Articles

It all started with Napster.

Many American people recall the short-lived golden age of Napster with excitement and longing.

Between 1999 and 2001, Napster opened the floodgates for downloading music free of charge.

That was before an army of lawyers shut down the operation through a major crackdown against file-sharers of all sizes.

Napster transformed into an online music outlet. Later, Rhapsody would acquire it and that marked the end of an era.

However, file-sharers haven’t stopped there; they had to find another platform to keep sharing.

The torrenting community was the result of all of this chaos.

Copyright lawyers continued to fight the torrenting community, but this time they couldn’t shut it down as they did with Napster.

The introduction of Virtual private networks (VPNs) made torrenting bigger, faster, and harder to track.

Want to learn more about torrenting, the role of VPN networks, and the emerging cloud torrenting technologies? Keep reading!

Torrent Files Decoded

Torrent files come in all formats and file types. Essentially, they are media content files. They can be audio, video, game, porn, software, images, and digital books. People download torrents for various reasons, mainly because they want to test it before buying, or simply, they want the files without paying the price.

To sum up, torrent files are:

• Almost clean; virus-free files.
• Available in HD, most of the time.
• Although some torrent sites ask for donations in exchange of premium features.

You must find a torrent community so you can download these files. Each torrent website offers many file categories for you to choose from.

BitTorrent Client

The .torrent file alone is useless. Yes, it contains information like what network to connect to, who are the file sharers, and how to communicate with them. But you still need a torrent client program to open the file and start downloading. BitTorrent is the original torrent client and the most popular. It has its share of downsides, but it allows you to download large files fast.

The large file is divided into small pieces with each member in the torrent community sharing a little bit.

BitTorrent is different from Napster. Mainly, it gives you the ability to download small bits from many people. Napster allows you to download the file from one member of the community who has the complete file.

Torrenting connects you to many people; thus, failed downloads are a rarity.

Furthermore, it makes downloading large files easier. Users with a high-speed internet connection can download these files in a few minutes.

Now, you can stream video without downloading the file.

Seed

After your download is finished, it is a common practice to continue uploading it to other members of the community. Some users will leave the client open and go to sleep!

It is called seeding, where you continue to share your bit of the file with other downloaders. Users, who tend to share more get to move up the ranks within the torrent community, gaining extra features in the process.

But as a general rule, you should have a 1:1 upload/download ratio. This setting is the default in Bitport. And most torrent clients will allow you to control the ratio.

For example, the “Altruistic mode” in uTorrent can put your computer in seeding mode where you can use your bandwidth to upload the torrent as fast as possible.

VPNs: What’s the Use?

Entertainment industry receives big blows with every leak.

They can do that using tracking software that monitors the activity of the peer-to-peer networks. All BitTorrent programs will share your IP by default, that’s how they work.

Here’s where VPNs come to play. They hide your IP, much like you when someone is following you, and suddenly you get into a crowded place with thousands and thousands of people. It will be much harder to track you. However, the legal team can detect that you’re using a VPN.

Some VPN companies don’t allow torrent downloading. It depends on the laws of the country where the VPN Company operate. If the rules and regulations are limp, the VPN Company will probably allow torrenting.

Furthermore, a key feature in good VPNs for torrenting is the internet kill switch. This feature shuts down your internet connection in case of a VPN outage. Because, if the connection to the VPN is interrupted during downloading or seeding, even for a few seconds, stalkers will identify your IP quickly.

At last, for torrenting purposes, the VPN has to have DNS leak protection. This feature prevents your DNS requests from going through your ISP, by making sure that your VPN handles these requests. Without this shield, your ISP will notice your torrenting activity.

Where is Torrenting Going?

How torrenting will look like in the future? It’s hard to predict because it is on shaky grounds. Hand in hand with their efforts to suppress torrenting, content creators are offering affordable, legal access to copyrighted material.

For example, Netflix is the largest paid streaming service in the world today. YouTube is also one of the most significant streaming services in terms of traffic.

However, millions of people continue to download at least one torrent every day. And they could be using a quality VPN to hide their traces and avoid the DMCA notices. The VPN ensures your safety while torrenting.

It is important to note that copyright laws vary significantly from country to country. In the U.S., most content creators have stopped sending the DMCAs but not HBO. HBO continually sends out DMCA notices to torrent downloaders. Music industry organisations continue to warn torrent downloaders.

Switzerland is the safest country in the world for torrent downloaders. Why? It is because the Swiss government outlawed tracking internet users.

