good torrent downloaders What are Torrent files? Are Torrented files legal, illegal, safe? 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. What are Torrent files and BitTorrent protocol. BitTorrent is a protocol that helps you in downloading large files without having to be troubled by bandwidth. The structure of the protocol also provides for resume support. The resume support means you can pause downloading at a point and resume downloading from the point where it was paused. If you stop downloading in the middle, you may have to download from the beginning or from the point where you stopped, depending on the BitTorrent client you are using. BitTorrent employs more than one server (in this case, called peers, as they are interlinked directly, without the need for a server to control them: see image above) for downloading files to your computer. And as long as you are downloading, you are also part of a BitTorrent network. While downloading the file, you are also uploading it to some other client that is seeking the same file for download. Even after your download is complete, if you keep the torrent client open and do not remove the torrent from your torrent client, it continues uploading (seeding) the download so that others can download it from your computer (without knowing its IP address and location). The very base of the BitTorrent protocol is to share computers for providing large downloads using give and take formula. There are already a swarm of computers (peers) that contain either the download file in full or in parts. When you download a torrent file, you download information about the whereabouts of the file, the main link, the encryption method used (if any) and similar information. Once your download starts, you can see your client downloading it in parts from different computers that can be home computers too. Like if someone is downloading the same file, he or she is also uploading (seeding) the file to another computer from where you can download the file at a faster pace. The ideal ratio, according to BitTorrent protocol creator, should be 1:1. That means, if you download a file using others’ computers, you should be able to give it back to the community by way of letting your Bit Torrent client upload the file for a while. Most BitTorrent clients show you how much of the file you have uploaded infield that may be marked either “upload” or “seed”. The main advantage of this system is that people are active participants, and hence the network grows which, in turn, results in lesser bandwidth being used. Imagine if a single server was used and too many people tried to access it, no one would get it as the server would crash. Are BitTorrents Legal or Illegal. The answer to this question is both Yes and No. It depends on upon what you are downloading. While some sites offer only legitimate content whose copyright they hold or things that are in public domain, many offer pirated movies, music, songs, and books, etc. You should check with the law of your land to see what you are downloading is legal. The responsibility of downloading illegal files rests completely with you as the people who run websites hosting BitTorrents can easily get away in the maze of computers by claiming innocence. Are BitTorrents Safe or Unsafe. Most of the Bit Torrents are safe as the well-known Torrent sites check it out before hosting them for downloads. However, not all sites are safe. Some may willingly distribute malware while some others may not be aware (they may not have checked the parts of file they are hosting) as malicious. Besides, if a BitTorrent client is uploading from an infected computer, the chances are that your downloads may be infected. I suggest you always deep-scan scan both the .torrent files and the final download with an antivirus to see if they are safe for use. How to download Torrent files. The process to download torrent files is easy. All you have to do is to run a search for Torrent files. You may go to advanced search and ask the search engine to look for files with .torrent extensions. This brings you to the search engine results page where you can download a .torrent file containing more information about how to go and get the original download. If you have a Torrent client installed already, all you have to do is to double-click on the .torrent file to open the torrent client which then downloads the entire file, all the while, uploading it as well. I used simple language, avoiding technical jargon, to make it easier for everyone to understand this subject. The complete technical terms, in case you are interested, are available on Wikipedia as BitTorrent Technical Glossary. Best torrent clients? Is UTorrent the best option or is there some other alternative that is less popular but is better than Utorrent since that's the only one I really know. I live in a country that blocked TPB, and my 0 cost solution is to search in TPB with Tor browser. No, don't use uTorrent. Ahh I see thanks I can read from the comments below why this is the better option I guess. If you don't trust mirrors, I suggest using Ninite's installer. Qbittorrent has an issue with corrupting torrents with IO errors on 20% of my torrents its a bug since version 4.0 See this thread for more dissatisfied users https://github.com/qbittorrent/qBittorrent/issues/7802. Older versions of uTorrent are still considered to be decent little clients, but anything after version 2.2.1 is pretty bad due to the inclusion of several ads and a crypto miner. There's a lot of different clients to pick from these days, but personally I like qBittorrent as it's very similar to uTorrent, meaning there's no real adjustment period. Another good client I used to use is Deluge, but it's a bit clunky in my opinion. I've not been following the development of Deluge much, so I can't really say what it does better or worse at in comparison to qBittorrent, but either client is good. If you want a more detailed look at these clients and a few others, this section of the Piracy Megathread has a list of trusted and robust clients. The