The "Bit Torrent" protocol, developed by Bram Cohen (right), is an enormously popular way of sharing files across the internet. This page used to state, erroneously, that such downloads were completely anonymous. In fact, what you download can be monitored by your ISP and anyone else who has access to the proper technology, equipment, etc. If you have any sort of high speed internet connection these downloads are, very often, remarkably fast (compared to things like Kazaa, WinMX, Morpheus, etc.). Because the transfers are generally at very high speeds (and because file traders are, to a large extent, untraceable) the bit torrent method of file transfer has become enormously popular over the last few years.

UPDATE (12/25/2009): Watch a short video on how bit torrent works...

How Do I Get Started?

When a friend of mine first tried to describe how bit torrents worked it made no sense, whatsoever. If, when I first spoke to my friend, I would have asked, "What do I actually do to get started?" I wish he would have said the following:

• Get a bit torrent client program: First, you'll need to download and install a small, free program on your computer called a bit torrent client. The bit torrent protocol was developed by Bram Cohen and a current release of his simple bit torrent client will work just fine. My favorite client program (on Windows and Linux) used to be Azureus. At one time Azureus was a simple, elegant bit torrent client but, apparently, the developers could not resist the temptation to make a lot of money and it eventually morphed into something called "Vuze" - slow, bloated, full of advertising, etc. I would say this: forget about Azureus/Vuze unless you get your hands on an old copy and simply decline the updates.

  Some Recommended Bit Torrent Client Programs & Downloads:

  • Utorrent (Windows)
  • Original Bit Torrent Client (Windows)
  • Transmission (Mac and Linux)
  • Azureus - original Azureus (Windows, requires java and DO NOT DO ANY UPDATES! - see above paragraph)
  
  Note: There are other bit torrent clients as well - the ones I've listed, above, are simply personal favorites and quite popular. I've recently added the copy of Azureus, above, from my own server. My advice - one more time - is that you do zero updates to this program as it will become "Vuze"...which is something of a monster (resource hungry, cookie infested, etc.).

• Visit a bit torrent tracker web site: Next, visit a "tracker site" and use their search engine to find a program, game, movie, etc. that you'd like to download. As an example, here are links to a few torrent trackers and to a site which provides an index of numerous trackers and thier files (called ):

  IsoHunt.com
  ThePirateBay.org

  This one is very cool in that it searches ALL of the major torrent sites for torrents:
  ScrapeTorrent.com
  

• Download the torrent file to your computer (to your Desktop, or wherever you'd like)...

  NOTE: The torrent file is simply a tiny data file that will connect you to users sharing the file you're actually trying to obtain. In other words, you don't download the actual game, movie, application, etc. from the tracker site - only the small data file.

• Assuming that you've installed a bit torrent client program you can now double-click on the torrent file you've downloaded and it will automatically open your client program, find users sharing that file, and your download will begin. Bit torrent downloads often start slowly or don't begin downloading, at all, for a period of time. Normally, however, the download rate will increase dramatically in a relatively short period of time.

• Obviously, the data that you're downloading is coming from people who have a larger percentage of the file than yourself (or, perhaps, the entire file). Reciprocally, while you're connected to the bit torrent network individuals with less of the file than yourself are downloading the file from you.