So Napster's gone pay, KaZaA is chock-full of viruses and spyware, and you need someplace to get your file sharing on. Luckily for you, there's BitTorrent!

In case you are totally unfamiliar with BitTorrent, let's just say that it's a peer-to-peer file sharing program unlike any other.  Napster worked by downloading full files from other users, but BitTorrent (BT) takes file sharing to the next level by breaking a file into small pieces for sharing.  This way, when you are downloading a file, you're also uploading pieces of it to other users. So the more popular a torrent file is, the faster it downloads!

Any file can become a torrent file. You can find all types of torrents from games, programs, music, DVD's, movies and even TV shows. Just think, the next time you miss Janet Jackson whipping out her boob at the Super Bowl or Ashlee Simpson lip-syncing on SNL, you don't have to worry. Chances are someone recorded it and you can just download the torrent file later. BitTorrent has transformed the internet into a giant TiVo!

Sound like fun? Let's get started:

1) Download a Tottent Clinet Application

First, you need to download and install a BitTorrent client. New users may just want to start with plain old BitTorrent from http://bittorrent.com/. However, currently the most popular BitTorrent client for PC, Mac and Linux users is Azureus or Transmission. The choice is yours, but this tutorial will only cover regular BitTorrent.

2) Find Torrents

Find a torrent file. You can just do a search for "torrent" on Google or try several websites that post torrent files for download like the ones listed at the end of this article.

Just find a file you want to download. You can pick from games, movies, TV shows, applications.. whatever you want. Find something you like and download the torrent file.

3) Launch Your Torrent Clinet

Open your BitTorrent client. It won't look like most file sharing programs - in fact, it doesn't look like anything at all.  BitTorrent really only does one thing. It tells your computer to let it handle .torrent files.

4) Import the Torrent File

Now open a torrent file that you downloaded off the Internet.

If you can't just double-click and open the torrent file in BitTorrent, then try one of the following techniques:

• Right-click on the torrent file and select Open with the BitTorrent application
• Add the file extension ".torrent" to the end of the file
• Open the BitTorrent application, then select Open from the File menu

5) Pick a Location to Save Your File

Once you successfully open a torrent file, you will then be prompted to save the full file somewhere. If you have a large secondary hard drive, then save it there.

6) Wait

Once you start accessing a torrent file, you have to wait.

Because you're uploading while your downloading, more people downloading equals more people uploading, and everyone's downloads moving much faster. So just like in Kindergarten, sharing is encouraged with torrent files. Also, the more popular a file, the faster it will download.

7) Share?

If you leave the torrent download window open when your download has finished, you are automatically allowing other people to continue downloading pieces of the torrent from you.  So if you have limited bandwidth, you may want to be sure to close the download windows when they're done!

8) That's It!

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BitTorrent Related Links

Music Downloads: Legal vs. Illegal Unauthorized downloads dominate online music. Let's take a look at the numbers: Songs shared on unauthorized download sites, such as BitTorrent (here's a tutorial on how to use BitTorrent): 2005: 3.4 billion 2006: 5 billion Songs downloaded from authorized sites, such as iTunes: 2005: 327 million 2006: 500 million Source: NPD Group

BitTorrent FAQ's

Can I resume files?
Absolutely.  To resume a file with standard BitTorrent, go back to the place where you found the torrent link.  Click it, and select the same download place as you did originally.  BT will analyze the file you've already got, and start where the last download left off!

In Azureus, it's even easier—you can simply right-click on the torrent you want and select "resume."

What kind of file sharing can I do legally on BitTorrent?
It is illegal to download or upload copyrighted material without the permission of the artist, record company, or whoever owns the copyright.  If you're trying to download a copy of Britney Spears' latest CD or your favorite movie, you can bet that it's illegal. For an extra layer of safety, you should try using an Azureus plug-in called SafePeer. This plugin helps block your IP address.

However, there are a number of legal downloads available.  Many lesser-known and independent artists upload MP3s or video files of their work to gain public notice, and some record companies are putting up demos of more well-known artists  Also, there are torrents of political and news segments that are legal to download.

Another file sharing practice that is questionable, although no clear legal action has been taken to this point, is the sharing of anime.  There is usually a space of some months before an anime—Japanese cartoon –is licensed for distribution in America. 

There are a number of small groups who subtitle ("fan-sub") anime that has not yet been licensed in America, and make these episodes available for download.  The majority of these groups cease all subtitling as soon as an anime has been licensed in order to avoid legal battles with the anime companies, and they have mostly been left alone—for now.

The only way to be 100% sure of not downloading anything illegally is to avoid file-sharing altogether.  But one shouldn't assume that all file-sharing is illegal, when there is a great deal of legal sharing available on the 'net.

What do I do if I run into technical problems?
The most common BitTorrent problems that you'll run into are addressed on BT's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page at http://bittorrent.com/FAQ.html.  More help is available at http://btfaq.com.

Good luck, and may the bandwidth be with you!