Download With Bittorrent?

What is Bittorrent?

BitTorrent is two things, depending on how many pencils you have in your pocket protector. In technical terms, BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform designed to deliver large files over the over the web. The BitTorrent file distribution protocol was created by programmer Bram Cohen to distribute large amounts of data by relying on an ad-hoc network of individual users (peers) instead of expensive servers and bandwidth resources. In a nutshell, BitTorrent speeds up the download time by getting smaller chunks of large files from many different sources. A more popular file can be downloaded faster, because many people will be downloading it at the same time, while also uploading the data to other users.

BitTorrent is also a software program that provides Internet users with downloadable digital content such as films, music, games, podcasts and software. To use BitTorrent , one needs to install a BitTorrent client, a free software program that implements the BitTorrent protocol. The client has the capacity to prepare, request and transmit any type of computer file over a network.

Downloading BitTorrent

Based on your operating system and computer horsepower, many BitTorrent clients are available for download.

• The original and official BitTorrent client, written by Bram Cohen himself, lacks a fancy graphical interface, but it downloads quickly, is popular with technies, and is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and other Unix-like systems.
• Azureus is a very popular BitTorrent client, and because it's written in the Java language, will run on Windows, Mac or Linux systems.
• Lately, uTorrent has been growing in popularity because of the wide range of features offered, small size and efficient memory usage. uTorrent allows multiple simultaneous downloads, can resume interrupted transfers, and is available in many languages. uTorrent (pronounced like "micro torrent") is available only for Windows 95, 98/ME, NT/2000, XP and above.

But beware... some BT clients like BitLord and eDonkey have been known to contain adware. Always download from a reputable source, and use both anti-virus and anti-spyware protection. (Read more about virus and spyware protection.)

How Does BitTorrent Work?

While sharing the large files over the internet, the usual problems faced are bandwidth constraints, upload limits and other problems peculiar to the internet. To tackle this problem, BitTorrent breaks a large file into number of pieces, or torrents. To recognize each piece, the software tags it with a checksum (sort of a digital fingerprint) and records it in the torrent file. When the file is being downloaded, the checksums in the original files are compared with the checksums in the received file to make sure that the file is complete and error-free.

A typical BitTorrent file will contain an 'Announce' section, which specifies the file names and length of each individual piece. The person wishing to make a file available can place a link to the file on a website. Users who want to download a specific file can browse or search the web, then click the download link, which opens the BitTorrent client to begin the download. While downloading a file, the BitTorrent program connects not only to the link, but also to other peers who have the same file. This way, sharing of network resource is maximized and the download becomes faster and more reliable.

One criticism of BitTorrent is that the benefits of the P2P sharing can break down as more and more people have the beginning of a file, and no one has the end. Download speeds can slow to a crawl in such a situation. And for files that are not often downloaded, it can actually take much longer than a direct download because BitTorrent is optimized for downloading in a many-to-one environment.

There are also reports from Internet service providers that BitTorrent and other P2P traffic is consuming 60 percent or more of all Internet bandwidth. Granted BitTorrent is just a protocol, and as such is neither good nor evil. But it stands to reason that most BitTorrent traffic is illegal downloading of copyrighted materials. Couple that with the high costs of bandwidth, and you can understand why some ISPs are banning or throttling P2P usage.

Some popular BitTorrent search engines can be found at BitTorrent.com, Torrent Spy, and MiniNova.

How is BitTorrent Different?

You may think that BitTorrent sounds quite similar to Limewire and other P2P filesharing tools. From the perspective of the average user, they do pretty much the same thing. But behind the scenes, one significant technical difference is that BitTorrent requests and receives files from multiple sources, while other P2P technologies download the file from a single source. Also, BitTorrent is designed to move the more popular files through the network faster, because BitTorrent is simultaneously downloading chunks of the file to your computer while uploading it other users.

BitTorrent also seems to be the tool of choice for downloading movies and television shows, while Limewire offers more content in the music arena.

Legal Issues

This morning I downloaded a full-length movie, "The Man Who Knew Too Much", directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Since this was the 1934 version, which is now in the public domain, there are no legal or copyright issues. But make no mistake, the availability of copyrighted and pirated materials is rampant on BitTorrent . There are differing opinions on whether or not it's ethically wrong to download the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" and watch it on your home computer. There's less wiggle room when it comes to downloading a pirated copy of a movie that's playing in the theatre down the road.

And the entertainment industry's lawyers are becoming more and more aggressive when it comes to protecting their interests. The companies that use BitTorrent file sharing are now in the crosshairs of the Motion Picture Association, the Recording Industry Association, government agencies and media production companies. In the recent past, websites such as supernova.org and Lokitorrent.com that used BitTorrent technology were shut down because of government orders or litigation. Even individuals are being targetted, in a sometimes chilling manner. One person told me this:

The latest controversy involving BitTorrent is the allegation by Microsoft that unauthorized copies of its latest operating system, Vista were available on a BitTorrent web site, much before the official release of the product. Although Vista was officially launched on January 29, cracked copies of Vista were available on BitTorrent much earlier. Cracked copies of Microsoft Office 2007 were also available on the BitTorrent web site.

In its defense, BitTorrent argues that it only facilitates the sharing of the file by placing a link. It does not actually store or share the files and hence, it cannot be held responsible for any illegal activities. But the companies which are affected by BitTorrent programs, beg to differ. Certainly they stand to lose a great deal of revenue if people can easily download illegal copies of their products. This is sure to be a hotbed of legal wrangling for some time to come. In the meantime, be careful what you download!

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