Everything You Need to Know About Torrents

The interwebz iz a crazy place, and over 20 years of widespread consumer use hasn’t done much to calm it down. Staying safe online requires a suite of automated tools, along with the knowledge of routine technical procedures. The basics are listed here. One of these tools is a torrent, which is both a file type and a method of transferring files. It may sound confusing, but once you have everything setup, it’s just another way of searching the Internet or browsing through your App and Play stores.

How Torrents Work

A torrent file has an extension of .torrent and has a small file size. Contained within it are instructions for a BitTorrent client to locate and connect, peer-to-peer, to network users with files or file fragments referenced in the torrent file. If that’s too much technobabble, it means it’s instructions for how to download the file.

This differs from normal web downloading in that users, rather than site servers, are actually hosting the files being downloaded. From both a technical and legal standpoint, this means a more secure download, as no single computer gives you the complete file – only a fragment. By taking out the middleman, websites and domain hosts are no longer holding the files, so they’re protected from .gov laws, and both downloaders and uploaders are provided a level of legal anonymity.

Are Torrents Anonymous?

The short answer is – no. They are a step in the right direction though. Using a BitTorrent client provides a stable avenue to share files, but, with trackers being the basis of the technology, anonymity is traded for encryption. This is why BitCoin was adapted as a relevant currency based off the same P2P concept. So, while torrents themselves aren’t anonymous, TOR and P2P mobile, which are based on the same concept, are much closer.

People have come up with protection methods, though, and they’re programs you should be using, regardless of whether or not you’re using torrents. The first is PeerBlock, which is a user-updated database of known IP addresses from a variety of categories, including law enforcement/government, university, advertiser, data trackers, etc. You can also set which ports to keep open for purposes of gaming, uninhibited web browsing, etc. Just know any open port immediately compromises anonymity.

Beyond that, a secure VPN, coupled with a proxy server will protect your network as much as possible without digging into advanced settings.

What Can Torrents Be Used For?

Do you remember Napster and MegaUpload? Each was notorious for allowing users to transfer and view any digital file they wanted, which turned out, more often than not, to be copyrighted material, such as Hollywood movies and TV shows, applications and video games for all devices and major consoles, music, and information. Torrents have also been used along with Pastebin (a plaintext posting service) for important data leaks in the post-Wikileaks era.

Anything digital can be transferred from one user (or multiple users, simultaneously) to another using a torrent client. The only limitations are those you place on yourself. Also software giants like Adobe, EA, and Microsoft now offer cloud-based subscription services to thwart unauthorized (free, i.e. pirated) usage of their software. Getting involved in torrents now will allow you to build up an offline database of software as we move further into a connected world, fueled by the Internet of Things.

Are Torrents Legal?

Yes – a file type can’t necessarily be made illegal. It would be like making the .mp3 format illegal. While the gesture would make a statement, we’d simply continue using them for the same reasons they were invented in the first place. This doesn’t mean you’re safe using torrents and mp3’s however you want – usage of files has been determined illegal in various courts around the world.

While a .torrent isn’t illegal, using it to watch the latest episode of Game of Thrones without paying for HBO is. A BitTorrent client won’t get you in trouble, but it’ll give people a reason to look deeper, and it’s also a gateway for intruders to hit your IP. If you’re not tech-savvy, it’s best to ask for assistance before installing and using torrents.

How Do I Get Started With Torrents?

To get started, download a BitTorrent client from download.com or your favorite download depot. Many people prefer BitTorrent itself, but I’m more a fan of uTorrent, as it reminds me of my Limewire and Gnutella days of trading warez. Then download Peerblock for security.

Once both programs are installed, simply Google “____ torrent” with the blank representing whatever file you’re looking for (i.e. Always Sunny in Philadelphia torrent). You can also go to any popular torrent site, such as ThePirateBay or KickAssTorrents to search for what you need. Upon locating and downloading the torrent, your BitTorrent client will automatically start and begin downloading the usable file you need.

From there, it’s simply a matter of staying within your ISP’s data limits to avoid data charges. After a few months of using torrents to supplement your software library, you should be able to reduce data usage significantly, raising your overall data security.