Best BitTorrent Clients for 2019. BitTorrent is a powerful protocol for downloading everything from perfectly legit content to the shadiest stuff on the web. However you're using it, you need the right software to make it work. We pick the best BitTorrent clients for every type of user. Unlike downloading files in your browser, BitTorrent downloads usually require a separate program, called a torrent client, to grab that sweet, sweet data. But with so many clients out there, picking one to use can feel a little overwhelming. We've got you covered. These days, most torrent clients are pretty similar in terms of features. The biggest differences come from the interface— that is, the look and organization of the main window—and little quirks that affect specific setups. As such, it’s hard to recommend one client for everybody, as one person may have great experiences with a certain client while another has a small quibble that they just can’t work around. So if you’re just starting out, don’t fret too much—just pick one and try it out. As you get deeper and deeper into BitTorrent tech, you may have to do a bit of experimenting for yourself to figure out which one plays nicest with your setup. In addition, keep in mind that no matter what torrent client you use, you’ll want a trustworthy VPN to keep your activity hidden from prying eyes, especially if it's not quite legit. Note that PCMag does not condone piracy, which for which BitTorrent is often used. If you use BitTorrent for nefarious purposes, you do so at your own risk. In addition to a VPN, you should also a good malware scanner to ensure you aren’t downloading something nefarious. For more BitTorrent tips, check out our primer on how to use BitTorrent. Best All-Around BitTorrent Client: qBittorrent. For most people, I recommend starting with qBittorrent. It’s free and open-source, so it doesn’t come with any ads or crapware, and its interface is easy enough to use for beginners—while offering loads of stats and settings for more advanced users. It’s also available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, so no matter what platform you’re running, you can probably use qBittorrent. Plus, it’s pretty lightweight, so you don’t have to worry about it eating up too much CPU or RAM while you’re trying to do other stuff. qBittorrent includes all the basic torrenting features we’d expect a good client to have, including support for magnet links, automatic port forwarding, scheduled speed limits, RSS feeds for automatic downloads, and a web UI for viewing your downloads from other machines. It even has the option to download a torrent “sequentially,” allowing you to start watching a video while the download is still in progress. From the Advanced settings, you can bind the program to a certain network interface, which is great if you’re using a VPN—that way, if the VPN connection drops, your torrents stop and you don’t leak your real IP address. Not everything about qBittorrent is perfect: Its built-in search engine, for example, is decent but not perfect, since it relies on plug-ins that aren’t always up to date—but for most people, qBittorrent should fit the bill well, and it’s the client I personally use at home. A Simpler Alternative for Mac and Linux: Transmission. If qBittorrent’s interface feels a bit busy for you, you might prefer Transmission, an open-source alternative for Mac and Linux. There’s a Windows version available in “early preview,” for those who like to live on the edge, but I had trouble getting it to work, so keep that in mind. I’ve used it for years on Mac and Linux systems, though, with nary an issue. Transmission’s window is incredibly simple. It’s just a small list of open torrents, with the ability to pause, restart, and delete individual torrents along the top, and a small button for limiting your speed at the bottom. This is especially nice for beginners, since you don’t have to worry about a lot of stats and organizational features cluttering up the interface. That’s not to say that Transmission doesn’t have advanced options. Dig into the settings and you’ll find lots of useful stuff, like scheduled speed limits, folder organization, and a web interface to see your downloads from another computer, phone, or tablet. It also has a number of command- line tools for Terminal nerds, and the Mac version is a native Mac app that actually looks like it was designed for macOS—rather than a port of a less attractive Linux app, as is the case with many torrent clients. If you're a Mac or Linux user who likes things on the minimalist side, Transmission is probably the torrent client for you. A Lightweight Client You Can Build Up With Plug-ins: Deluge. On the surface, Deluge looks very similar to qBittorrent—their interfaces are laid out nearly identically. However, while Deluge is technically available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, the latest version is not available as a simple installer for Windows or macOS. You can still install older versions on those platforms, though, and they still work well. Dig into Deluge’s settings and you’ll see what separates it from the competition: There aren’t quite as many options for configuring your torrents. That’s because Deluge uses a plug-in system for many of its features, allowing you to sort of build your own torrent client from the ground up. Deluge offers a number of included plug-ins you can enable, like auto-adding torrents from a folder, auto-extracting completed files, or assigning labels to torrents for custom actions, as well as a host of third-party plug-ins that beef up Deluge’s feature set. It’s a bit more work, and it can be frustrating when an old plug-in doesn’t work with the latest version of the program, but this also allows Deluge to be incredibly lightweight out of the box—in fact, it uses less CPU and RAM than any other BitTorrent program I tested on Windows. Plus, it’s got the ability to run as a daemon from the command line, so provided you can get the plug-ins you need, Deluge might be a winner for lower-powered and headless machines.