bittorrent

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol original designed by Bram Cohen in April 2001. Those who share files using BitTorrent can choose one of many clients and seed the file which is distributed in small parts. Any user with a BitTorrent client can locate a torrent file and choose to download the file. As they finish downloading parts they in turn share those parts with others in a distributed fashion.

BitTorrent receives a great deal of negative press as it is commonly associated with the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted material. This has resulted in Internet Service Providers using traffic shaping to slow down BitTorrent traffic.

While there is a great deal of illicit BitTorrent use, BitTorrent is also a preferred method for legitimately distributing large files. Development communities like Fedora, studios like Paramount and Fox as well as publishers like Electronic Arts use the BitTorrent protocol.  The distributed nature of the protocol eases network load of the main seeder and opens the door to more robust file sharing/distribution.

by Michael Prince Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “bittorrent”

• Most Pirated Films

  
  Your Online Security Authority Blog — Authority: 486
  If you were to look at the list of “Top Box Office Hits of 2008″ and “Top Pirated Movies of 2008,” you’ll find you’re looking at two very different lists. It could be that so many surly pirates illegally downloaded the films that they didn’t need to spend money to view. Or it could be that there are ...
  15 hours ago

• Zamunda Site/Tracker Offline & Inaccessible – Another Update

  
  FILEnetworks Blog — Authority: 430
  As you might already know, popular private torrent tracker Zamunda has been inaccessible for some users for several weeks now. As we highlighted in a previous post the site is not actually down; both the web interface and BitTorrent tracker of Zamunda is actually up and running – it’s just that you can’t access ...
  1 day ago

• BitTorrent’s Future: DHT, PEX, and Magnet Links Explained [BitTorrent]

  
  Lifehacker — Authority: 815
  Last week The Pirate Bay confirmed it would shut down its tracker permanently, instead encouraging the use of DHT, PEX, and magnet links. This move confounded many BitTorrent enthusiasts, who were confronted with confusing new terminology and technology. Time for some explaining. The Pirate Bays recent confirmation ...
  1 day ago

• BitTorrent s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained – TorrentFreak

  
  OnlyDedicatedServers.com — Authority: 145
  BitTorrent s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained – TorrentFreak This week The Pirate Bay confirmed it would shut down its tracker for good, instead encouraging the use of DHT, PEX and magnet links. This move confounded many BitTorrent enthusiasts, who although wishing to adapt, were confronted with hard ...
  1 day ago

• Top 10 Most Downloaded Movies via BitTorrent

  
  P2P News! — Authority: 137
  2012 - the most pirated film on BitTorrent TorrentFreak has published the data they collected with the top 10 most downloaded movies on BitTorrent for the week ended November 22th. All the films included in this chart are DVDrips (unless mentioned otherwise). We just love movies in which mankind is ineluctably ...
  2 days ago

• An Interview with TorrentLeech - A Living BT Legend

  
  FileShareFreak — Authority: 120
  Demonoid aside, few will contest that TorrentLeech.org is the most successful & popular English private tracker of all time. Coveted by millions and enjoyed by 180,000 - TL’s enormous fame is widespread - here’s a tracker that lives up to the hype. FileShareFreak caught up with w00t, the owner/SysOp of ...
  2 days ago

• Novell Strips BitTorrent DHT Technology from openSUSE

  
  ShareConnector — Authority: 160
  Sponsored by Novell, openSUSE is a free and Open Source operating system, based on Linux. Following in the footsteps of Ubuntu, OpenSUSE recently decided to include Transmission as the default BitTorrent client. However, the addition of Transmission to openSUSE was not straightforward. Originally posted here: ...
  3 days ago

• Torrent Sites Welcome Googles Chrome OS

  
  P2P News! — Authority: 137
  You can download the compiled source code and disk images that can be run in a virtual machine from a number of p2p file-sharing sites Google has recently released its Chrome OS to open source and now you can find it available for free download on multiple p2p file-sharing sites like Mininova or ...
  3 days ago