Brian Penny is a former Business Analyst and Operations Manager at Bank of America turned whistleblower, freelance writer, and troll. Penny has been featured on Huffington Post, Lifehack, The Street, Cannabis Now, and Hardcore Games.

The Pirate’s Guide to Essential Bootlegging Terms

I still remember the first bootleg I ever saw – in 1989, I was on an Army base in Germany, and our neighbor brought home a VHS copy of Batman that one of his soldiers bought on the streets of NYC. Someone sat in a theater with a 1980s video camera and recorded the movie. It was an awful copy, but, being overseas in the 80s, there was no other way we could see a new release. Military theaters were further behind than dollar theaters, and the Internet didn’t exist, so seeing a Batman movie in our living room was like having a window into heaven.

Over the next 25 years, piracy evolved leaps and bounds, and I evolved right alongside it. The turn of the century was a Renaissance of piracy, as widespread adoption of the Internet made it almost too easy to find any software, movies, or music you could ever want. These days, the shift to cloud computing is making bootlegging more difficult, but the basic principles never change. Here’s what you need to know to navigate those murky pirate-infested waters.

Anonymous – In order to begin pirating, you need to be as anonymous as possible online. Learn more about how to stay safe online here.

Codec – A codec is necessary to play a video format. Download and use VLC Player (it’s free) – I couldn’t play a file with them 3 times in over a decade. If VLC doesn’t have the codec, it’s likely proprietary.

Crack – Software comes with a serial number to unlock it and prove you bought it. A crack is a counterfeit (or stolen/shared) code that can unlock the software.

Deep Web – The deep web is a layer of the internet that’s not accessible through traditional search engines. Rather than depending on web addresses, the Deep Web is accessible through IP addresses and other alternative means. The Deep Web is where you’ll find the evolution of warez.

DRM – Digital Rights Management is anti-piracy security. As piracy evolves, DRM is normally a couple steps behind. These days, the most powerful DRM method involves cloud computing. If you’re going to pirate modern software, it’s vital that you disconnect from the internet prior to installation and program your firewall to block internet connectivity to the program afterward.

Keygen – Short for key generator, a keygen is a program designed to create serial numbers for a variety of software versions. Before running a keygen, ensure your computer is muted – they’re often programmed with intrusively loud music.

Screener – A screener is a DVD-quality copy of a theatrical release, often accompanied by a digital watermark. Screeners are much better quality than Telesync, but are only available to the production staff and critics at major media outlets. Often a screener will come out days to even weeks prior to the theatrical release, allowing critics to have reviews out by opening night and building buzz for the film.

Screeners are most widely available at the end of the year, as award nominations are announced for the SAG and Golden Globe awards.

Proxy – Some sites can’t be accessed from the U.S. Other sites are ONLY available in the U.S. In order to get around such restrictions, you need a proxy server, which routes your web traffic through another node. This makes it appear as though you’re at the geographic location of the proxy, rather than your physical location.

Telesync – A telesync movie is filmed in the theater using a camcorder. This is the lowest quality video and audio, but it’s often the only version available for the first three months after a film’s theatrical release. During this time, various audio and video files are mixed and matched to make the best possible quality and eliminate any syncing issues.

A telesync movie can be identified by TS, CAM, or Telesync in the file name.

Torrent – Torrents are the modern way of pirating, allowing website owners a thin layer of legal protection. Rather than direct downloading of warez, you simply download the torrent. Most torrent sites don’t even directly host the torrents. In the torrent network, the files are hosted on individual hard drives, and you download pieces from each person, never directly downloading a full file from anyone.

Warez – Warez is a general term for pirated software. Before the Gnutella and TOR file-sharing protocols were used, warez sites and forums were the best places to obtain pirated software. Although torrents and streaming are the most efficient methods of software piracy, warez is still used, and the term should be remembered the next time your favorite torrent tracker goes down.

Brian Penny (aka Versability) is a former business analyst at Countrywide’s mortgage and insurance tracking services through the transition to Bank of America. In 2011, Penny turned whistleblower and freelance writer, exposing criminal fraud by BofA subsidiary Balboa Insurance. Brian is a frequent contributor to Huffington Post, Main Street, Lifehack, Hardcore Droid, Cannabis Now, and various other media organizations throughout the web.