So tell me how torrent websites work!

[Blackbird]

I've just Googled to buy a service manual for my 50 hp Mercury outboard and one of the search results was for a torrent site called www.torrentreactor.net. Apparently, I can download a manual provided that I pay a once-only fee of US$26 for membership of the site.

I've never used a torrent site before but aren't they supposed to be a bit dodgy? TorrentReactor has a classy look about it, but it might be all front. The warning that I could possibly be hit for a lawsuit for illegal downloading unless I use their encryption software was hardly reassuring either!

So, a PLAIN ENGLISH paragraph of the pros and cons of torrent sites would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Geoff

[Cajun]

jump on msn and i walk ya thru it mate

haveing a closer look at that torrentreactor, all the links for mecary acuytally went to another site, and i wouldn't be trusting it.

[Blackshear]

Torrents are naughty!

Get an anti-virus, too. Or more.

[Slyer]

Torrents are infinitely safer than kazaa, limewire and other filesharing apps.

[Blackshear]

Torrents are infinitely safer than kazaa, limewire and other filesharing apps.

Then where else am I going to get my Popular_Song.bat or XXX_Lesbian_hot.exe?

[bogan]

the thing about torrent sites, is you dont have to pay for them, mininova and the piratebay have lots of stuff on them. As torrenting is getting files off other ppl, not a server it is silly to thave to pay for it.

[neilwgtn]

dont do it..
its just a false link.. they use the key word that you are searching for and put it in as a file.. you could type anything.manual and torrentreactor.net will say they have the file for only a small fee...

there are lots free torrent search engines.. mininova is an easy one.

[Headbanger]

I use torrentreactor all the time, never been asked for a fee.....

[Hoon]

Yep they are just trying to scam uninformed people like yourself for something that can be acquired for free.

Easiest and quickest way - hit up your bestus geek mate to download it for you, He'll be the guy with all the movies, TV shows and porn.

Longer but better way - take up cajun's offer. Then you can become the guy with all the movies, TV shows and porn!!

[Blackbird]

Thanks guys, suitably warned. Must say that I had a quiet chuckle as torrent users must be restricted to 20 year olds, judging by the bikes you ride (Cajun excepted :innocent:). I think that speaks volumes in itself, haha.

Thanks again!

[NighthawkNZ]

Always read the comments made by other people to find out if it is good file or not...

However you have the same risk downloading any file from any source... All a torrent does is shares the upload bandwidth with others that are downloading the same file from the same torrent. Especially handy when there are alot of people downloading a large file.

There are a lot of official torrents, example OpenOffice.org most of the Linux OS is downloaded via torrents etc...There is also a lot of pirates... watch out for the pirate torrents as have been stated.

There is no more of a risk of and simply downloading a file via ftp or http... use the same precaution of scanning for the virus and malware

[p.dath]

Pretty much someone will be trying to sell you a "stolen" copy for $26.

[ttnz]

aslo install a ip filter like PG2 http://phoenixlabs.org/pg2/

[Blackbird]

Thanks but I'll be staying away from them and buying a manual!

[CookMySock]

dont do it.. its just a false link.. [...] torrentreactor.net Yeah torrentreactor is a scam site. It's hard to know what to trust.

Torrents are a lot easier on Linux, as it's all built in (you just click a torrent file and it loads) and you don't have to worry about viruses.


Steve

[Slyer]

Yeah torrentreactor is a scam site. It's hard to know what to trust.

Torrents are a lot easier on Linux, as it's all built in (you just click a torrent file and it loads) and you don't have to worry about viruses.


Steve
Or just spend 30 seconds downloading utorrent and don't download fake torrents from dodgy sites...
Saying torrents are "a lot easier on Linux" is crap.

[mynameis]

So tell me how torrent websites work!


No not telling :oi-grr:

[Naki Rat]

So all you Torrent gurus, what is the 'Private tracker/Public tracker' thing all about?

[Indiana_Jones]

<img src="http://bigredball.blogsome.com/images/communism.jpg">

-Indy

[CookMySock]

So all you Torrent gurus, what is the 'Private tracker/Public tracker' thing all about?It's just a tracker that you need a username and password for, probably because you downloaded the torrent from either a private site, or a VERY dodgy site.

edit: Torrents start off by you googling and then downloading a little .torrent file. This file has a list of all the filenames in the torrent (it might be manual.pdf in it, or a whole album of songs, or anything at all) but it does not contain any of the actual data.

Then you run a "torrent downloader" program on your PC and open the .torrent file with it.

The torrent PROGRAM looks in the .torrent FILE (that you downloaded from some website earlier) for instructions on how to join a circle of people who have either all or part of that file, and also how to connect to the "tracker" which is a machine to manage all the connectees and sharees. So the torrent PROGRAM that you are running, now collectects bits from everywhere and pieces together the final article, and presents it to you complete when it is done. It ALSO shares it with all and sundry on the Internet, so SHUT THE PROGRAM DOWN after you are done or it will eat your bandwidth.


Steve

[davereid]

So all you Torrent gurus, what is the 'Private tracker/Public tracker' thing all about?

The tracker assists your torrent client program in making connections to other torrent clients that have all, or part of the file you seek to download. That is to say it maintains a dynamic record of the IP addresses of suitable peers, and it sends that data to your torrent client, so it can make the peer-to-peer connection itself.

Public trackers share the record with all torrent clients that request it.

Private trackers don't, they only share with approved users.


Many torrent downloaders stop sharing files once they have downloaded them. As a result, you will usually find many more people attempting to download a file than the number of people sharing it.

A private tracker doesn't allow this to happen. It monitors the uploads and downloads of each client, and generally enforces a ratio.

So you must upload (seed) at least as much as you download (leach).

The advantage of a private tracker is therefore speed, and reliability, as you are sharing with other sharers, rather than sharing with people who only take.

How would our welfare system work with the same rules ?
Unemployed ? DPB ? Go help out at animal rescue or riding for the disabled for a few hours to get your dole.