• Top Ten Most Downloaded P2P File Sharing Clients

  
  P2P News! — Authority: 137
  To get a better view on how the peer-to-peer scene is evolving with respect to what file sharing software people prefer to download, we keep you posted weekly with the latest numbers. So here’s a list with last weeks top ten most downloaded p2p file sharing programs – the chart is based on figures published by ...
  3 days ago

• The Dominating Trackers - Part 3: Best General / 0Day

  
  FileShareFreak — Authority: 120
  In our Part I on scene trackers, we conclude that most torrenters can easily attain the majority of scene releases provided by the Top Three. Each being somewhat different in what they provide, but collectively they’re invaluable assets for an overall portrayal of scene content. While scene is the standard, ...
  5 days ago

• BitTorrent’s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained

  
  TorrentFreak — Authority: 729
  The Pirate Bay’s recent confirmation that they had closed down their tracker since DHT and Peer Exchange have matured enough to take over, was coupled with the news that they had added Magnet links to the site. This news has achieved its aim of stimulating discussion, but has also revealed that there is much ...
  5 days ago

• BitTorrent’s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained

  
  Computer & Internet - computer-internet.marc8.com — Authority: 167
  The Pirate Bay’s recent confirmation that they had closed down their tracker since DHT and Peer Exchange have matured enough to take over, was coupled with the news that they had added Magnet links to the site. This news has achieved its aim of stimulating discussion, but has also revealed that there is much ...
  5 days ago

• BitTorrent’s Future? DHT, PEX and Magnet Links Explained

  
  ShareConnector — Authority: 160
  The Pirate Bay’s recent confirmation that they had closed down their tracker since DHT and Peer Exchange have matured enough to take over, was coupled with the news that they had added Magnet links to the site. This news has achieved its aim of stimulating discussion, but has also revealed that there is much ...
  5 days ago

• TorrentFetcher Searches for Torrents from Your Desktop [Downloads]

  
  Lifehacker — Authority: 815
  Windows only: Most people use torrent sites like Mininova or The Pirate Bay to search for torrents online, but free program TorrentFetcher lets you search straight from a desktop program and quickly start the transfer in your BitTorrent client of your choice. Torrent sites offer a lot of information about the ...
  5 days ago

• TorrentFetcher Makes Your Torrents Search Easier !

  
  vhxn.com — Authority: 441
  If you want to make your Torrents search a little bit easier, just go with TorrentFetcher that is a handy utility program. It contains both torrents search engine and the results lists. You can enter a search phrase and start the search for torrents right away. Moreover, you can configure advanced options like the ...
  5 days ago

• Desktop Torrents Search Engine Torrent Fetcher

  
  Telephone Issues — Authority: 166
  Users looking for torrents usually go to a website like Mininova or The Piratebay that index torrents. An alternative to this is a desktop torrents search engine like Torrent Fetcher is available for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Torrent Fetcher comes with a comfortable interface to perform the search for ...
  5 days ago

• Want To Try Out Google Chrome OS For Yourself? Here’s How.

  
  Family Learning Center — Authority: 161
  [IMG: http://www.family-learning-center.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/4bfd9_header_feature_1424_1258658703.jpg]
  5 days ago

• BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?

  
  P2P Blog — Authority: 420
  The Pirate Bay made headlines earlier this week with yet another dramatic announcement, this time that the notorious BitTorrent site’s tracker has been officially shut down. But the move won’t impact downloading, site admins explained on a blog. Trackers are no longer needed to facilitate BitTorrent transfers, the ...
  5 days ago

• Get Google Chrome OS, Now [Chrome Os]

  
  Gizmodo — Authority: 892
  Wow, that was fast. Google Chrome OS was only unveiled today, and its already compiled as a VMWare image, ready for download via torrents and gdgt. Techcrunch also has a tutorial for setting it up....
  5 days ago

• BitTorrent After The Pirate Bay: Do You Still Need Trackers?

  
  NewTeeVee — Authority: 718
  The Pirate Bay made headlines earlier this week with yet another dramatic announcement, this time that the notorious BitTorrent site’s tracker has been officially shut down. But the move won’t impact downloading, site admins explained on a blog . Trackers are no longer needed to facilitate BitTorrent transfers, ...
  5 days ago

Comments about bittorrent