Torrent Files: How to Access & Download Them?įor starters, you would need a Torrent client like qBittorrent or μTorrent to download them. So, only if you’re user that a lot of users are going to download it, creating a torrent file isn’t required. If the network of users using the Torrent is very small, the potential download speed will be very slow. The Problem With TorrentsĮven though there are more benefits to peer-to-peer sharing using Torrents, there are some issues as well. Fret not, you can simply ask around on social media platforms or active forums if you are not sure about it, but ultimately, it is your responsibility.
However, it is important to verify what you’re downloading and whether the website you are accessing hosts legal files or pirated/copyright materials. Merely downloading a torrent file is not illegal. So, in that case, malware, adware, spyware, and similar threats might be a problem associated with them. On the other hand, you might observe a lot of copyrighted materials (pirated games, movies, software, etc.) to be commonly distributed on some Torrent websites. Similarly, you will find plenty of legal use-cases of Torrents.
You will find a lot of websites offering a torrent file to download the ISO file of an operating system ( Linux distributions). If you’re downloading something legit that has been authorized for distribution, you are good to go. In this way, you save money and your server bandwidth. So, if you do not want to spend on a server to let users access a file, it’s better to create a Torrent and distribute it. And, just because it is a peer-to-peer file-sharing technique, the more users connect to the torrent, the more powerful the network becomes (thereby increasing the download speed). Once you create a torrent, you can share with any number of users you want. However, for torrents to work, you don’t need any of that. Torrents are popular because it is an efficient decentralized method to share files on the Internet without needing to have a powerful server in order to distribute the files.įor instance, you want to share a file (potentially a large file) that you want hundreds and thousands of users to access/download – in that case, you will need to have a powerful (expensive) server with enough bandwidth that allows you host the file and let users download it as quickly as possible.
It is a common misconception that we’re generally talking about pirated games, movies, or software when discussing torrents, that is totally wrong. You can just download a file anyway – why do you need a torrent file specifically? Is it just because you want to download copyright materials online? You can also check out a relevant video to know more about it: Now that you know what torrents are – it is important to know why torrent files are used and how they work. Normally, you would be using a BitTorrent client like qBittorrent or μTorrent or FreeDownloadManager to download torrent files.
If you want to get something, you also have to contribute something. The main point of P2P systems is to distribute the potentially enormous load of uploads/downloads onto a very large number of computers and Internet connections. So, when you download a torrent file, you’re involved in a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing operation using the BitTorrent protocol. The files are usually scattered around a decentralized network of users from which it is then downloaded. In case you didn’t know, the BitTorrent protocol is a communication technique for peer-to-peer file sharing over the Internet. The files that are shared using the BitTorrent protocol is simply referred to as Torrents. In this article, we will be giving you some clarity on Torrent files and explain how they work. Some might think of it as the only means to download copyrighted content and some probably do not know about it. You have probably heard or referred to some files on the Internet as “ Torrent” files or simply Torrents.