This is for people who are new to the P2P community or have finally realized that Limewire just doesn’t cut it. A five step guide to get BitTorrent up and running.
STEP 1: Download a BitTorrent software
Download and install a client. I would recommend Azureus (you’ll need to have Java installed on your system for this, chances are that you already have), thats what I use or you could try other popular clients such as BitComet, BitLord or µTorrent. For a more exhaustive list check out Wikipedia.
STEP 2: Find a Torrent
This is the hard part. You need to find a file called a Torrent of whatever you want to download.
For example, say you’re looking for the latest release of Debian Linux then visit some popular torrent sites such as Isohunt and type in the text box whatever you want to search for, in our case its Debian Linux. If you’re lucky (the file is popular) then the torrent is available and will be listed in the search results. Simply click on the link of the torrent you want and download it.
This is what your search on Isohunt will look like.
Other popular torrent sites are:
Torrentspy
Demonoid (Invitation required)
The Pirate Bay
Torrentbox
Mininova
Meganova
STEP 3: Open the Torrent using the BitTorrent software
Run the software that you should have installed by now. You need to open the torrent file now usually by going to File -> Open and then browsing to the place where you downloaded the torrent file on your computer.
Screenshot of opening a torrent file in Azureus.
Start Azureus, go to File -> Open -> Torrent File. Then click on the Add Files button and browse to the place you downloaded the torrent file, select the file and click Open.
STEP 4: Select the files you want to download
Usually torrents particularly music will come as albums and not as individual songs so before downloading most clients provide an option to select only a few files from the list. This is usually straightforward with a check box beside each file that you can select or deselect as you wish. Or you could simply download all the files like I do. You can also select where you want the file to be downloaded on your computer.
Screenshot of selecting files.
You can select the files you want to download by checking/unchecking the check box by the side of the file name. Here there’s only one file in the torrent. You can also choose where you want to download the file, its going into my G:\Downloads\ folder here.
STEP 5: The Wait
Wait until the download is complete. Usually the software has a progress bar to indicate how much of the download is over. After its done you’re all set just go to the folder where you downloaded the file and enjoy!
Thats it! Just wait for it finish.
Know the lingo:
Seeders: People who have the complete file and are uploading it for other people to download.
Leechers: People who are currently downloading the file from someone.
Just remember, select a torrent with more number of seeders and leechers. The number of seeders and leechers will be listed in the search result when you’re searching for a torrent.
Please download responsibly. Do not encourage piracy, use only legal torrents. How can you tell? If you can’t get whatever you want for free at the store then the torrent is probably illegal. Enjoy.
