What should I know about torrents?

Downloading torrent files is becoming another popular internet pastime. It's a great way to download, but are there drawbacks? Here are some things you should know about torrent files before you jump into the fad:

1. First of all, you need to know the process behind the technology, so you can understand what it is you will be doing. BitTorrent is peer-to-peer file sharing technology that allows you to download a file from another user who has uploaded that file. The unique thing about torrent files is that they don't simply tap into one source and get it straight from there. If someone else has already decided they want to download the same file you are trying to get, you would typically have to wait for them to completely finish the whole download, or just find another source that isn't being used by anybody else. But with BitTorrent, you can actually download small chunks (called packets) from a file that is already being downloaded by someone else-you get the packets that they have already downloaded while they're still receiving the rest of the packets. A torrent file allows you to get the "chunks" from multiple sources at the same time, so from one source it finds as many of them as it can that aren't being used at the moment, then moves onto another source until it finds all the packets to build one whole file. Finally, it brings them together and assembles them like a puzzle. So if there are fifty other people downloading the same file you're downloading and there are only two packets from the one user available to you at the moment, the BitTorrent will use those two packets and then find the rest of the packets from other users' versions of the file. As you can guess, this process makes acquiring files much more efficient and quick.

2. It's an interesting, clever way of downloading files, but is it legal? As with most things like this, it can be used in an illegal way. But for the most part, no. However, some internet service providers do frown upon the use of BitTorrent because of the immense amount of bandwidth it requires. If you download too many torrent files in a short period of time, your provider may give you notice or interrupt your service, depending on their policies.

3. What types of files can be torrent files? Any. Movies, word documents, sound clips. The BitTorrent technology simply dictates the way in which the packets are collected to be downloaded.

4. Is it safe? Not necessarily. Using BitTorrent might be analogized as having unsafe sex: if you sleep with a person, you're sleeping with everyone they've ever slept with. You are receiving your file from so many different sources that it would be extremely hard to track where each one is coming from.

5. Where can I find torrent files? Because of their popularity, you shouldn't have any problem finding them. You might start by searching for "torrent files" on Google or another search engine.