Unlike we have seen suggested elsewhere on the web, it is not necessary to use a cloud torrent service to download torrents on a Chromebook. In fact, thanks to Chrome OS increasing its support for Android and Linux apps, you can torrent files conventionally and it's never been easier.
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Chrome OS's native integration of the Google Play Store means that torrenting using Android VPN and BitTorrent apps is undoubtedly an easier option. It is, therefore, the option we recommend for most Chromebook users, although Linux does have its advantages.
The main benefit of torrenting in Linux on your Chromebook is that it allows you to use full desktop BitTorrent clients, such as qBitTorrent. These are undoubtedly more powerful than their Android cousins, although it is questionable whether many torrenters will ever really use their advanced features.
Looking for a free option? While free VPNs do exist, we do not recommend them for torrenting because they are both restrictive on data allowance and can be questionable with privacy. After all, there are many cowboys out there in the land of Android.
Once you click on a Magnet link or download a .torrent file, it should automatically open in your Android BitTorrent app and start downloading (Chrome OS and Android play nice with each other on a Chromebook these days).
For torrents obtained from public torrent sites, a seed ratio of 1:1 is usually considered sufficient. That is, you have seeded (uploaded) as much of the torrent data as you have downloaded. Private torrent sites often demand much higher seed ratios.
Keep in mind that the Peers tab of your BitTorrent client provides graphic evidence about why you need to use a VPN when torrenting. It shows you the IP address of every other torrent user who is sharing (downloading or seeding) a file.
Using a VPN is essential to avoid peeping Toms, as the Peers tab on your client shows the IP address of everyone that has downloaded and seeded the file - including yours. VPNs mask your IP address, replacing it with one belonging to one of its servers.
If your VPN service doesn't use a NAT firewall... well, you can't port forward through something which doesn't exist. If it does, then port forwarding will likely improve your torrenting speeds. But doing so is most definitely not essential.
If you have an IPv6 connection and you have enabled IPv6 connectivity in your BitTorrent client, then you might run to check for IPv6 leaks using our new IP leak test tool. This is something that you probably want to do anyway if you also use the VPN at all for non-torrent related stuff.
How many peers are seeding the torrent you are downloading. The more sources you have, the faster your download speeds will be. There is nothing you can do about this except choose torrents that have a good seed (number of uploaders) / leech (number of downloaders) ratio. Most torrent websites clearly show these figures.
When you download a file from the internet, you're typically downloading it directly from a server somewhere. How fast you download that file can vary depending on the server's location, speed, and how many people are trying to download the file at the same time. So, while you might have a 200Mbps connection from your internet provider, you may download a file much slower than that if the server providing the file is slow or getting hammered with requests.
Instead of downloading a file from a single server, with BitTorrent you download pieces of that file from other users across the globe who have the same file on their PC (hence peer-to-peer). The file or group of files you download is called a torrent, sharing those files is called seeding, and the group of people you download from is called a swarm. The more people connected to a given swarm, seeding a file, the faster you'll be able to download that file.
All that said, BitTorrent is often used for piracy, since its efficiency, decentralized nature, and popularity have produced a bustling community around sharing those files. If there's something you want to download, there's a good chance someone's sharing it with BitTorrent, legally or not. To be clear, we at PCMag do not condone piracy. If you use our instructions for that purpose, you do so at your own risk.
Downloading files with BitTorrent is a bit more complicated than just clicking a link in your web browser. Most browsers don't have built-in support for BitTorrent, so you need a specific program, called a BitTorrent client, that knows how to download and assemble the pieces of a file in a torrent.
I'm personally a fan of qBittorrent(Opens in a new window), a free open-source client that's easy to use, available on multiple platforms, and provides a good amount of advanced features for those who like to dig in. Other popular programs include Transmission(Opens in a new window), and Deluge(Opens in a new window). We'll discuss the differences between all these in a future article.
