A torrent is a service that allows you to exchange data between different users using the Internet. More precisely, torrent is a peer-to-peer network protocol that does not imply uploading files to a server, but transferring them directly from one user to another.
The transfer of files using this protocol is carried out with the support of sites that act as servers. They have a special name - trackers or torrent trackers. Before downloading, the user connects to the tracker at the address specified in the downloaded.torrent file. As a result, the user provides his address, as well as the hash of the downloaded.torrent file, at the same time he is informed of the addresses of other clients who are downloading or have already downloaded and distribute the desired file.
Users connect to each other without the participation of the tracker. It is only required to store information that it receives from users participating in the file exchange. Downloading files is done in chunks called segments. When a user downloads a file completely, it becomes a seed - i.e. goes into a mode in which it only gives the downloaded file to other users.
To work with torrents, you need a special program - a torrent client. It opens the.torrent file downloaded from the tracker, which stores the hash, and also obtains information about the users who are distributing. Among the most popular clients are µTorrent, BitTorrent, BitComet, and others.
The disadvantages of torrents include the situation when there is not a sufficient number of users sharing the necessary file segments. This occurs in cases where the file is not very popular. In this case, the distribution is called dead.
Another disadvantage of torrents is the lack of anonymity. Any user at least becomes aware of the IP addresses of those computers from which he downloads or which download data from his computer. Using additional protocol extensions, it becomes possible to find out the IP addresses of other clients. This can lead to an attack on unprotected user systems.
