A Basic Guide to Torrents [Noob/Retard friendly]

[m164life]

WARNING: I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY OF THE SHIT YOU GET INTO (if you get into any) BY USING THIS GUIDE. USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. DON'T BITCH IF YOUR COMP FUCKS UP CAUSE YOU DOWNLOADED A VIRUS EITHER.

Is this illegal? Yes.
What are the chances that someone is going to come after you for this? I don't know, but you're not the only one doing this, there are MILLIONS of people downloading torrents daily.

Now onto the guide.

Part 1- Basic Information

What is a torrent?
A torrent is basically a file that allows you to download a certain file, folder, or whatever it is that you're downloading, bit by bit from different people.
For example:
If Player A has Run.bat and Player B has client.class (assuming that it's all you need to play the server), and both of us are 'seeding' the file(s), you can use a torrent to find those little pieces that we're seeding, put them together, and spit it out into your computer as a single file/folder that you wanted to download.
Seems cool, right?

Now, what is this 'seeding'?
Seeding is what keeps torrents available tot he general public. It's pretty much uploading the bits and pieces that you downloaded, so that other people can download it too.
For example: Player A and Player B let Player C download our Run.Bat and Client.Class, but for whatever reason can't keep uploading it anymore (bandwidth restraints, etc.). Now, Player B also wants to download it, but Kurdz and I aren't seeding anymore. Don't forget: Player A downloaded the server, and if he chooses, he can keep seeding the file (by simply not removing the downloaded file or closing the torrent-downloading client). If Player A continues to seed, Player B will be able to download the file. Now that both of them are seeding, more people can download the file at faster speeds.

Why is seeding important and 'honorable'?
If you simply download files and don't seed them, you are considered a leecher. A leecher is someone, in any community, who only does the thing he or she wants, not thinking about other people (for example: copying someone's homework daily without contributing to that person in any way). If you seed the file you downloaded, you keep spreading the file, allowing more people to download it.

How do I download torrents?
To download torrents, two things are needed:
1) A Peer-to-Peer client.
2) A torrent search engine.

What are the most popular P2P clients, and where can I get one?
The most popular P2P's today are uTorrent, BitTorrent, BitComet, MLDonkey, LimeWire, and several others.
Personally, I prefer uTorrent due to its simplicity and the fact that it never asks you to buy a 'premium' version and never opens any popup windows. uTorrent is also, from my experience, the least RAM-Consuming P2P client.
Download links for some of the above mentioned clients will be posted at the bottom of the post.

Where can I find torrents?
Torrents are all over the internet. The easiest way for beginners to find what they're looking for is Google.
Simply type in the name of the file you're looking for, followed by the word 'torrent.'
[img]https://i275.photobucke*****m/albums/jj282/zeverybest/torrent.png[/img]


The sites I use mostly for looking for torrents are isoHunt and The Pirate Bay.


Part 2-Downloading the actual torrents.
Now that you have the program needed and the torrent at your disposal, it's sometimes difficult to figure out how to actually download the torrent.
[img]https://i275.photobucke*****m/albums/jj282/zeverybest/sdfsdgsdgsdgsdgsdgsgd.png[/img]


Safety.
Millions of files are downloaded daily via torrents, and we're not the only ones that know about it. There are many people out there who will like to upload a very demanded file, with an unpleasant little surprise attached. Staying virus-free is hard, and it takes a good eye and gut to predict whicht files might have viruses and which wont.


Some very simple and common ways of figuring out that a file is bad:

1) Read the comments! Look at the ratings! If you take the time to do this, I guarantee you that the chances that you're downloading a virus will be very low, unless the file you're downloading was uploaded by someone with a lot of coding experience, and the ability to completely disguise their malicious software as necessary files.

2) Look at the file sizes:
[img]https://i275.photobucke*****m/albums/jj282/zeverybest/avatar.png[/img]

As you can see, the first file is 2.12GB, a likely size for a 2 and a half hour long movie in good quality, and has many positive ratings and comments. The file directly below it is 729MB, way too small for a movie, and has several bad ratings and comments. Don't be the idiot to download the 2nd file and you'll be safe.

3) Don't download porn.
Just don't do it, that's where 95% of the viruses are.


Last notes:
Guys, enjoy these things but don't overuse them. After all, it IS considered stealing (you're not paying the respective owner for the products they produce). Also, if you download something, keep seeding it for at least a day or two. People give up their time and some of their internet speed (yes it slows down your internet a bit) in order for you to download whatever it is you need, so be nice.


Download Links:

P2P Clients (clickable):

uTorrent
BitTorrent
LimeWire


Enjoy!

Credits:
------100% m164life for writing------
---100% Credit goes to the respective owners of the above mentioned programs for creating and publishing them---