TORRENT

What is a torrent?

A .torrent file is a file that contains the basic information about a file or set of files. This includes the file names, sizes, the date created and some other information. The torrent file also contains an info hash - which is basically just a unique code for that torrent. No other set of file(s) will have the same info hash as this one. The final thing contained inside the torrent is a list of trackers. If you have some torrent files, you can't open them in a text editor because they are encoded. You will need to open them in torrent client software (like Bitcomet which you can install on your computer.

What is a tracker?

A tracker is a computer on the Internet. The tracker's role is to manage live torrent files and keep track of statistics. When you open a torrent file in your client software, your client software contacts the tracker specific to that torrent. You client tells the tracker how much of the actual files (described by the torrent) that you currently have. If you created the torrent - then you probably have 100% of the files described by the torrent. If you downloaded the torrent - then you probably have 0% of the files.

Once your client has told the tracker your current situation, it logs that and gives you what it knows about that torrent. It will tell you that Bill in Arizona has 43% of the files described by the torrent. It will tell you that Kate in Amsterdam has 67% of the torrent.

What is a seeder?

A seeder is a person who has more than 0% of the files described by the torrent. If a torrent has no seeders, then no one (currently talking to the tracker) has anything to give.

What is a leecher/peer?

A peer is a person who is looking for the files described by the torrent. The more peers the more people are actively looking for the files described by the torrent.

Tracktrap has been created to help you find torrents - we search the Internet indexing torrents and updating their status with their trackers. This way you can find the files you are looking for by finding active torrents to use.

TOP 10 TORRENT SITES

1. Mininova

Without a doubt the most visited BitTorrent site. In November, Mininova reached a milestone by entering the list of the 50 most visited websites on the Internet.

2. IsoHunt

IsoHunt continued to grow this year. In September they were forced to close their trackers to US traffic because of the issues they have with the MPAA, but this had no effect on the visitor count.

3. The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay has been in the news quite a bit this year and remains not only the most used BitTorrent tracker, but also one of the most visited BitTorrent sites. At the moment they are fighting with IsoHunt for the second place in this list.

4. Torrentz

Torrentz is the only “torrent site” in the top 10 that doesn’t host .torrent files. Several improvements and new features have been introduced over the past year such as a comment system, private bookmarks and a cleaner layout.

5. BTjunkie

BTjunkie was one of the fastest risers last year and continued to grow throughout 2007. Last month they were, like many others, forced to leave their ISP (LeaseWeb), but the transition to a new host went smoothly and didn’t result in any downtime.

6. TorrentSpy

TorrentSpy was the most popular BitTorrent site of 2006, but dropped to sixth place due to legal issues with the MPAA. To ensure the privacy of their users, TorrentSpy decided that it was best to block access to all users from the US, causing their traffic to plunge.

7. TorrentPortal

Not much news about TorrentPortal this year, but that probably is a good thing. Like most other sites they have grown quite a bit in 2007.

8. GamesTorrents

It’s quite a surprise to see GamesTorrents in the list of 10 most popular BitTorrent sites of 2007. This Spanish BitTorrent site had a huge dip in traffic earlier this year but managed to secure 8th place.

9. TorrentReactor

TorrentReactor.net has been around for quite a while, four years to be exact, and is still growing.

10. BTmon

BTmon was one of the newcomers in 2006, and it is the youngest BitTorrent site in the top 10 this year.