How to Speed Up Torrent Downloads?

Torrents are used by the tremendously popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file distribution system known as BitTorrent. This P2P system is used to transfer huge files within a large network of online users. Torrents are used for downloading music, video, games, books, television shows and more.

Torrents are very popular because they can be easily downloaded. However, not all torrents, torrent clients and computer systems are created equal. Below are some ways to speed up torrent downloads.

1. Choose the most effective BitTorrent client. Aside from the BitTorrent client itself, you can also choose from Vuze or uTorrent, both extremely popular clients.



2. Choose the right seeds and peers. To speed up torrent downloads, always look at the numbers. In torrent principle, the larger the amount of seeders, the higher the download speeds. It is also advised to choose torrents with a small amount of leechers.



3. Limit your upload rate to around 80 per cent of your maximum upload speed. You can verify your upload speed by looking for websites that carry out torrent speed tests. Once you have determined your maximum upload rate, modify it via your client’s preferences.



4. Modify your firewall since it can block incoming torrent connections. In Windows XP, go to the Windows Firewall and then check your torrent client on the list of allowed connections. Go to "Options," then "Preferences," then "Connection." Check the "Add (name of your client) to Windows Firewall." Make sure to check the option "Windows Firewall" exception (if turned on) in your torrent client. Do not however turn off the firewall since your system will be susceptible to attacks.


If your system is using a router, configure the setting via the Port Range Forwarding feature to allow torrent traffic. Refer to the router's documentation for this.


5. Utilize a different port. The default port used by the BitTorrent protocol is around 6881 to 6999. You should use a number above 10000 for preventing problems with other programs and getting around Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If your client randomizes ports each time it starts, do not enable your client's "Randomize Port" setting.



6. Boost the number of Max Half Open TCP connections. This identifies the amount of connections your client can try to simultaneously establish at any given time. Windows XP with SP2 and newer operating systems has limited this to 10 for preventing the spread of viruses, however, this is not good for torrent speeds since torrents need a huge number of concurrent connections. To address this, a patch from http://www.lvllord.de/ can be used for modifying the Windows TCPIP.sys file. This will allows a higher amount of TCP connections. When the patch has been run, set your client’s amount of connections. You can configure a number from 50 – 100. Regularly check if your client is still patched since downloading some Windows updates can overwrite it.



7. You can also enable outgoing protocol encryption so that your ISP will have difficulty detecting torrent traffic. Also check the option "Allow Incoming Legacy Connections."



8. Familiarize yourself with your torrent client's documentation and FAQs. Regularly check for updates of the client as well.

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Downloading torrents

Using torrents, you can quickly download movies, films and other files to your Mac. A torrent is a file with the file extension .torrent. This article will explain how to download torrents on a Mac.

Are torrent files legal?

Torrent files are not illegal, but downloading copyrighted material is. However, there are many torrent files out there containing non-copyrighted material which is why we choose to publish this article.

How torrent downloads work on the Mac

Without going all geeky, we'll now try to explain how torrents work.

Someone downloads a .torrent file

The first thing that happens is that a user downloads a .torrent file. This file is very small and contains only a list of the files that are to be downloaded and some other stuff used by the user's torrent application.

Opening the torrent

The next thing that happens is that the person that downloaded the file opens it with an application designed to handle this kind of file (more about these applications later). This application will try to find other people trying to download the same file. The torrent application will now grab pieces of the file from the other computers and put them together into one file. The user's torrent application will in its turn start to share pieces that you have downloaded with other users. You get some and you give some.

Torrent applications for the Mac

There are various torrent applications available for Mac users. In this article, we'll tell you about our favorite application, Transmission. It's simple to use and free (we're not paid to say this).

Transmission

Transmission is a great torrent application for Mac. It's easy to understand, it works pretty flawlessly and it has most of the features that one wants. To download Transmission, click here (download will begin immediately).

Adding torrent files to Transmission

Create a new download folder

Okay, let's assume that you have downloaded Transmission and want to start downloading files. The first thing you should do is create a folder where your downloads will be put. For instance, name it "Downloads" and place it on your desktop.

Tell Transmission that you want your downloads to be out into that folder

Now, open Transmission and go to the top menu. Click Transmission > Preferences. In the preferences window, click the second tab labeled "Transfers". A drop-down menu is now available and from that menu, choose the folder where you want your downloads to be put (the folder you just created).

