What Are Torrents & How Do They Work?
Torrents are a method of distributing files over the internet. They operate over the BitTorrent protocol to facilitate what's called peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing. There are a number of benefits torrent-based file sharing has over traditional file sharing. Expensive server equipment isn't necessary to send files to many people at once, and low-bandwidth (slow) networks can just as easily download large sets of data. The most common way to use torrents is through a special file that uses the .TORRENT file extension. Within the file are directions for how to share specific data with other people. Torrents Can Be Dangerous Before we learn more about how torrents work, it's very important to understand that they also pose a greater risk over other forms of file sharing. Torrents aren't inherently dangerous to use or create, but it's important to remember that unless you can trust the source, it's far too easy to accidentally download files that weren't upload...