Internet users rely on the torrent to download different types of files from the internet. This is often considered faster than other method of internet downloads. The use of bittorrent to download files from the internet is often associated with illegality. This is because most of the items that are downloaded using torrent, are not supposed to be downloaded.
It is possible that many people who download such torrents do not know that they do that illegally. It is important to know what constitute illegality and legality of torrent downloads. Downloading illegal files could lead internet users to trouble.
What is Torrent and how it works
A torrent is regarded as a small file, which usually end with .torrent. Usually, torrent files are downloaded as a bittorrent client, through peer-to-peer sharing protocol. The .torrent files are employed to derive larger files from the internet relying on the bittorrent client or protocol.
Torrent download does not work like other download method, such as the Soundcloud. Rather users could join other internet users to download files and upload files from different users at the same time. When you download files, you will initially get to .torrent file. This is a shortcut of the file name. This does not have the media you are looking for, but it would help you get quick access to the place you can easily access the media.
When you get access to the .torrent, you will begin to use the bittorrent client to start downloading the files you want. You would be connected to the other peers from where you can download. This how you would get access to the files that you want to download. The media files downloaded through this method are never done at a big chunk; instead, they are available in small pieces, because they are from different peers. This is also the reason it is faster to download such files from the internet.
Is Torrenting illegal?
Before you start to download torrents online, you should know whether it is legal or illegal. The torrent technology itself is completely legal. But if you download copyright protected material using torrent, then it’s illegal.
It is observed there is always a misconception here. Some people often make the mistake of referring to torrent or bittorrent as illegal. It is important that users understand that the use of these download technology is legal. What is illegal or legal is determined by the files you want to download. If you decide to download copyrighted media from the internet, you should know that it is illegal download. Irrespective of the technology that you use to download copyrighted files from the internet, it is illegal as you do not have the right to download such a file.
What is legal and illegal depends on the law available in different countries. Different versions of intellectual and property theft are available in different countries. Some copyrighted materials could be downloaded without that being illegal. This is usually the case when you have a permission from the publisher of the document to download it. Some copyrighted files always have a time limit. It will no longer be an illegal activity when you download them from the internet when the time limit has elapsed. There are instances where the owner of a file will give internet users the right to download such files, in such a case it is legal to download, because you have the right to do so.
How to stay safe while downloading torrent
It is advisable to stay safe and not go contrary to the law while downloading the torrent from the internet. As most popular bitTorrent sites contain copyright protected materials, the best way to stay safe is to make inquiries about what you want to download to determine whether it is covered by copyright or not. Follow the two steps given below to stay safe while torrenting.
1. Use Legal Torrent Sites- Try to use legal torrent sites only so that you don’t download something illegally without knowing.
2. Select Content Carefully- Be extra careful when downloading something using popular torrent sites that contain copyrighted contents as well. Make sure that you only download torrents that are free legal and free from copyright.
With the use of the web search, you can determine whether there is any legal issue surrounding such files before you start to download. This would help you to stay of trouble.
The use of the torrent is legal, what is illegal is not the technology, but the files you download. Torrent download is the most reliable and fastest means of downloading files from the internet. Illegal downloads are those files covered by copyright, while those not covered by copyright are legal to download.
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