Get a torrent file

The next thing you do is download a .torrent file. You do this from your web browser. Find a web site that offers torrents and find a download button. When you click it, a .torrent file will be downloaded to your computer.

Open the .torrent file with Transmission

Now drag the torrent file into Transmission and it will be visible in the list. All the files that you want to download will now be created in the Downloads folder. These files are useless and broken until Transmission says that the files are 100% downloaded. You can throw the .torrent file away after adding it to Transmission.

Download problems that may occur

The torrent download won't start

The problem with torrents is that they depend on someone seeding the file from his or her computer. Seeding means that you allow other users to download parts of the file from your computer. Sometimes no users are downloading or seeding the file and therefore it can't be downloaded.
Try to find another file. Finding good torrents might be tricky, but have patience.

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Google starts to censor torrent-related search queries

Searching for file-sharing information via Google is going to take a little bit more effort now, thanks to new steps taken by the search engine to remove all sorts of references to torrents from its instant search and autocomplete features.

In December, Google said it was taking steps towards "making copyright work better online." Among other things, it promised that "terms that are closely associated with piracy" would no longer appear in autocompletes.

Although it may be seen as an effort to crack down on illegal file sharing, the move is a troubling one, particularly for those who provide BitTorrent services. No surprise, these companies are quick to point out that there are many legitimate uses for torrents.

Forbidden from Autocomplete Arbitrarily?

Part of the problem with this new implementation, as TorrentFreak noted when it broke the story, the list of banned terms is "seemingly arbitrary." No version of the word "torrent" will work for instant search - neither the software "uTorrent," nor "BitTorrent," the name of a protocol and a San Francisco-based company. But while the cyberlockers RapidShare and Megaupload are now forbidden, other sites like HotFile and MediaFire are not. Furthermore, you can still find the names of other popular torrent sites, including The Pirate Bay.

TorrentFreak cites a response from RapidShare, who say that "We knew about Google's plans for quite a few weeks now. We embrace that certain search suggestions will not put a wrong complexion on RapidShare anymore, but we are concerned that at the same time the legitimate interests of our users will also be affected."

The company adds that "RapidShare is one of the most popular websites worldwide. Every day hundreds of thousands of users rely on our services to pursue their perfectly legitimate interests. That is why Google has obviously gone too far with censoring the results of its suggest algorithm. A search engine's results should reflect the users' interests and not Google's or anybody else's."

For now, you can still search for torrent information. While your search queries won't autocomplete, the results aren't censored. Yet.

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BitTorrent launches file sharing service SoShare; up to 1TB files for free

BitTorrent has launched SoShare, a service that allows users to share large files. Currently in public Beta, the service is available on Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari for Mac; and Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer for Windows through plug-ins, and offers free sharing for any number of files up to a Terabyte (1024GB) at once. The service is not available on Linux. Files are live for 30 days, but users can choose to expire them at any time.

Through the service, BitTorrent is specifically targeting users in the Media industry and professionals across fields like photography, films, music, and design, who need to share large files on a regular basis.

Users just need to sign-up for the service by creating an account, enter the recipient's e-mail address along with a message and can then attach the files through the browser. The recipient will get a download link and a thumbnail preview of the files which can be then downloaded by the recipient without the need to sign-up.

The management of the downloads is also done through the browser plug-in, and delivery is through BitTorrent framework. The download manager allows users to pause and resume downloads. The sender also gets a delivery receipt when someone views and downloads the file. Users can also create a public link for sharing file links.

This seems to be company's attempt to bring torrents to a more mainstream audience by letting the users focus on sharing the content, instead of worrying about finding a tracker and/ or downloading bit torrent clients.

We're not sure how the company plans to address issues related to copyright protected content. It will compete with services such as YouSendIt, and indirectly with cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Box and Skydrive. BitTorrent had also launched SyncApp in Alpha, which helps users in managing personal files between multiple computers.

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BitTorrent announces server-less secure messaging service

BitTorrent has announced that it's working on a new server-less chat service that would be private, secure, and free.

The organisation behind the popular file sharing service by the same name has announced BitTorrent Chat, a pre-Alpha experiment in server-less messaging and is accepting applications for testing out the service. One can apply for an invite to the private alpha version of the service at the BitTorrent Labs website.

