Introduction

A torrent file is a special type of file that uses the Bittorrent protocol to share files over the internet.

How files are generally shared

Most of the files on the internet are served using a client-server architecture. A client makes a request for the required file and the server locates that file and sends it to the client.

Think of a simple server. Whenever two people wish to share files, the sender will upload the file to the server and the receiver shall download it from the server. You can imagine a simplified Google Drive app for the same.

Where the problem arises

Consider, you have a group of friends and all of them want to play a certain game. One of the members of your group has the game. He/she uploads the game to the server, and the remaining members can download the game from the same server. This type of system would work for small-sized games. However, no matter how fast your download speed is, the files would download only as fast as the server can send them to you.

This wastes a lot of time when a large number of users are trying to access the same resource. Sometimes the server can be down for maintenance or due to some technical issues. This indicates that the entire control is in the hands of the server (or the person managing the server) and you could do very little to make sure the required files would be always available.

Decentralized File Sharing

So how do we solve the problems arising from the above scenario? Here, decentralization comes into the picture. In a decentralized system, every member holds a copy of the file. Whenever any new user wants to download the game, he can directly download it from one of the computers that already have the game.

• The first problem was that the download speed would only be as fast as the server speed. This issue would be solved in a decentralized system, as multiple parts of the game can be downloaded from independent computers, thereby utilizing the full download potential of your network.

• The second problem was dependence on a central server. In a decentralized system, if one of the computers is down, the files can still be accessed from all the other computers that have the files. The downloading would not be affected. Here, the control is distributed between the users, instead of a central authority.

And this is exactly what torrent file-sharing aims to achieve. It decentralizes the entire process of file sharing.

Okay, but how does torrent work

Suppose you want to download a file. You download a torrent file for it. This torrent file does not contain the actual file to be downloaded. It only contains information about the structure of the files and a list of trackers. These trackers help connect the senders and the receivers on the network. The trackers help find users who are willing to share the files with you.

When you open a torrent file using a suitable torrent client, it will fetch information of all the users (also called peers) willing to share the files. Now, you will start downloading the files from all the users who already have the files and are willing to send them to you.

Once the file is downloaded, you can be one of the users who can share the files and help others download them.

What you will be needing

• A Bittorrent client
• A torrent file (or a magnet link)
• Some empty space on your disk

How to start downloading

• You will need to download a Bittorrent client. There are many clients out there uTorrent, Bittorrent, etc. Choose whichever you find suitable.

• Search a torrent file for the resource you want to download. These files are hosted on various torrent hosting websites. However, many websites that serve pirated content are blocked in India. You can still use them using a proxy website or a VPN.

• Open the file in your bittorrent client (downloaded in Step 1) and start downloading.

Is downloading from torrent legal and safe?

Downloading files using a torrent is completely legal. However, distributing pirated content is not. Refrain yourself from downloading or uploading any material to which you do not have sufficient rights.

Drawbacks of Torrents

• Lack of security as the files exist on multiple computers

• Download speed is controlled by the number of users on the network

• Torrent sites are usually full of ads and it can be difficult to find the things you actually need

• Can be difficult at the start as a lot of actions are involved