'ello everybody! I haven't been able to find the last "how to" thread on BitTorrenting (made by The Midnighter, if I'm not mistaken), so I thought I'd help all of you who get your music from youtube out a bit.
So first off, what exactly is "torrenting?"
Well, first off, a 'torrent' is a small file with the suffix .torrent, which contains all the information needed to download a file the torrent was made for. This file has the names, sizes, and locations of all the files you're wanting to download on it (or something like this).
'Torrenting' is the use of a BitTorrent client (such as µTorrent) to use these .torrent files to get the data you want. It's a P2P (peer-to-peer) filesharing method, meaning you get files that other people are willing to share with you.
A few terms to know:
A seeder is someone who has already downloaded the entire file and is still allowing people to grab parts of the file from them. aka you should be one of these
Leechers are those who are downloading the file from seeders and other respective leechers (if they have the files they need). Being a "leecher" isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if all you do is leech, you're part of the problem.
So, that's really all I know about the basics; here's all of the juicy stuff you've been reading for.
Step 1: You'll need to download a client. I'm only providing the link for µTorrent because it's' the best out there. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit biased, so I'll put up some other links as well:
Step 2: Hopefully you've got your client downloaded by now. So, what's step 2? Well, of course, it's setting up that client! You will want to be able to torrent as fast as possible, and here are a few ways to do just that.
Step 2a - Port forwarding!
This is the most universal way to get faster torrents. I'm just going to send you straight to a link that will be able to help you out a whole hell of a lot more than I can.
Port Forwarding Guides Listed by Manufacturer and Model - PortForward.com
Now, just look for your specific router (the model number should be on the actual router somewhere). You'll have to do most of this on your own, because it's going to be unique for you. If you need help, I'm always happy to lend a hand, so just ask!
Step 2b - Speeding up your torrents
Again, I'm just going to redirect you guys to a guide that gives you all of the advice I would. It's got pictures, so it's already better than anything I would make.
10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads
Step 3: Staying Safe
Torrenting is not without its dangers. You can easily pick up a virus if you download the wrong torrent, and seriously mess up your computer. So, here's a few tips and tricks to help you stay on the safe side:
Honestly guys, I think that's all I have. Please post thoughts, comments, critiques, suggestions, or if you need some help. I know I didn't include everything, so any suggestions would be more than welcome.
So first off, what exactly is "torrenting?"
Well, first off, a 'torrent' is a small file with the suffix .torrent, which contains all the information needed to download a file the torrent was made for. This file has the names, sizes, and locations of all the files you're wanting to download on it (or something like this).
'Torrenting' is the use of a BitTorrent client (such as µTorrent) to use these .torrent files to get the data you want. It's a P2P (peer-to-peer) filesharing method, meaning you get files that other people are willing to share with you.
A few terms to know:
A seeder is someone who has already downloaded the entire file and is still allowing people to grab parts of the file from them. aka you should be one of these
Leechers are those who are downloading the file from seeders and other respective leechers (if they have the files they need). Being a "leecher" isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if all you do is leech, you're part of the problem.
So, that's really all I know about the basics; here's all of the juicy stuff you've been reading for.
Step 1: You'll need to download a client. I'm only providing the link for µTorrent because it's' the best out there. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit biased, so I'll put up some other links as well:
Step 2: Hopefully you've got your client downloaded by now. So, what's step 2? Well, of course, it's setting up that client! You will want to be able to torrent as fast as possible, and here are a few ways to do just that.
Step 2a - Port forwarding!
This is the most universal way to get faster torrents. I'm just going to send you straight to a link that will be able to help you out a whole hell of a lot more than I can.
Port Forwarding Guides Listed by Manufacturer and Model - PortForward.com
Now, just look for your specific router (the model number should be on the actual router somewhere). You'll have to do most of this on your own, because it's going to be unique for you. If you need help, I'm always happy to lend a hand, so just ask!
Step 2b - Speeding up your torrents
Again, I'm just going to redirect you guys to a guide that gives you all of the advice I would. It's got pictures, so it's already better than anything I would make.
10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads
Step 3: Staying Safe
Torrenting is not without its dangers. You can easily pick up a virus if you download the wrong torrent, and seriously mess up your computer. So, here's a few tips and tricks to help you stay on the safe side:
- Download torrents with a high "number of seeders: number of leechers" ratio - this will not only speed up your torrenting, but if there are significantly more leechers than seeders, there's a good chance it's a virus.
- Look at the comments - oftentimes, somebody will have downloaded this .torrent before you, and if there's a virus, it's likely that they have said something about it.
- Check the file size - If you know a movie is generally 600MB-1GB or an episode of an hour long show is around 300MB, anything too low or too high is a potential virus. Not always, but it is always good to keep an eye out. (A special thanks to Ethnic Woman for this one~)
- Don't download dirty stuff - yeah you know what I'm talking about.
- Install peerblock - This will keep unwanted people from monitoring your activities. YOU SHOULD RUN THIS ANY TIME YOU'RE TORRENTING, trust me, it's the safest way to keep the feds off of your back. The direct download link is right here.
- Be smart - if you're torrenting ~100GB a week pretty consistently, you're ISP is going to notice your high bandwidth usage. Limit yourself, and don't binge. Downloading too much is the easiest way to get caught.
Honestly guys, I think that's all I have. Please post thoughts, comments, critiques, suggestions, or if you need some help. I know I didn't include everything, so any suggestions would be more than welcome.
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