Topic: torrent downloads?

[nokrome]

I'm a total newb to torrents and don't even really know were to start,
   there seems to be thousands of torrent sites and all of them that i have checked out ask for $$ at some point during the registration process. is this standard??
   I'm not really looking to download movies, games etc. but i do want to get a copy of Solidprofessor which is a Solidworks tutorial series.
     just hoping someone who is experienced can point me in the right direction
                         thanks

[singedebile]

hypothetically thepiratebay.org is still your first stop unless you got yourself an invite to an exclusive one. you will also need a program to download with utorrent is one of the best. i believe there are basic tutorials linked from thepirate bay if not im sure google can help...  always read the comments for virus warnings and added instructions. torrents are a really efficient way to download a file.. even a legal one. do what you will at your own risk.. im not saying its ok to download illigal files.

[Spikeybike]

http://www.vuze.com/

download vuse (free)  .. then you can either use vuse's search engine .. or google .  when googleing just type in what ever it is your looking for and put the word torrent at the end 

i use vuse because it's a little more user friendly then utorrent IMO

always read the comments,  and try to stay away from .rar files 

[tramp]

what is torrent?

[DavePhipps]

A torrent is a distributed download system. Instead of downloading 1 file from 1 source you get bits of it from many. Depending on how many people are hosting(seeding) the files it can be very fast or very slow.
I use BitTorrent and haven't had any issues.
I've also had no issues with RAR files. I use 7Zip to open them. It's freeware, very fast and very safe.
I've never been charged for a torrent download and would be leery of a site asking me to do so.

[Spikeybike]

rar files are easier to hide viruses and other malware in, still very safe .. but not as safe as others .. the upside to rar or other zipped file formats are they download really fast

[singedebile]

A torrent is a distributed download system. Instead of downloading 1 file from 1 source you get bits of it from many. Depending on how many people are hosting(seeding) the files it can be very fast or very slow.
I use BitTorrent and haven't had any issues.
I've also had no issues with RAR files. I use 7Zip to open them. It's freeware, very fast and very safe.
I've never been charged for a torrent download and would be leery of a site asking me to do so.

i have a membership with what.cd (free but by invite only) and ihave to say its an audiophile mecca. imagine everything from rare vinyl rips to basement bands all perfectly organized by every criteria, no duplicates, and every possible bitrate type!

[CaféElite]

I know nothing of this talk *shifty eyes* BUT If I was going to download/eval content from individuals of this nature I would do it from a static VM.

Search lifehacker, they have a couple articles on this topic that will get you up to speed.

[DavePhipps]

A vm wouldn't change the MAC address on a hardware level, and everything identifiable on the network side stays the same, switch , gateway, ISP.

[nokrome]

thanks for all the help, ive checked out all of the sites listed above but am not able to find what i have been looking for, i guess there is just not enough demand for it
    the search continues.........

[GammaFlat]

A vm wouldn't change the MAC address on a hardware level, and everything identifiable on the network side stays the same, switch , gateway, ISP.

If one wants to, one can hide.  There are many reasons to "hide".  Some reasons are legit and some are to do "less than good" things.  The government, for example, uses proxies to "hide" when doing certain things.  Hiding behind a proxy is like having an alarm system on your car.  You're a lot less likely to have a bad outcome but someone can still steal your car.  Hiding behind a proxy makes it harder for someone to figure out who you are (like the anti-music pirating interests).  I don't think it's worth the risk.  The price you pay (especially with music) is astounding if you're caught. 

Proceed with caution.  The walls are coming in on the internet. 

[wannabridin]

i've been using bit torrent and thepiratebay for years without issue.  i always list my searches by seeder numbers, and i almost always have very fast downloads, upwards of 800 kB/s on multiple files simultaneously

[CaféElite]

A vm wouldn't change the MAC address on a hardware level, and everything identifiable on the network side stays the same, switch , gateway, ISP.

My suggestion of a vm was for malware protection vs an attempt to avoid being tracked.

[flybox1]

i've been using bit torrent and thepiratebay for years without issue.  i always list my searches by seeder numbers, and i almost always have very fast downloads, upwards of 800 kB/s on multiple files simultaneously

+1
utorrent + isohunt or thepiratebay 

[the technological J]

ive used pirate bay and vuze no prob when u download a program to download these torrents like vuse utorrent isohunt go into thier settingsand make sure they dont  run on start up otherwise everytime u start up your computer it will start to run and you will then be sharing whatever information it is set up to share... and if you watch alot of streaming movies it will eat up your bandwidth and make it a pain.. even when you shut it down it will prob be set up to run in the background.... a good streaming site is stagevu just pay attn to the time of the movie because there's alot of ad just trying to sell other sites... plenty of tv shows on there also... oh yeah if you look on the right side of this page    http://thepiratebay.org/top/201
you will see se (seeders how many are sharing the file) and le (leechers how many are taking it) the more seeders the better i havnt had a prob with too many leechers