By Christine Betterton-Jones – Knowledge junkie
Here’s a definition: “Torrenting is the act of downloading and uploading files through the BitTorrent network. Instead of downloading files to a central server, torrenting involves downloading files from other users’ devices on the network. Conversely, users upload files from their own devices for other users to download.”
Here are some articles which explain this technology, and which are likely to scare you to death. What is Torrenting? Is it Safe? Is it illegal? Are you likely to be caught? https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/is-torrenting-safe-illegal-will-you-be-caught/
What Are Torrents & How Do They Work?
https://www.lifewire.com/torrent-file-2622839
–and here’s a video which explains how this kind of file sharing works:
Torrenting is frowned upon because it is used to share pirated material such as movies, books and music. However it is also used to download legitimate material such as open source software, so the process of torrenting itself is not illegal, though the content may be in some countries. It can be dangerous because the shared files might be infected with malware and expose you to hacking.
Is it illegal to download a pirated movie in Spain? Apparently not, “the law in Spain is clear: it is not against the law to download copyrighted material for your own personal use, nor is it illegal to make it available to others (i.e. seeding) as long as you are not profiting from it.” This Reddit thread summarises the situation here and discusses whether you should use a VPN or not.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askspain/comments/ploobq/torrenting_in_spain/
What software do I need? A Browser, probably a VPN (The Opera browser has a built in VPN) and a BitTorrent Client. The latter is a programme which manages the torrent and file download.
Where can I get torrents and which BitTorrent Client should I use? There are loads of very dodgy torrent sites with very dodgy content. Torrentsites, linked to below, lists what it believes to be the best sources of torrents for different types of content including movies, games, TV shows, Anime, documentaries and sports. It also lists popular BitTorrent clients
NOTES:
1.Torrent sites often pop up browser windows sending you to the darker corners of the Internet. Just ignore and close them.
2. If you do want to download torrents, it’s advisable NOT to use your main PC, or any device which has sensitive information on it, including your email login details. Torrents are on the fringe of legality — and you may get hacked!