One of the most popular modern file sharing methods, BitTorrent, relies on peer-to-peer technology to relay data. This method requires a user who owns the file, referred to as a 'seeder', to transfer the file to other users known as 'peers'. The file is relayed as small pieces, downloaded non-sequentially before being rearranged by the torrenting client upon completion. This non-sequential download is often faster than the traditional direct downloads that takes each piece sequentially; this is because it allows the user to by-pass temporarily unavailable files, and also to download different parts of the file from multiple seeders at once. As such, a peer's download speed depends greatly on the number of seeders that are present. When a peer has finished downloading the file, the peer then becomes a seeder, helping other peers to download the file. BitTorrent clients are also convenient for the user as they allow the user to pause and resume their download flawlessly at any given time. Torrents are not only beneficial for users. File hosts benefit from torrents as well as they reduce a server's bandwidth usage by making use of users who have the completed file.
BitTorrent was first created in April 2001 by Bram Cohen and is still being maintained by his company, BitTorrent Inc. With the rapid growth of torrent usage in the internet world, torrents have also been adopted by game publishers such as Blizzard Entertainment, and broadcasters like CBC as a means of file transfer. Even social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter use the BitTorrent technology to distribute updates to their servers. BitTorrent has amassed a large, international userbase that is even larger than the number of active users of both YouTube and Facebook combined!
Why, then, does BitTorrent have such a negative connotation if it is so convenient and popular?
Unfortunately, one of the most common uses of BitTorrent is to illegally obtain software and media. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has taken legal action against BitTorrent indexing websites, such as Supernova.com and TorrentSpy, which allow users to find the required torrent to download their file. Many countries, such as Sweden, Finland, and Singapore, have followed suit and are pressing charges in an attempt to shut down these websites - one of the largest attempts being on The Pirate Bay.
Users often use BitTorrent to obtain movies, games, songs, and expensive software such as Photoshop. Internet Service Providers have been reported to send cease-and-desist letters to users caught torrenting copyrighted material, usually movies. However, torrents are not only a threat to the entertainment industry, but also to users, as there are many corrupted torrent files online that contain malware that could potentially harm the user's computer.
