what is a torrent?

Answer 1

a file sharing thing .... u download a torrentfile of somthing u want from a torrentsite ... then u open it in a client like utorrent ... then u download the actual file from other peers ..

Answer 2

A torrent is a small file that serves as a tracker for a torrented file. When downloaded, it is opened by a bittorrent client, which uses the tracker to find other users with and looking for the file.

There are three basic types of users: seeds, users, and leeches. Seeds have the complete file and are uploading it to other users. Users are downloading it but sharing their upload with others. Leeches are downloading without uploading; this doesn't work well for reasons I'll explain below.

Now, the basic premise of Bittorrent is you give, you get. When you first join in, your the new kid in school and everybody gives you a bit for free. Then your expected to contribute as much as you can to others. If you don't share your knowledge (data) with others that need it, they won't share theirs with you. Basically, torrents are quick because they just about require everyone to share. When everyone shares, all the stress isn't on when server, it's shared among the downloaders. Everyone wins.

So, why is Bittorrent so popular? Well, pretty much the reason I mentioned above; speed. Downloading the latest movie (illegal) or Linux CD (much less common but legal) would take a very long time on a stressed, easily taken down server. Bittorrent is much more reliable and quick, so both the tracker hosts and downloaders win.

Answer 3

A torrent file is simply a listing of websites that have that torrent/Fileset in their database. When you load up a torrent, it connects to the database to see who is hosting/downloading the file. A seed is someone who has 100% and is sharing it. A leecher is someone who only has a certain percentage of the file and is downloading it at the same time as you. There is almost always a higher number of leechers compared to seeders.

Even though you might have 20% of a file, you will still share that 20% with everyone else. It's not unusual to send your smaller portion to someone else, per se.. you're sharing your 5% with someone who is at 98% because the download isnt *IN ORDER*. You could have the missing 2% they need.

Also, if you notice everyone is has a high percentage of the file, but they're all the same.. like everyone has 97.2% then there most likely arent any SEEDERS to finish everyone else's download.

Look around the reviews and listings to see if the torrent requires registering at a private *TRACKER* (the database that coordinates users/files) to download, or if the files themselves require a password to unzip/unrar, etc.

Answer 4

torrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file distribution protocol, and a free software implementation of that protocol. The protocol was originally designed and created by programmer Bram Cohen, and is now maintained by BitTorrent, Inc. BitTorrent is designed to distribute large amounts of data widely without incurring the corresponding consumption in costly server and bandwidth resources

Answer 5

downpour