How to Download Shared Music Files
File sharing is one of the most common and popular forms of downloading files from the Internet. File sharing companies such as UTorrent, Limewire and Ares host millions of songs in digital format ready to download to your computer. As long as you have an Internet connection and enough free disk space on your PC you can download shared music files to your heart’s content.
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Instructions
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Choose a safe and reputable file sharing host from which to download your music files. These programs specialize in listing all of the available music files for download and then giving you the tools necessary to download them. Some of the most popular sites include UTorrent, eMule, Limewire and Ares.
See the Resources section for direct download links to each program.
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Open your file sharing program once you have finished downloading it. You should always configure the program’s Options/Preferences before you begin downloading. For example, you may want to change the location of where the music files are stored or you might want to increase how many files you can download at once.
If you are unsure of how to change the options, consult the program’s Help manual.
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Search for the music file you want to download. This is done in two ways.
The first option is to use the program’s internal “Search” function to find the files for you. The program does this by consulting all of the users online and listing the files that match your search criteria. Simply select the file and click “Download” to begin downloading.
The second option is to find a torrent link from the Internet. You can use a torrent search engine (e.g., www.torrentz.com) to find hundreds of links that will download your music file. Once you have found the right file link you must download the torrent file and open it with your file sharing program. The download will begin automatically.
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Download your file. Whether you are downloading through a link or through the program you should always download the file that has the most “seeders”. A seeder is a user that has the file you are looking for and is making the file available to download. The more seeders there are, the faster your download is.
Wait until the download has finished and find the music file in the output folder on your computer.
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Beware when downloading anything from the Internet; malicious software is often hidden in files that otherwise seem safe. To make sure that your download is safe and secure you should check for any obvious irregularities. Firstly, check the spelling of the artist and track; some fake files operate from abroad and the translation spelling may be incorrect. Secondly, check the file size; a 3:30 minute music file is usually 4 MB in size so if the file is significantly more or less, be careful.
If you are ever in doubt, don’t download the file: there are usually several download links to the same track and you can check for a safer option elsewhere.
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Tips & Warnings
Don’t worry is the file you are looking for has no seeders available. Seeders can only host a file when they are connected to the program and so the amount of seeders will vary depending on time of day. If you can’t find a file with any seeders just try again later that evening.
File sharing is often disputed as being illegal and damaging to the media community. Ultimately, as long as you have a genuine purchased copy of the song (e.g., you have bought the song from iTunes) then you can legally download that song under the premise that it is a digital backup to the original purchase. If you have not bought an original copy then you are likely in breach of media copyright laws.
References
Resources
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