How to Use Bit Torrents
Bit Torrents have received a bad rap as a means for digital piracy. The peer-to-peer protocol is not solely for illegally trading copyrighted files, but is in fact a great way to distribute larger files amongst a large group of people without worrying about server bandwidth restrictions. Many Linux distributions are available for download via BitTorrents. The system works by downloading fragmented pieces of a file, from many different users all at once. The .TORRENT file is like a map, telling your BitTorrent client where are the pieces reside. As you grab pieces, the client assembles them like a puzzle - ultimately creating the Linux ISO or freely distributed movie you were looking to obtain. With each piece you download, you then "seed" that piece to other users downloading the same file.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Download and install a BitTorrent client. There are numerous clients, most of them are free. Some of the more popular offerings are uTorrent, Vuze, and Transmission.
-
2
Download a .TORRENT file. There are numerous sites offering legal torrent files for download. Such sites include LegalTorrents.com, Mininova.org, and YouTorrent.com. Some applications also offer their programs (and Linux distributions) for download via the BitTorrent protocol. Save the file to your "Documents" folder.
-
-
3
Double-click the downloaded .TORRENT file. This will open the file within the BitTorrent client, downloaded in Step 1. The BitTorrent client will display a dialog, asking where you'd like to save the file. Select a location, and adjust the other settings (application dependent) as you see fit.
-
4
Allow the BitTorrent client to download the file. Depending on the file size, the amount of peers seeding the file and your Internet connection, the download time may vary greatly. Most clients offer an estimated download time for each transfer.
-
5
Quit the BitTorrent application once the download finishes or allow the application to "seed" the torrent. BitTorrent works by uploading and downloading from other users. The pieces you download are "seeds" from other users who have already completed the download. Once you have completed the download, you can then "seed" the file to other users.
-
1
