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Table of Content:
General
Legality and Privacy
Downloading & Uploading files using Bittorrent
Security
Miscellaneous
General
What is Bittorrent?
BitTorrent is a protocol designed for transferring files. It is peer-to-peer in nature, as users connect to each other directly to send and receive portions of the file. However, there is a central server (called a tracker) which coordinates the action of all such peers. The tracker only manages connections, it does not have any knowledge of the contents of the files being distributed, and therefore a large number of users can be supported with relatively limited tracker bandwidth. The key philosophy of BitTorrent is that users should upload (transmit outbound) at the same time they are downloading (receiving inbound.) In this manner, network bandwidth is utilized as efficiently as possible. BitTorrent is designed to work better as the number of people interested in a certain file increases, in contrast to other file transfer protocols.
[https://dessent.net/btfaq/#what]
How does it work?
In our traditional download model (http), the Blackhole Motorsports server sends the download data to anyone and everyone who wants it. This system is nice and simple, but it relies on a single server to have a connection that's fast and reliable enough to handle all requests for the file. It also means that Blackhole Motorsports is responsible for the cost of every byte that's downloaded.
When BitTorrent is used to download a file, the central Blackhole Motorsports' server is replaced by a tracker. The tracker doesn't actually host any of the download data; it merely maintains a list of all the clients that wish to download the file. The clients download that list, then communicate directly with each other. This group of clients is called a swarm.
The clients in the swarm trade pieces of the download in a mutually-beneficial fashion. For example, if client A has piece #3 of the file but is missing piece #4, it might notice that client B is missing piece #3. Client A will then send that piece to client B in the hopes that it will return the favour by sending back piece #4. Smart BitTorrent clients can even figure out which other clients offer the best transfer rates and return favours most consistently.
Okay, but if there is no central server, where does the download data come from in the first place? The answer is that the original source of the download file is just another client in the swarm. Once a client finishes downloading a file, it will continue to offer parts of the file to other clients in the swarm. Such "completed" clients are called seeds, and it's generally considered polite to remain in the swarm until your client has uploaded as much data as it has downloaded.
[https://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=3&issue=88&format=html#5]
Why does BlackHole Motorsports use Bittorrent?
Bittorrent is a technology designed to solve the biggest problem with offering downloads. Serving large files, such as mods, movies and demos, creates problems of scaling, reliability. Since Blackhole Motorsports has recently become more and more popular we were faced with the following problems:
- An increase in our bandwidth costs.
- The possibility that a popular file can overwhelm our server
To overcome these problems we decided to use Bittorrent for our large and popular files. When Bittorrent is used to download a file we don't have to rely on the Blackhole Motorsports server, but instead can rely on a group of clients that wish to download the file.
[https://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=3&issue=88&format=html#5]
Legality and Privacy
Is Bittorrent legal?
Bit Torrents themselves are entirely legal. However, the use of the Bit Torrent Network to distribute copyrighted material without the express consent of the owner is illegal. Although Bittorrent is used for piracy purposes, but recently providers, including Blackhole Motorsports, of large and legitimate downloads are beginning to discover the strength of the model. For example the Slashdot community and the Mozilla Project are using Bittorrent Technology to distribute their files.
[https://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=3&issue=88&format=html#5]
Does BitTorrent maintain my privacy?
Yes, as much as possible. The official BitTorrent client doesn't know your name, email address, SSN or credit card number, so it doesn't have any way to misuse the information. I suppose the client could be written so as to steal the information of the host computer, but because the application is open source, someone probably would have noticed anything sneaky like that.
[https://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#PRIV_1]
What personal information is shared with other users?
If you download a bit torrent, then the tracker and other users will know:
- Your IP Address
- That you are downloading the file
- That you were smart enough to figure out how to download a torrent.
- That you have access to a computer and the internet.
None of these are particularly damaging pieces of information. (You give your IP address to every web site that you visit). However, if someone were determined enough, they might be able to derive information about you from your IP address. If they had legal reasons, they may even be able to force your ISP to give them more information about you. But that isn't going to happen, unless you're doing something massively illegal.