Newest VPNs that will protect your identity online:

• IPVanish
• Hotspot Shield.
• Spyoff
• Tunnel Bear.
• ProtonVPN

Do you Really Need a VPN for Torrenting?

Cloud Torrenting Services and VPNs

The short answer is yes. Before starting to download torrent files, make sure to set up a reliable VPN to protect your identity.

But is there an alternative to VPN? And normal torrent clients? Yes.

Recently, a new torrenting service, that combines the benefits of downloading torrents, VPN, and the cloud in one package. It is called cloud torrenting.

A good cloud torrenting client is Bitport.

A torrenting service that you can access from your browser, and you can use to convert torrent files into direct download links.

Torrenting services like Bitport, take a torrent link, download it to the cloud securely, and give you the ability to download it anonymously to your computer or stream it online on any of your devices.

Torrenting has always been used in online files, but cloud torrenting services aim to change that. Bitport.io gives you the power to download torrent content to Google Drive, which can help you evade those who want to use your computer to share content.

Without a doubt, using cloud torrenting is a responsibility and a decision you should think about. It may not serve you the way you initially can imagine, so read all the rules and agreements before signing up for services like Bitport. A trial account can help you decide, register for a free account and get a free 1 GB of cloud storage.

Try downloading a few torrents and see how it works for you. Of course, you can sign up for a premium account right away, or upgrade later on. The cheapest package is $5/month, but more features are available with more advanced packages.

If you don’t want to download files to your Google Drive, you don’t have to. Again, it’s up to you to decide.

Otherwise, you could subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, HBO, or Amazon Prime. Or, get the passwords from your family and friends, and ditch the whole affair of downloading torrents.

The BitTorrent is one of the fastest ways to share files on the internet. Music, movies, books and more. It is a protocol that depends on peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing. Meaning that other people who have the files are sharing it with each other. That way, the file is broken into smaller pieces. And every user has a piece. When you download a torrent, you connect to your “peers” and download part of the file from each one of them. But downloading a torrent on chromebook can be challenging.

You don’t do it manually, a BitTorrent client software takes care of connecting, downloading, and putting together the complete file. In the end, your downloaded material will be sitting on your hard drive.

Torrent files, or torrents, are little documents that contain all the instructions the BitTorrent client will need to complete the process successfully. People who have the file and upload it are called “seeders.” The more seeders there is the higher the download speed because you will be downloading the files from multiple connections.

Downloading torrents on Chrome OS is difficult but it’s not impossible. No BitTorrent client can work on Chromebook. But all hope is not lost, you can download torrents on your Chromebook using a cloud-based torrent client.

Cloud-Based Torrenting

BitTorrent client apps aren’t allowed on a Chromebook, but cloud-based services can make it possible to download torrents without installing any software on your devices whatsoever. These services work by handling the downloading process on their servers, which save you time and storage space as you don’t download the files to your local device.

You just put the torrent link inside the cloud-torrent client and let it download it for you. The server will take it from there, connecting to seeders, and download the files without you ever interfering with the process again except for using the downloaded files.

After the client finishes your download, you can stream the file from the server or save it to your hard drive.

Cloud-based torrenting services such as BitPort.io offer many options. These include extra storage, high-speed download, and the ability to save the files to your Google Drive. You can start with a trial account which allows you to use all of the functions. However, there is a limited capacity. For example, you can download up to 1 GB for free. Bitport.io protects your privacy by keeping you anonymous all the time. It is one of the most straightforward ways to start torrenting on Chromebook and Chrome OS.

Torrenting is one of the most powerful methods to share files online. Especially large files.

It has surpassed many now-legendary methods of sharing files such as eDonkey2000, Kazaa, and LimeWire. Millions upon millions trust torrenting as a reliable, safe way to share large files, including movies, music, and books.

The bad reputation that follows torrenting is because many groups use it to share pirated, copyrighted material. Not to mention, hackers who use it to distribute malware-infected software, to gain control of as many devices as possible to use in their nefarious ends.

Downloading torrents can be a risky business, especially if you’re using a website such as The Pirate Bay, one of the biggest torrent websites in the world. Most of the content on these torrent websites is illegal, and you can get into trouble if you download them.

Like fire, you can use torrenting for good, and for bad. This blog post is about torrenting, what it is, and how it works.

Welcome to the World of Torrenting

Usually, when you download something from the internet, you do it directly by clicking on a link so the downloading starts. It’s a straightforward situation.

But torrenting doesn’t work like that.

