How to Use Torrents

Torrents are one of the most popular forms of file sharing on the internet, accounting for more than 50% of internet traffic. Although it has been widely developed, new users still have difficulties in using it. Fortunately, torrenting is so easy to use, you can upload files in just a few minutes. Read the following tutorial to learn more.

Table of Contents

Install the Torrent program

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Basic understanding of torrents. File torrents allow you to download any type of shared file. Torrent allows you to split a file into several small pieces. You will download these from the user who downloaded the file. When all the parts are downloaded, the file is reconstructed and you can view it on your computer. ^{[1] X Research Source}

When downloading torrent content you are “leecher”. When you share content, you are a “seeder”. This term will be used more in a later section.
Read copyright law. Many shared torrent content is illegal, don’t follow them. Only share and download content you have the right to share.

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Download the BitTorrent program. BitTorrent manages torrent downloads and uploads. You need to install this program to download torrent files. Make sure you download from a trusted source. There are many programs available. You can refer to some popular options such as BitTorrent, uTorrent and Vuze.

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Program setting. Be careful when installing torrent programs as some may contain adware or browser hackers, you need to manually uncheck these items during the installation process.

Download Torrent

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Find a tracker site. Torrent tracker is a list of torrent files. Tracker does not store content on a server, but simply a repository for torrent files. Tracker exists in two forms: public and private.

The public tracker is open to everyone and can be easily searched on Google. They do not require registration or sharing. This tracker often contains ads. Also due to the public nature, many torrents have been discovered by copyright holders, if you download files of this type, you may be stopped by the network provider.
Personal Tracker is only for invitees, cannot be found on Google. You are required to sign up for an account, and your share rates are regularly monitored to ensure the same number of uploads as downloads.

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Find the desired file. Use the search function on the torrent tracker to find the file you want to download. Tracker will display a list of results according to the keyword you enter. There will be multiple results displayed, especially for common files.

Use popular keywords to find the file you want. For example, if you want to find episode 5, season 4 of a show, enter the keyword “<show name> s04e05”.
Many public trackers list ads at the top of the search results page to look authentic.

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Specify the file you want to download. When you see multiple results, you need to determine which file to choose. There are several factors you should consider before choosing.

Quality – If you are going to download the video, the encoding process will output files with different quality. In general, large files will have higher quality than small files. Check the Comments section to verify the file quality. Many torrents allow user ratings, which will make your decision easier.
Number of seeders – The more seeders the file has, the faster it will load. Because it is possible to connect with more people when downloading each part of the file. If there are more leechers than seeders, the loading time will be longer. The tracker lists the number of seeders and leechers right next to the search results. Tracker allows to sort search results by number of seeders.

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Make sure you can see the content. Especially with movie files because they are often encoded with a format that Windows Media Player or QuickTime does not support. To make sure you can watch any downloaded footage, install a dedicated software like VLC Player or Media Player Classic.

Usually, torrent files are in ISO format. The ISO file needs to be burned or mounted to a virtual drive in order to view it.

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Use caution when selecting files. Torrents are a popular way to spread viruses and other malicious files. Files with multiple seeders are safer. Likewise, check the Comments section before choosing.

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Download torrents. Once the file has been selected, click on the link on the tracker to download the file to your computer. Torrent files are very small in size, taking only a few seconds to download. Remember that a torrent file does not contain any content, it is just a way of connecting with the file sharer.

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Open the torrent file. Most torrent files will configure Windows to automatically start the torrent program when opening a torrent file. If not, you can open the program and then open the file from there.

If you did not choose a download location when installing the program, you will be asked to select the location where you want to save the torrent file.
If there is not enough space for the file you want to load, you cannot start the process.

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Wait for the download to start. The torrent program starts connecting to the seeder. You will see the download speed increase gradually in the status bar, the progress bar gradually towards 100%. ^{[2] X Research Source}

You can download multiple torrents at once, although the maximum download speed will be divided equally among the files.

Seed Torrent

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Continue sharing after downloading is complete. Torrent depends on the file sharing community. Torrents don’t exist without seeders maintaining the file. Every torrent user should fulfill the obligation to share files after downloading.

Internet service plans have slower upload speeds than downloads. This means that to maintain a 1:1 ratio between leech and seed, you need to keep the torrent tracker open for longer than the download time. The best way to do this is to let the Torrent program run in the background.
Note: if you move or delete the file, you will lose the ability to seed.

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Set upload limit. Many torrent programs allow you to set upload limits. Go to Preferences -> Queueing.

Set the minimum rate. This is the minimum number of torrents that will seed after completing the file download. Try to set it to as low as 100%, i.e. if you download a 300MB file, you should also upload at 300MB.
If you want to stop seeding after reaching the desired rate, set the rate limit to 0.

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Seed tracker personal. Individual trackers often have strict seed requirements. They usually require a minimum seed of 100% of what you share, even higher. If you do not maintain this rate, your account will be banned and you will lose the ability to access the tracker. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Create Torrents

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Open the torrent program. Besides downloading torrents, the program can also create files. Torrents are a great way to share files with friends, family, a passionate community. Use caution when sharing copyrighted content as the creator of that torrent file is more likely to be prosecuted than the person who downloaded it.

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Create torrent files. The implementation process on each specific program will be slightly different. Normally, you choose File, choose “Create New Torrent” or similar. This activates the torrent creation tool.

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Add files. Torrents contain one or more files. Use the “Add File” and “Add Directory” buttons to access your computer and get the files you want to add to the torrent. You can share almost any file type with torrents.

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Add tracker. In the Torrent Properties section, you’ll see a “Trackers” field. Enter the address of the tracker you want to share the torrent with. Most torrent programs will automatically add popular trackers, but if you’re using a personal tracker, you’ll need to add it yourself.

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Start seeding. Click the Create button and the seeding process begins. Make sure to keep seeding until a significant number of seeders reach the file. If you stop seeding before everyone finishes downloading, the torrent file will be corrupted.

Advice

Update your anti-virus program regularly.
Always make sure to download files safely. Consider scanning the file before opening.
Consider installing a protection program like PeerBlock or Peer Guardian.

Warning

Some internet service providers interfere with torrenting and will throttle torrent traffic to a low level, or even stop and stop downloading.
If you use Torrent to infringe someone else’s copyright, you could be sued. You should not do it.
Lowering your upload level may get you banned from private Torrent sites.

Steps