[https://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#PRIV_2]
Downloading & Uploading files using Bittorrent
What do I need to download the files?
You will need a Bittorrent Client. Although there are a lot of Bittorrent clients, Blackhole Motorsports recommends the following Bittorrent Clients:
Blackhole Motorsports recommends these clients, because they support the so called web seeds. This means that we can use our webserver as a bittorrent client and don't have to use a special server for a file. You can still use other bittorrent to download from the Blackhole Motorsports' swarm, but whenever there are no other seeds in the swarm available you will not be able to complete your download. If you use the clients recommended above you will always be able to complete your download.
How do I download files using Bittorrent?
BitTorrent is not like other peer-to-peer applications (such as Winmx, Kazaa, Gnutella, etc.) in that it does not have its own "universe." Put another way, BT lives on top of the Web, which means that all of the searching/listing of available files is done on the web, in our case in the download section of Blackhole Motorsports. When you find a file you want to download, you click on it and the BitTorrent client program will run and ask you where to put it, and then start downloading.
[https://dessent.net/btfaq/#now_what]
BitTorrent says I'm uploading, what files am I sharing? What's being sent?
Don't worry. When you are downloading a particular torrent, you are also uploading that torrent at the same time. The parts of the file(s) that you have already downloaded are uploaded to other peers. This is normal, and it's how the protocol works. There is no "shared directory" setting as with other peer-to-peer applications.
[https://dessent.net/btfaq/#upload]
Why do some files download more slowly than others?
Files may download more slowly if they are less popular, or they are no longer popular. For example, a mod that has just been released is going to be popular, and will probably download very quickly. However, a torrent for a mod that has been released 3 months ago probably won't be as popular, and will download more slowly. It may also be the case that there are other people downloading, but they all have slow connections.
[https://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#SPEED_2]
Why is my download speed so low if my upload speed is so high?
If you are one of the first people to be downloading a torrent, or you have one of the fastest connections among people downloading a torrent, or you are almost finished downloading a torrent, then it is likely that your download speed will be less than your upload speed. However, over the course of the entire download, the download and upload speeds usually average out to be about the same.
[https://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#SPEED_3]
Why does my download speed change so frequently?
The bit torrent network is a dynamic place. If you are downloading pieces from someone with a fast connection and they disconnect, or run out of pieces that you don't already have, then your download speed will change. If you run out of pieces of the file that people are interested in, your download speed will change.
[https://www.monduna.com/bt/faq.html#SPEED_4]
I just started downloading the file. Why is it already so big?
When BitTorrent starts, it allocates space for the entire file(s). That is what you see at startup as the progress bar moves across the screen and the disk drive goes crazy. The reason it does this is because it downloads the file in pieces, and those pieces arrive in an arbitrary order. Unlike http or ftp, which download the file from start to finish, BT downloads it in random order.
Security
Is it safe to download and share files using the Bittorrent network?
You may have heard some bad things about other P2P networks (spyware, viruses, etc...) but, BitTorrent is totally different. Most P2P programs install on your computer and many of the programs for MS Windows come "bundled" with other programs that get installed as you install the program. These programs range from the annoying (which produce pop-up ads) to the downright nasty (which include spyware to track your surfing habits). Programs like iMesh, KaZaa, OverNet and others come bundled with these "malware" programs that run under MS Windows. BitTorrent is totally different. You do not share any files or directories locally on your machine (except the one that you're downloading). There are no other program installed with the BitTorrent client under Linspire. The only way to download a file under this P2P network is to click on a link. There is no random sharing or shared directories. You can only share one file at a time -- the one that you are currently downloading.
[https://info.linspire.com/support/BitTorrent/]
I have a firewall can I still use Bittorrent to download your files?
Yes, but you will get better performance if other peers can connect to you. See here for detailed instructions on how to allow incoming BitTorrent connections.
FIREWALL LINK : https://userpages.umbc.edu/~hamilton/btclientconfig.html
[https://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/FAQ.html]
Miscellaneous
Links
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