It doesn’t work by giving you the whole file from one server directly. The torrent client (e.g. µTorrent®) is a desktop program that takes the file and cuts it into small pieces like you would do if you had one dollar and broke it into small change.

The original uploader has the whole file (one dollar), and he is called the “seeder,” everyone, who has completed the download successfully, becomes a seeder as well. Everybody else who is downloading the file is a “leecher.” When you start downloading the torrent, you download a small part of the file from each of the seeders. The torrent file contains the information of the seeders and the leechers. It has the IP address of each person who downloaded the file you want to get as well.

The network load is spread over all the seeders who act like mini-servers. That way, the downloading is fast and it works irrespectively of your bandwidth limits. However, when you download a torrent you become a leecher. That means that while you’re downloading the file, you’re also uploading what you downloaded to other peers. As a result, you may experience a slow internet connection.

Generally, torrenting can be slower than direct downloading, especially at the beginning of the download. But your download and upload speed are interlinked. The more you upload the file, the faster your download can become. Unlike direct downloading where you take the file and end the connection, torrenting is a give and take, where the more you give, the more you get.

Torrenting can be unpredictable with slow connections. The more seeders, the higher the speed. But if few people seed the file, then you’ll struggle with torrents downloading. While there are people who dedicate their lives to seeding torrent files, other peers might be regular people who have to shut down their computers and go out. This “go out” means a loss in seeding and hence the download speed.

How to Start with Torrenting

Now that you know what is torrenting, potential risks, and legal issues, how do you start torrenting?

First, you’ll need a VPN set in place or a cloud-based torrenting client.

To start downloading, and even creating your torrents, you need a torrent client software. Some of the most popular torrent clients are uTorrent, BitComet, and Vuze. You install one of those on your device, whether it’s a PC, Laptop, or an Android device. The client communicates with other seeders and downloads the file to your hard drive locally.

But before you start downloading torrents, you’ll need the torrent files, which you can download from websites such as Legal Torrents.

What are magnet links?

When downloading from torrent websites you have two options.

1. Download a torrent file that you can save on your hard drive and open it by your torrent client. It’s perfect for storing, in case you want to download the same torrent on another device.
   Use a “magnet link” to download the torrent files. Similar to the direct link you get from a regular server, except only a torrent client can understand and use it to download the torrent file.

Anyways, your torrent client will download and save the torrent file somewhere on your device.

Cloud-based Torrenting

Cloud torrenting is the most advanced method of downloading torrents. It harnesses the power of the cloud to save you storage space on your hard drive for the more important files. It will also save you from hunting for blocked torrent websites. It’s faster than torrenting with a regular torrenting client, and it is more private and secure than using a VPN.

Instead of downloading a file, you can stream it directly from someone who already did.

The True Power of Cloud Torrent Services

By default, every time you download a torrent, you must exchange IPs with everyone. That’s how peer-to-peer works, so unless you’re hiding behind a strong VPN, you’re just broadcasting your IP to everyone. You may be exposing your IP to copyright trolls, hackers, and malicious people with evil intentions. It’s a good thing to give back to the community by seeding as long as you can, but do you know everyone in the network? It also slows your connection and limits your other downloads.

In short, cloud torrent services run on powerful dedicated servers with uplinks that provide much more speed than a regular home connection. The most downloaded files get cached, and you get instant access without having to download anything on your device. Furthermore, the files will get synced to all your devices, including your phone and other streaming devices like the Xbox, PlayStation, and Roku.

Bitport.io

Bitport.io is the best cloud torrenting service for several reasons. It is 30MB/s fast, and you can use it to stream your media on various devices and operating systems, including iOS and Chromecast, and it supports Kodi. It makes torrenting as easy as “Ctrl-C,” no other service can do that. Bitport.io provides a free account that allows you to download a new torrent every 24 hours.

The interface is intuitive, and you can use it to download torrents from your browser alone, whether on your iPhone, Android device, or notebook. You don’t have to download the torrent several times or transfer it between your devices.

You can register a premium account on Bitport.io for as low as $5/month, giving you 30GB of cloud storage and five download slots, where you can download five torrents simultaneously. On the free account, you can download one torrent only every day, but on all other plans, you can download as many torrents as you want. As an extra layer of protection, paid plans provide SSL certifications, HTTPS downloads, and antivirus scanning.

The seed ratio on Bitport.io is 1:1, but as a paid user, you can contact the customer care and set your custom ration. All in all, cloud torrenting is an advanced method to safely and securely start torrenting.