- File type: Bit Torrent distribution system
- Internet media: application/x-bittorrent
- Standard: BEP-000
What is a .torrent file
Torrent is a special protocol that was designed to overcome some of the shortcomings of the peer-to-peer networks.
In peer-to-peer networks one of the major drawbacks was the difficulty of searching and finding files on the network since it is a very computationally complex problem to search for files on thousands of systems connected to the network.
It is a protocol whereby the problem of searching the files is solved by creating and distributing small .TORRENT which have information regarding the various seeds and peers for a file that is being downloaded on the torrent network using the torrent protocol.
Seeds by definition are workstations that have the complete file downloaded, and shares the file for uploading with other downloaders.
Leechers are workstations that are in the process of downloading a file and have at least some part it downloaded already.
Any user downloading at any time is a leecher and he may be connected to either a seed or a leecher for downloading any file part by part.
How to open torrent files
To run a torrent you need a torrent player or specific software. These are the generic instructions to launch a torrent:
- Find the .torrent
- Tap on it in a mobile device or double click on it if you are with a computer.
- Select one of the available programs.
- Confirm
- Wait for the program to launch.
- If you don’t have any torrent opener check the next section.
Programs to Open Torrent Files
In Windows
- Mozilla Firefox with the FoxTorrent extension,
- Ares Torrent Downloader,
- Azureus,
- Transmission,
- GetRight,
- WebTorrent Desktop
- ?Torrent,
- Mldonkey,
- Shareaza,
- BitLord,
- Opera,
- Rox Player
- Soda Player
- BitX Torrent Video Player
- FlashGet,
- BitComet,
- BitTorrent
- VLC Media Player
In Linux
- Mozilla Firefox with the FoxTorrent extension,
- Azureus,
- Transmission,
- Mldonkey,
- Deluge,
- Ktorrent
In Android
- Flu and utorrent app.

- It is a standard text based computer which can be opened and edited using any standard text editor.
- It has the metadata and details of the number of seeders and Leechers that are available for a download with their IP addresses. They also have information relating to trackers and network locations.
- Trackers are servers that regularly announce information about leechers and seeds for a download. Also help the client or user downloading a file to keep track of the seeds and leechers for it regularly.
- Torrents are used to download all kinds of files that have been shared by users just like that in peer-to-peer networks. The only difference being that the user doesn’t need to search for them.
- Also, you can use it to download audio, video, softwares, and just about anything.
Convert
There is no point in converting them as they are metadata. The conversion to regular types like pdf, mp4, exe, mkv, zip is not possible.
Download Torrent
Download torrents is very easy but you have to take care about virus and malware. These kind of files are one of the most infected.