how do torrents work?

Answer 1

How do they work?

A BitTorrent client is any program which implements the BitTorrent protocol. Each client is capable of preparing, requesting, and transmitting any type of computer file over a network, using the protocol. A peer is any computer running an instance of a client.

To share a file or group of files, a peer first creates a "torrent." This is a small file which contains metadata about the files to be shared, and about the tracker, the computer that coordinates the file distribution. Peers that want to download the file first obtain a torrent file for it, and connect to the specified tracker which tells them from which other peers to download the pieces of the file.

Though both ultimately transfer files over a network, a BitTorrent download differs from a classic full-file HTTP request in several fundamental ways:

* BitTorrent makes many small P2P requests over different TCP sockets, while web-browsers typically make a single HTTP GET request over a single TCP socket.
* BitTorrent downloads in a random or "rarest-first" approach that ensures high availability, while HTTP downloads in a contiguous manner.

Taken together, BitTorrent achieves much lower cost, much higher redundancy, and much greater resistance to abuse or "flash crowds" than a regular HTTP server. However, this protection comes at a cost: downloads take time to ramp up to full speed because these many peer connections take time to establish, and it takes time for a node to get sufficient data to become an effective uploader. As such, a typical BitTorrent download will gradually ramp up to very high speeds, and then slowly ramp back down toward the end of the download. This contrasts with an HTTP server that, while more vulnerable to overload and abuse, ramps up to full speed very quickly and maintains this speed throughout. Furthermore, BitTorrent's non-contiguous download methods prevent it from supporting "progressive downloads" or "streaming playback," as is possible with HTTP.

Answer 2

Well, first you need a torrent downloader, like BitTorrent/BitComet, Tomato Torrent or uTorrent. Download the torrent, and it should take about 1 hour to 10 days (depending on how big it is, and how many people are downloading it). When its done, extract it from its ZIP folder to your desktop with WinZIP, then start downloading it.

Answer 3

I use the Azureus client, after downloading and updating the client, just download trackers, which are very small files that take no more than a minute to download depending on your internet/computer. Trackers are what you download to find and download the files(s) that you want, I'll place links at the end to sites where you candownload them. Open the tracker, and it will open with Azureus, and it will start downloading. Also, if there a multiple trackers for the same file, you want the one with the most seeds, that is, people sharing it.

Link to Azureus:
azureus.sourceforge.net
Trackers:
www.torrentreactor.to
www.thepiratebay.org
www.mininova.org