BitTorrent is a leading software company with the fastest torrent client and sync and share. Play files right away; Save everything you want; Fast downloads.
10 Best Torrent Sites For 2019 To Download Your Favorite Torrents. January 23, 2019. Providing healthy torrent files to the leeches. But users should prepare themselves to see many.
Oct 8, 2014 - Torrent files are small files that contain information on how to download a larger file using BitTorrent protocol. The protocol, unlike HTTP/HTTPS, needs a torrent client for downloading the client. We'll take a quick look at how BitTorrent works and if files downloaded using them are legal and safe.
The official µTorrent® (uTorrent) torrent client for Windows, Mac, Android and Linux-- uTorrent is the #1 BitTorrent download client on desktops worldwide.
Torrent files
Filename extension
.torrent
Internet media type
application/x-bittorrent
Standard
BEP-0003[1]
In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or METAINFO is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms.[1] A torrent file does not contain the content to be distributed; it only contains information about those files, such as their names, sizes, folder structure, and cryptographic hash values for verifying file integrity. The term torrent may refer either to the metadata file or to the files downloaded, depending on the context.
In a nutshell, a torrent file is like an index, which facilitates the efficient lookup of information (but doesn't contain the information itself) and the address of available worldwide computers which upload the content. Torrent files themselves and the method of using torrent files have been created to ease the load on servers. With help of torrents, one can download files from other computers which have the file or even a fraction of the file. These 'peers' allow downloading of the file in addition to, or in place of, the primary server.
Torrent files are normally named with the extension.torrent.
Jan 5, 2016 - What is a torrent file? How do you use it? Torrenting can be a complicated process, so before we get into the meat of how.
3Extensions
3.1Draft extensions
4Examples
Background[edit]
Typically, Internet access is asymmetrical, supporting greater download speeds than upload speeds, limiting the bandwidth of each download, and sometimes enforcing bandwidth caps and periods where systems are not accessible. This creates inefficiency when many people want to obtain the same set of files from a single source; the source must always be online and must have massive outbound bandwidth. The BitTorrent protocol addresses this by decentralizing the distribution, leveraging the ability of people to network 'peer-to-peer', among themselves.
Each file to be distributed is divided into small information chunks called pieces. Downloading peers achieve high download speeds by requesting multiple pieces from different computers simultaneously in the swarm. Once obtained, these pieces are usually immediately made available for download by others in the swarm. In this way, the burden on the network is spread among the downloaders, rather than concentrating at a central distribution hub or cluster. As long as all the pieces are available, peers (downloaders and uploaders) can come and go; no one peer needs to have all the chunks, or to even stay connected to the swarm in order for distribution to continue among the other peers.
A small torrent file is created to represent a file or folder to be shared. The torrent file acts as the key to initiating downloading of the actual content. Someone interested in receiving the shared file or folder first obtains the corresponding torrent file, either by directly downloading it, or by using a magnet link. Microsoft streets and trips downloadable. The user then opens that file in a BitTorrent client, which automates the rest of the process. In order to learn the Internet locations of peers which may be sharing pieces, the client connects to the trackers named in the torrent file, and/or achieves a similar result through the use of distributed hash tables. Then the client connects directly to the peers in order to request pieces and otherwise participate in a swarm. The client may also report progress to trackers, to help the tracker with its peer recommendations.
When the client has all the pieces, they assemble them into a usable form. They may also continue sharing the pieces, elevating its status to that of seeder rather than ordinary peer.
File structure[edit]
A torrent file contains a list of files and integrity metadata about all the pieces, and optionally contains a list of trackers.
A torrent file is a bencodeddictionary with the following keys (the keys in any bencoded dictionary are lexicographically ordered):
announce—the URL of the tracker
info—this maps to a dictionary whose keys are dependent on whether one or more files are being shared:
files—a list of dictionaries each corresponding to a file (only when multiple files are being shared). Each dictionary has the following keys:
length—size of the file in bytes.
path—a list of strings corresponding to subdirectory names, the last of which is the actual file name
length—size of the file in bytes (only when one file is being shared)
name—suggested filename where the file is to be saved (if one file)/suggested directory name where the files are to be saved (if multiple files)
piece length—number of bytes per piece. This is commonly 28 KiB = 256 KiB = 262,144 B.
pieces—a hash list, i.e., a concatenation of each piece's SHA-1 hash. As SHA-1 returns a 160-bit hash, pieces will be a string whose length is a multiple of 20 bytes. If the torrent contains multiple files, the pieces are formed by concatenating the files in the order they appear in the files dictionary (i.e. all pieces in the torrent are the full piece length except for the last piece, which may be shorter).
All strings must be UTF-8 encoded, except for pieces, which contains binary data.
Extensions[edit]
A torrent file can also contain additional metadata defined in extensions to the BitTorrent specification.[2] These are known as 'BitTorrent Enhancement Proposals.' Examples of such proposals include metadata for stating who created the torrent, and when.
Draft extensions[edit]
These extensions are under consideration for standardization.
Distributed hash tables[edit]
BEP-0005[3] extends BitTorrent to support distributed hash tables.
A trackerless torrent dictionary does not have an announce key. Instead, a trackerless torrent has a nodes key:
For example,
The specification recommends that nodes 'should be set to the K closest nodes in the torrent generating client's routing table. Alternatively, the key could be set to a known good node such as one operated by the person generating the torrent.'