You just double-click the Torrent and tell your OS to open it in the client software. From there, you will need to tell the software where to download your file and you may also be able to prioritize it among whatever other things you want to download at the same time. These are client-specific steps, however.
These are the absolute bare minimum basics you need to get started with BitTorrent, but they won't likely give you an optimal experience. Below are a few things that can help you stay safe and keep your downloads moving fast.
Many torrent sites have comments on each page, which can help you determine a given torrent's authenticity based on what other users have written. Some directories put badges next to the uploader's username, denoting users with good track records of uploading safe files. And, of course, you should be running good antivirus software, which scans everything you download automatically.
While this isn't crucial to success, it's generally considered nice to pay it forward and seed files after you download them, allowing others the opportunity to download the data themselves. After all, if there were no seeders, BitTorrent wouldn't work very well, and we'd all be stuck downloading files at a snail's pace. If you can't seed the file forever, at least seed it until you've shared as much as you've downloaded (also known as having a 1:1 "ratio") before deleting the torrent from your client.
There's even more we could delve into here, as BitTorrent is a remarkably powerful tool if you're willing to dig into your client's settings. But for most beginners, this should get you started, keep you safe, and allow you to avoid the dreaded "slow download server" as much as possible.
Although Deluge is often overlooked, in reality, this Bittorrent client is one of the most robust and flexible. In fact, it is known as the king of customization. And once you try it, you might never go back, and there are many reasons why.
Deluge 2.0 is superior to Deluge 1.3 in terms of functionalities, features, and performance. Deluge 2.0 comes with performance updates that ensure the client can manage more torrents and with faster response times. Deluge v2.0 also includes new features such as multi-user support, automatic re-checks, new console UI, migration to GTK3, magnet pre-fetching, support to libtorrent 1.2, and more.
The Deluge bit torrent client comes with all the foundational features of a typical torrent client. As you will notice, when Deluge is missing something, a feature, a fix, etc., it will be only a matter of time before someone builds a plug-in or fixes the bug.
Remote access is one of the greatest features of the Deluge torrent client. It allows you to manage torrents remotely via a local client. To control Deluge remotely with a thin client, you have to prepare your remote Deluge machine to accept remote connections, so please follow this tutorial carefully.
Now you will notice that your torrents will begin downloading. And also, when you finish configuring your RSS feed, you can use your WebUI to check the status of torrents, or you can continue using your GTK over the remote desktop.
For instance, you might have the fastest bandwidth and best computer, but your ISP might be doing a great job blocking torrent traffic. Or, you are using Deluge VPN, but the VPN service provider is keeping your logs.
By default, Deluge communicates on port 58846. But, remember that this is signaling (communication) and not torrenting traffic. When it comes to data (torrenting traffic), Deluge uses random ports, usual ports between 50,000 and 65,000.
If you feel your communication with other torrent peers is limited, slow, or is simply never possible, your Deluge ports might be being blocked by a networking device. When the gateway, router, firewall, or proxy receives an incoming connection from an external remote client (a torrent peer), the device will not know where to forward it within your Local Area Network (LAN), so it discards it.
Finding the right balance between queues can also be key to speed. Too much download/upload activity may result in overall slow speeds, but at the same time, too little will take you nowhere. So how can you find the right queuing settings?
Regardless of what torrent client you use, using BitTorrent will always expose your information in some way or the other. All peers within the same swarm can easily see your data, including IP, country, OS, and even Deluge version. On top of that, even though you might be downloading legal Ubuntu files, your ISP will likely monitor and block all torrent activity.
As a brand new torrent user this is a God send. I have been looking for a how to guide to set what ever switches that may need to be set in deluge. Also, While I had the latest release I set in on my end to run in cojmpateable mode with os7 for windows not os1`0. But this article says it supports 7 thru 10.
Deluge appears to be a mess of false error messages, telling me that things are not working when they clearly are. My torrents are definitely downloading, even though there are allegedly port errors, and the port tests all fail. 2ff7e9595c
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