How to download files using BitTorrent

We all know that we love downloading files over the internet, right? May it be mp3s, videos, ebooks, audio books, "free softwares" or anything that can be downloaded. One major factor that contributed to this download mania is the fact the it is "free" and we always want to be updated on anything latest. So to all those download freaks like me, this tutorial is for you.

For this tutorial, we use one of the hottest file sharing systems that is available right now and that is BitTorrent.

Here's a little introduction about what BitTorrent is all about.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file distribution protocol. The protocol was originally designed and created by programmer Bram Cohen, and is now maintained by BitTorrent, Inc.

BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the whole of the corresponding costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth resources. Instead of the distributor alone servicing each recipient, under BitTorrent the recipients each also supply data to newer recipients, thus significantly reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source as well as providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence upon the original distributor.

On with the tutorial.

• Download a BitTorrent Client.

I don't have any preferred BitTorrent clients but I personally use BitComet. You can download BitComet here. Other famous BitTorrent clients are Azureus, µTorrent and BitTornado. It doesn't really matter what client you use as long as you're comfortable with it. So after download, install it.

• Search for torrents.

Now, what is a torrent?

A ".torrent" file is used by the BitTorrent client or other peer-to-peer programs that use the BitTorrent protocol.

There are lots of sites where you can download torrents and one of them is Torrentspy.com. Others are Demonoid.com, isoHunt.com, and another favorite of mine is Mininova.

For this tutorial we use Torrentspy. In Torrentspy, just type-in the name of the file you want to download on the search box. Actually, most, if not all, torrent sites probably would have the search box in them.

• Download and open torrent.

After searching you will be given results like this one below.

Now, there are things you need to consider before downloading any torrents. First is the "Health" status. Make sure that the health of the torrent file, indicated by the green bar, you're downloading is healthy. The longer the bar the better. Another consideration is the "S" status or the seeder's status. Again, the higher the number the better. This means that a lot of people are sharing this file.

After clicking one of the results, you will be directed to this page. To download the torrent file, click the "Download" button.

Once clicked, you will be prompted to open the file.

You may opt to click "OK" and open the torrent file using your default BitTorrent client or choose "Save to Disk" if you want to save the torrent file for later use. For this tutorial, we'll just click "OK". Once the torrent file has been opened, your file will start downloading.

The green arrow indicates you are downloading and the orange arrow indicates you are uploading or sharing.

So that's it. Just wait for the file to finish downloading.

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