Not many details have been made available, but BitTorrent's communications chief Christian Averill told CNET that there's no central server that stores communications, and that the service apparently works "similar to BitTorrent Sync, but adapted for real-time communications."

The report also mentions that the service requires a BitTorrent account at this point in time but is expected to work with other instant-messaging services and be interoperable with SIP standards.
It's not clear as to which desktop platforms will get the app first but mobile apps will also be offered, as per the report.

In the wake of the recent revelations about the NSA tracking interpersonal communication, people have become skeptical of online communication services. So the service might bring a sigh of relief to them as communication will not pass through an intermediary, and hence will not offer a central point that can be tracked by the authorities.

BitTorrent had previously launched Sync, an app that lets users securely sync files and folders across multiple devices. The app allows users to experience the functionality of file sync and storage services like Dropbox and Skydrive, but doesn't require them to store their files on a third-party server. It lets users access their files across multiple devices via the BitTorrent technology and there's no limit to file size, transfer or storage limits. Also, since a third-party doesn't have access to user data, and data is encrypted, there are fewer privacy and security concerns.

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BitTorrent updates Sync for improved speeds, announces 1 million users, new API

BitTorrent's Sync, the service that lets users securely sync files and folders across multiple devices without the need for them to go through third party servers, has announced that it now has an active user base of 1 million, synchronising about 30 petabytes of data on the service since its initial beta launch. In July, BitTorrent had said that Alpha users had synced over 8 petabytes (1 petabyte = 1048576 gigabyte) of data.

BitTorrent has now announced version 1.2 of the Sync service. The firm claims that the updated version of the service is twice as fast as its previous iteration and that the app has been clocked at 90 MB/s on LAN.

BitTorrent has also updated the Sync for iOS app, which now sports a new design, improved connection speed, iOS7 compatibility, and native iPad interface. The iOS app now lets users send and sync files in other apps, and save media from Sync folders direct to the iOS device's camera roll. The iOS app was first released in August. Sync also offers an Android app.

In addition to the new release, BitTorrent also announced that it's releasing the BitTorrent Sync Beta API, which will allow developers to create distributed social media, communications, and enterprise apps integrating the Sync platform. The API is designed to work across all major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux, as per the company.

The initial release of the API offers support for syncing selected files only, allowing developers to choose whether to sync specific items, or entire folders; UI-less mode enabling developers to integrate Sync and all its functionality, without the need to use the default UI and support for Encryption Secrets that allows storing an encrypted copy of all the users' folders on a remote server, to build a private cloud.

Sync allows users to experience the functionality of file sync and storage services like Dropbox and Skydrive, but doesn't require them to store their files on a third-party server. So, they can access their files across multiple devices via the BitTorrent technology, and there's no limit to file size, transfer or storage limits. Also, since a third-party doesn't have access to user data, and data is encrypted during transfers, there are fewer privacy and security concerns.

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The Interview a Global Smash Hit on Torrent Sites: Report

The Interview movie, which was released online for viewers in the US on Christmas Day, is reportedly a smash hit on torrent sites and has been downloaded several hundreds of thousands of times worldwide. Notably, the movie is said to have been uploaded on torrent sites within one hour of its first streaming.

The report added that torrents of the controversial movie were downloaded around 200,000 times worldwide in the first 10 hours, shooting up to 750,000 downloads after 20 hours.

It is worth noting that The Interview is officially limited to the US region via YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Sony's seetheinterview.com site. It is priced at $5.99 (roughly Rs. 370) to rent or $14.99 (roughly Rs. 940) to buy, Sony Pictures said on Wednesday, a day after agreeing to release it at some 200 independent theatres. No cable or satellite TV operator has yet agreed to make "The Interview" available through video on demand (VOD).

"Just signed up to say Thanks, since it was not released outside of US when it should be all at the same time. Will now be finally able to watch this," commented one of the user who downloaded The Interview movie on a torrent website.

Sony Pictures made the controversial film available online on Wednesday, expanding distribution of a comedy that triggered a destructive cyber-attack against the company that has been blamed on North Korea. The studio reversed its decision to halt the movie's release after it was criticized for self-censorship.

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