Torrent

In short: Torrent refers to the BitTorrent method, in which files are downloaded and shared from many participants at the same time.

In more detail: BitTorrent was developed by Bram Cohen (2001). It is a peer-to-peer method without a central file server.

In Depth

Terms

• Peer: participant.
• Seeder: has the complete file and shares it.
• Leecher: is still downloading.
• Tracker: brokers peers; modern clients also use DHT and magnet links.

Use and risk

Legal for example for Linux distributions. Distributing copyrighted works is illegal (file sharing); uploading while sharing can lead to warning letters. Files may contain malware.

See also: Torrent File, Torrent Sites, File Sharing, Linux