Multiple trackers[edit]
BEP-0012[4] extends BitTorrent to support multiple trackers.
A new key, announce-list, is placed in the top-most dictionary (i.e. with announce and info)
HTTP seeds[edit]
BEP-0017[5] extends BitTorrent to support HTTP seeds.
A new key, httpseeds, is placed in the top-most list (i.e. with announce and info). This key's value is a list of web addresses where torrent data can be retrieved:
Private torrents[edit]
BEP-0027[6] extends BitTorrent to support private torrents.
A new key, private, is placed in the info dictionary. This key's value is 1 if the torrent is private:
Merkle trees[edit]
BEP-0030[7] extends BitTorrent to support Merkle trees. The purpose is to reduce the file size of torrent files, which reduces the burden on those that serve torrent files.
A torrent file using Merkle trees does not have a pieces key in the info list. Instead, such a torrent file has a root_hash key in the info list. This key's value is the root hash of the Merkle hash:
Examples[edit]
Single file[edit]
Here is what a de-bencoded torrent file (with piece length 256 KiB = 262,144 bytes) for a file debian-503-amd64-CD-1.iso (whose size is 678 301 696 bytes) might look like:
Note: pieces here would be a 51 KiB value ().
Multiple files[edit]
Here is what a de-bencoded torrent file (with 'piece length' 256 KiB = 262144 B) for two files, 111.txt and 222.txt, might look like:
See also[edit]
References[edit]
^ ab'BEP-0003: The BitTorrent Protocol Specification'. Bittorrent.org. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
^'BEP-0000: Index of BitTorrent Enhancement Proposals'. Bittorrent.org. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Torrent_file&oldid=897025568'
A file with the TORRENT file extension is a BitTorrent Data file that contains information about how files should be accessed through the BitTorrent P2P network.
Much like a URL, TORRENT files simply point to another area on the internet where the file is at and use that location to retrieve the data. Also like a URL, this means that if the location of the file is not active on the internet, the data can't be downloaded.
Things like file names, locations, and sizes are included in a TORRENT file, but not the actual data itself. A torrent program is required to download the digital files referenced from within the TORRENT file.
While there are many places to find TORRENT files, most are used to spread copyrighted movies, music, and games, which is considered illegal in many countries. Fortunately, there are also free and absolutely legal alternatives where you can watch TV shows online, stream movies online, download music, find audiobooks, and download PC games.
How to Open a TORRENT File
Take great care when downloading software, music, or anything else through torrents. Since you're most likely taking files from people you don't know, you always run the risk of there being malware included with the data. It's important to have an antivirus program installed to catch anything potentially dangerous.
TORRENT files are opened in a torrent client like uTorrent or Vuze, or even online through a website like Filestream, Seedr, or Put.io. If you're on an Android device, you can use the Flud or uTorrent app.
Online torrent sites like Filestream and ZBIGZ download the torrent data for you on their own servers and then give you the files to download directly through your web browser like you would a normal, non-torrent file.
Downloading torrents online with Put.io or another web-based torrent client, is helpful if your ISP or institution blocks or limits BitTorrent traffic. This works because from the service provider's point of view, the downloads aren't any different than regular HTTP traffic.
The contents, or instructions, of TORRENT files, can sometimes be viewed using a text editor. However, even if you can read through the TORRENT file as a text file, there's nothing in there that you can download or realistically use/read — you have to use a torrent client to actually get the files.
What Is A Download Torrent File For Pc
Here's an example of what's behind a TORRENT file (this one downloads Ubuntu):
How to Convert a TORRENT File
A free file converter is the method of choice for converting most file types, like DOCX, MP4, etc., but TORRENT files are an exception.
Since a TORRENT file's purpose is for holding instructions and not for storing files themselves, the only reason to convert a TORRENT file is to save it under a new format that can still utilize those instructions. For example, you're able to convert a TORRENT file to a magnet link (similar to .TORRENT) with the Torrent > > Magnet website.
Something you most certainly cannot do with TORRENT files converts them to 'regular' file types like MP4, PDF, ZIP, MP3, EXE, MKV, etc. Again, TORRENT files are only instructions for downloading these types of files, not the files themselves, which means no amount of converting of any sort could ever pull these types of files out of a TORRENT file.
For example, while a TORRENT file can describe to a torrent client how to download, say, the Ubuntu operating system, simply changing or converting the .TORRENT file itself will not get you that OS, or anything really.
You instead would need to download the .TORRENT file from the Ubuntu website and use it with a torrent client, which would then download the ISO file that makes up the operating system — it's that ISO file that the TORRENT file explains to the torrent client how to download.
However, at this point, after the ISO has been downloaded, you can convert the ISO file like you would any other file by using a free file converter. It doesn't matter if the TORRENT file was used to download PNG images or MP3 audio files — you can then use an image converter or audio converter to convert them to JPG or WAV files, for example.
Still Can't Open the File?
Some file extensions looks similar to others, but that doesn't mean that the files themselves are related or that they can be used by the same programs.
Download Torrent File Online
For example, TORRENT and TOR look alike but the latter is a file extension used for Star Wars: The Old Republic asset files that holds game data like weapons and music. The Star Wars: The Old Republic game is needed in order to make use of TOR files.
Download Torrent Files On Ipad
TRN is another example that could be confused for a TORRENT file even though it's actually used for SQL Server Transaction Log Backup files and opened with Microsoft SQL Server.