How To Use BitTorrent to Download Something

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BitTorrent is a file-sharing protocol that lets you download content directly from other groups of people. Unlike HTTP, the download speeds vary, because you aren't receiving data from a dedicated server, instead you're downloading from other users' computers.

The next obvious question would be, “how do I connect to other BitTorrent users to download files?”

Here’s a simple 3-step guide:

  1. Get a BitTorrent client

    First you need a BitTorrent client, a program that will enable you to connect to other users (or peers) and thereby download the files you want to. Our favorites are: Windows – uTorrent, Mac – Transmission, Linux – Deluge. Click through one of the links and download and install the client.

  2. Find a torrent

    Now that you have a BitTorrent client installed, you’ll want to find torrents (or magnet links) you like and download them. For that you have to visit a Torrent search engine Google also lists torrent files.

  3. Start the download

    Once downloaded, double-click the file (or magnet link) and it will open and start downloading in your BitTorrent client. Some clients will ask you to specify a location to save the file.

That’s all. You’re using BitTorrent! Not too complicated, is it?

Many people ask how BitTorrent works. Put simply, the torrent file connects you to a network of people who share the same file. You share pieces of the file with those people, and they share pieces with you.

When a download is completed to can open the file. If you keep the torrent running, your torrent client will continue to share pieces with others. This is called seeding.

Here are a couple of tutorials that may help you further.

  • How to create a torrent
  • How to optimize your BitTorrent Client settings
  • How to improve your BitTorrent download speed
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