BitTorrent FAQ
This small FAQ explains some of the questions rised by
BitTorrent -- the P2P content distribution system.
Contents
What is BitTorrent?
BitTorrent is a content
distribution system that distributes the downloads among
peer downloaders. In essence when you're downloading with
BitTorrent, you are simultaneously uploading the same file
to other downloaders.
Where
can I get BitTorrent?
You can download the
official BitTorrent client at Dawnload.net. There's also
an
experimental client available, which offers some more
options, as well as an "integrated" BitTorrent downloader
called
BT++.
But for general use the original client is more than good.
More BitTorrent Clients here:
No-Ip Torrents-Software
How do I install the client?
Installing BitTorrent
couldn't be simpler. Just download the installer and run it.
There will be no icons to be seen in either Start manu or
desktop. BitTorrent associates itself with
.torrent
files and launches them automatically when you download or
open them.
Why does it take so
long to start a big download?
BitTorrent allocates
space for the file to be downloaded before actually starting
the download. That means that BT writes a "dummy" file that
has the exact size of the file being downloaded, just filled
with zeroes.
The file size looks
complete, but the download keeps running. Why?
See the
question above. The file isn't complete until the transfer
meter has reached 100%.
Can I
resume an interrupted download?
Yes. Just open the
.torrent again either by double clicking the file on
your harddisk, if you saved it there, or clicking the link
again on the web page. Then point the download to the same
exact directory you started downloading to -- BitTorrent
will automatically inspect the already downloaded file and
resume downloading.
How can
I be sure the downloaded file isn't broken?
BitTorrent
checks downloaded parts using cryptographic hashing (SHA1).
When the download is complete, it is also completely
verified and OK. If it isn't, then the original file was
already corrupt.
Why should I
leave BitTorrent running after the download?
It's
considered a good practice to leave BitTorrent running even
after your download is complete -- if everyone closes their
downloads there will be no "seeds", or complete downloaders
to download from. Please try and leave the client running
atleast until your "share ratio" is 1.0 or more, i.e. when
you have uploaded atleast as much data as you have
downloaded.
How can I stop
BitTorrent from uploading?
Some clients allow you to
adjust the rate at which data is being uploaded to other
clients. However there's little point in doing this, since
other BitTorrent clients determine the amount of data you
receive by the rate you upload at. If you don't upload at
all, your transfers will slow down to a crawl.
Is BitTorrent safe to use?
Absolutely. It only uploads
the file you are downloading. It has no access to your
private files, and it doesn't expose your computer or your
private data to the outside world.
Where can I find .torrent files?
Try
Google.
or
No-IP Torrents Does BitTorrent work
through firewall or NAT?
Yes, but it works faster if
other peers can connect to you. If you are able to, open
ports 6881-6890 in your firewall and/or define port
forwarding from ports 6881-6890 of your NAT box to the
corresponding ports on client computer running BitTorrent.
How do I make my own torrents?
Serving files over
BitTorrent is a bit more complicated, and won't be covered
here. In essence you need a
tracker to announce the
torrent, and a
web server to host the .torrent -file
itself.
