How to Download Files With BitTorrent (with pictures)

If you haven't read my post : "What is Bittorent Networking?", please click here to read it. So you can have a better understanding of what this post is about.

Note that My use of the word "BitTorent" in this post is not to be mistaken with the client software - BitTorent®  but is rather in reference to the networking protocol. The torrent files showing in the images have the vuze logo (the frog) because it's my default bitTorrent client program.
I will be giving all tutorials using Vuze and uTorrent on windows 7.

BitTorrent is a very convenient way to download all sorts of files from the internet. There are many, many ways to download all the files that we need. However, bitTorrent presents users with stability, pause/resume capability and even more control over the download process. For the sake of my readers who are new to this, this tutorial is going to be quite detailed but simple. Follow the steps and you’ll be just fine.

Getting a BitTorrent client Program  

(don’t know what a BitTorrent client Program is? Click here)

To download using bittorent, you first need a Bittorent client software. Vuze and uTorrent are free client programs but paid versions with more features are available as well. Vuze can be downloaded from the official website - http://www.vuze.com/  . Here's the website for utorrent  - http://www.utorrent.com/ 

After you have downloaded and installed either of the clients, the next thing is to search for and download torrent files.

Finding torrent files  
(don’t know what a torrent file is? Click here)

Torrent files can be found on file sharing sites and BitTorrent search engines like torrentz, kickass, thepiratebay . These sites host torrent files for games, movies, music, e-books, etc. You could also just google the name of the file you want to download and add the word “torrent”; you’re most likely to find a direct link to its torrent file among the search results. You can get all the cool stuff you want for free, however be wary of the fact that some of these files may be copyrighted.

When you find the torrent file that you want to download, click the download button and the file will be saved on your computer. Be sure to download a torrent file with a high seed to peer ratio (ie. More seeds than peers). This will let you know that the torrent actually represents what content it says it does. Remember the torrent file is not what you actually want to download. Its just a small file that contains information about what you want. It has the extension “.torrent” just like some songs have extension “.mp3” and some images have extension ".jpg".

Downloading your content

Now that you have both the torrent file and the BitTorent client program, you can proceed with downloading your content. I will be demonstrating the process with both Vuze and utorrent like I earlier stated,with an e-book titled ; "Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS & HTML5 Step-by-Step".

Using Vuze

Launch vuze and follow the steps in the images below. The blue arrow is there to guide you.

The first thing to do is to open the torrent file you downloaded, click "add files" and trace its location and select it, and click "open". In the next two dialog boxes, click "ok". The content download starts a few seconds or minutes later depending on your internet connection.

Using uTorrent

Launch uTorrent, and click the "+" button to add a torrent file. trace its location and select it, and click "open". In the next dialog box, click "ok". there the download screen appears and the content begins downloading after a few seconds or minutes later depending on your internet connection. 

 

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What is BitTorent Networking?

the purpose of this post is to give readers a simple understanding of how bitTorent downloading works.

  

BitTorrent networking is a proper representation of the file sharing concept and has become extremely popular among internet users over the years. It is based on peer to peer (p2p) networking. For heavy downloaders like myself, this is the ultimate tool to have stable downloads that you can actually control, not just monitor.

Peer to peer networks are networks where the nodes (called peers in this case) supply and consume resources to/from one another.

How it works

Using bitTorent for downloads is a two-way process; anytime you're downloading a file using  a torrent client, you are actually receiving bits of that same file from different people who have already downloaded it. A peer is a downloader who has not completed a download. When the download is 100% complete, that person (peer) becomes a seed. Seeding simply means uploading parts of your complete downloads for other peers to download. This is why i earlier said BitTorent networking embodies the file sharing concept. The term leech means two things; 

1. A downloader (one who hasn't completed a download).

2. A peer who drastically reduces their upload speed, or turns off their internet to prevent seeding when their download is done.

To download files using bitTorent networking, you need:

a. A bitTorent client

A bitTorent client is a program that enables you to download files using the bitTorent protocol. There are a lot of clients available for download (eg, mediaGet, utorrent, Vuze, BitTorent, qbitTorent).Any tweaks or tips i post will however be based on either Vuze or utorrent, or both, since they are the most popular clients.

b. A torrent file

This is basically a file that gives the client information about a particular file to download. You can find a torrent file for almost anything you want to download on file sharing websites and torrent search engines such as torrentz, isohunt, kickass torrents.

Will do a follow-up post to how to download files using a bitTorrent client.