (these are users who download the file you need) and a high-speed Internet connection (you and sidov).
   • You can sort your torrent search results by the number of seeds. Choose torrents with the largest number of seeds. This will not only increase the download speed of the file, but also ensure that there are no malicious codes in this file.
   • The number of leechers also affects the download speed of the file. Licers are users who download the same file as you. Leacher becomes a seeder after he downloads the entire file.If there are significantly more leechers than seeds, then the download speed of the file will be low.
4. 4 Choose a torrent with the best size / quality ratio (especially if you are downloading a video file). Often you can download, for example, the same movie in different sizes. This is due to the video and audio encoding method. Compressed video file format degrades the video quality, but also reduces the size of the video file. Also download files from highly rated users. To do this, on some trackers, click on the icon next to the name of the user who created the distribution.
   • On the other hand, a large video file will take a long time to download (depending on the speed of your internet connection).
   • Before downloading a torrent, read the comments of other users to determine the quality of the file you want. Some trackers have a rating system based on user voting.
5. 5 Download the magnet link (if available). A magnet link is a text string whereas a torrent is a small file. Magnetic links correspond to the downloadable file based on a unique identifier, so that the file can be downloaded without using trackers.
6. 6 Open a torrent in BitTorrent. If you have associated torrent files with the client, then when you open the torrent, the download will start automatically (as soon as the client connects to the first active seed).
   • It can take a while to connect to the seeds, especially if you have a slow internet connection.
   • You can follow the download progress in the main BitTorrent window. A progress bar will be displayed next to each downloaded file.
7. 7 Download a good media player. You can download any type of files through torrent trackers, and many media file formats are not supported by Windows Media Player or QuickTime. So download a media player that supports multiple formats and codecs.
   • VLC Player is a free media player that can play almost any multimedia file.
   • ISO files are disc images that are burned to DVDs or mounted on virtual drives.
   • You may need to convert the file you downloaded to a different format in order to view it in your media player.
8. 8 Beware of viruses. Since, by and large, torrent trackers are an illegal activity, they do not have proper control over the uploaded files. This means that such files may contain malicious codes.
   • Scan every downloaded file with antivirus and anti-spyware.
   • Try uploading files posted by highly rated users (that is, those who are trusted by other users).
   • Always read comments and ratings to determine if this file contains viruses or not.

Part 3 of 4: Serving the downloaded file

1. 1 Once the download is complete, you can distribute the downloaded file. This means that parts of the downloaded file will be sent to torrent clients of other users connected to the tracker.
   • The file distribution is supported by the torrent community. Without seeders, no one will be able to download files.
2. 2 Torrent trackers require you to distribute downloaded files. Your activity is assessed by the "uploaded: downloaded" ratio. Your best bet is to distribute as much (at least) as you download (especially on private trackers).
3. 3 Leave your torrent client running in the background. In most cases, the upload speed is slower than the download speed, so it will take longer to upload the same amount as downloaded. So let your torrent client run in the background while you do other things.
   • Running the torrent client in the background will not affect web browsing or text editing. But if you are running a powerful program (for example, a game) or want to watch a streaming video, then it is better to quit the torrent client.
4. 4 Set a limit for the ratio of downloaded / uploaded information. To do this, go to the program settings and on the "Sequence" tab in the "Minimum ratio" line enter 200 (at least). This means that when downloading a file of 300 MB, at least 600 MB will be given.

Part 4 of 4: Run the downloaded files

1. 1 Archives and containers. If the file was downloaded as an archive (with the extension .zip, .rar, .001, .002 and so on), and the movie is in the form of a so-called "container" (with the extension .mkz, .qt and so on), you will need the program -zip or codec to open such a file. Select WinRAR as the archiver, and install the K-Lite package (www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm) to solve problems with codecs.
2. 2 Create a new folder on a drive other than the system one and copy the downloaded file into it. In this way, you minimize the possible damage from malicious software that may be contained in the downloaded file. Run the program required to open the downloaded file. Check the extracted files carefully (for example, if you downloaded movies and music, the files should not have the .exe extension).
3. 3 Scan the folder with your antivirus (don't skip this step!).
4. 4 Now you can run (for example, the program installer) or play (music or video) the downloaded file.

Tips

• A virus won't just infect another drive; to do this, you need to copy the virus to another drive. Therefore, it is recommended to create a 10GB or slightly larger partition to check downloaded files on it. If the file contains a virus, you can simply format that partition without damaging other partitions on your hard drive. Then on this section you can check other downloaded files, and then move them to other partitions of your hard drive.
• Install a security program to keep what you download private. Recommended software: PeerBlock or Peer Guardian. They are similar to a firewall with advanced security features for using P2P programs.
• A file that does not have a single seed, but has many leechers, can also be downloaded.
• An alternative to BitTorrent is uTorrent, but you need to download it from the official website of its developers.

Warnings

• You can be penalized by sharing copyrighted content via torrent trackers. Remember that you cannot simply download a file via Bittorrent - while downloading a file, it is distributed.
• You can download / share torrents anonymously via VPN. Before connecting to a VPN, make sure your network is torrent-enabled. The Incognitoline service provides detailed information in this area.