What is Torrent?

[Laufen zum Ziel]

Have downloaded and am now GWX 2.1. WHAT IS TORRENT? and how do I use it?

[ichso]

You need a Bittorrent client to use it. Like Azureus.

[The Bad Wolf]

Azureus client is really for people with experience, and can be tricky to set up. Utorrent is very popular and much easier for beginners.

[The Bad Wolf]

The file is split up into small parts.
A torrent file holds the information of the above.
You load the torrent file into a client, Azureus or Utorrent etc
The client connects to a tracker which then connects you to other pc's
Other pc's will have parts of the program known as peers or all the program known as seeds.
The final download is automatically checked for errors.
Don't forget to upload as much or preferrable more than you download, to keep the torrent alive.

[McHibbins]

I vote for UTorrent

[Venatore]

Originally Posted by Laufen zum Ziel

Have downloaded and am now GWX 2.1. WHAT IS TORRENT? and how do I use it?

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol.

BitTorrent

Is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting, and bandwidth resources. Instead, when data is distributed using the BitTorrent protocol, each recipient supplies pieces of the data to newer recipients, reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source, providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence on the original distributor.

The protocol is the brainchild of programmer Bram Cohen, who designed it in April 2001 and released a first implementation on 2 July 2001. It is now maintained by Cohen's company BitTorrent, Inc.

Usage of the protocol accounts for significant traffic on the Internet, but the precise amount has proven difficult to measure.

There are numerous compatible BitTorrent clients, written in a variety of programming languages, and running on a variety of computing platforms.

Downloading torrents and sharing files

Users browse the web to find a torrent of interest, download it, and open it with a BitTorrent client.

The client connects to the tracker(s) specified in the torrent file, from which it receives a list of peers currently transferring pieces of the file(s) specified in the torrent. The client connects to those peers to obtain the various pieces.

Such a group of peers connected to each other to share a torrent is called a swarm. If the swarm contains only the initial seeder, the client connects directly to it and begins to request pieces. As peers enter the swarm, they begin to trade pieces with one another, instead of downloading directly from the seeder.

Clients incorporate mechanisms to optimize their download and upload rates; for example they download pieces in a random order to increase the opportunity to exchange data, which is only possible if two peers have different pieces of the file.
The effectiveness of this data exchange depends largely on the policies that clients use to determine to whom to send data.

Clients may prefer to send data to peers that send data back to them (a tit for tat scheme), which encourages fair trading. But strict policies often result in suboptimal situations; e.g., when newly joined peers are unable to receive any data because they don't have any pieces yet to trade themselves or when two peers with a good connection between them do not exchange data simply because neither of them wants to take the initiative.

To counter these effects, the official BitTorrent client program uses a mechanism called “optimistic unchoking,” where the client reserves a portion of its available bandwidth for sending pieces to random peers (not necessarily known-good partners, so called preferred peers), in hopes of discovering even better partners and to ensure that newcomers get a chance to join the swarm.

Games

Blizzard's World of Warcraft video game utilizes the BitTorrent protocol to send game updates to clients.

Legal issues

There has been much controversy over the use of BitTorrent trackers. BitTorrent metafiles themselves do not store copyrighted data, hence BitTorrent itself is not illegal - it is the use of it to copy copyrighted material that contravenes the law.

Various jurisdictions have pursued legal action against websites that host BitTorrent trackers. High-profile examples include the closing of Suprnova.org, LokiTorrent, Demonoid, OiNK.cd and EliteTorrents.org.

The Pirate Bay torrent website, formed by a Swedish anti-copyright group, is notorious for the "legal" section of its website in which letters and replies on the subject of alleged copyright infringements are publicly displayed. On May 31, 2006, The Pirate Bay's servers in Sweden were raided by Swedish police on allegations by the MPAA of copyright infringement; however, the tracker was up and running again three days later.

HBO, in an effort to combat the distribution of its programming on BitTorrent networks, has sent cease and desist letters to the Internet Service Providers of BitTorrent users. Many users have reported receiving letters from their ISPs that threatened to cut off their internet service if the alleged infringement continues.

HBO, unlike the RIAA, has not been reported to have filed suit against anyone for sharing files as of April 2007. In 2005 HBO began "poisoning" torrents of its show Rome, by providing bad chunks of data to clients.

On November 23, 2005, the movie industry and BitTorrent Inc. CEO Bram Cohen, signed a deal they hoped would reduce the number of unlicensed copies available through bittorrent.com's search engine, run by BitTorrent, Inc. It meant BitTorrent.com had to remove any links to unlicensed copies of films made by seven of Hollywood's major movie studios.

There are two major differences between BitTorrent and many other peer-to-peer file-trading systems, which advocates suggest make it less useful to those sharing copyrighted material without authorization.

First, BitTorrent itself does not offer a search facility to find files by name. A user must find the initial torrent file by other means, such as a web search. Second, BitTorrent makes no attempt to conceal the host ultimately responsible for facilitating the sharing: a person who wishes to make a file available must run a tracker on a specific host or hosts and distribute the tracker address(es) in the Torrent file.

Because it is possible to operate a tracker on a server that is located in a jurisdiction where the copyright holder cannot take legal action, the protocol does offer some vulnerability that other protocols lack.

It is far easier to request that the server's ISP shut down the site than it is to find and identify every user sharing a file on a peer-to-peer network. However, with the use of a distributed hash table (DHT), trackers are no longer required, though often used for client software that does not support DHT to connect to the stream.

Limitations and security vulnerabilities

BitTorrent does not offer its users anonymity. It is possible to obtain the IP addresses of all current, and possibly previous, participants in a swarm from the tracker. This may expose users with insecure systems to attacks.

Another drawback is that BitTorrent file sharers, compared to users of client/server technology, often have little incentive to become seeders after they finish downloading.

The result of this is that torrent swarms gradually die out, meaning a lower possibility of obtaining older torrents. Some BitTorrent websites have attempted to address this by recording each user's download and upload ratio for all or just the user to see, as well as the provision of access to newer torrent files to people with better ratios. Also, users who have low upload ratios may see slower download speeds until they upload more.

This prevents (statistical) leeching, since after a while they become unable to download much faster than 1-10 kB/s on a high-speed connection. Some trackers exempt dial-up users from this policy, because they cannot upload faster than 1-3 kB/s.

There are "cheating" clients like BitThief which claim to be able to download without uploading, and because of this can sometimes download faster than regular clients. Such exploitation negatively affects the cooperative nature of the BitTorrent protocol.

BitTorrent is best suited to continuously connected broadband environments, since dial-up users find it less efficient due to frequent disconnects and slow download rates.

Well thats about it

[Laufen zum Ziel]

Thanks to everyone for the info. What a great forum for answers...
http://silent-hunter-addict.com