The Similarity-Enhanced Transfer was developed to help speed up the transfer process between nodes in the file sharing network. The way it works, is it looks for chunks of data that are exact or an almost exact copy of what the client application is looking for. This technique is known as hand printing and it is basically looking for the data the file needs to be completed. By looking for and downloading similar chunks, you can actually improve the download time by 71%. The lower the SET filter is set, the more similar pieces it can find and therefore the number of connections that can be made. This is important as while you are downloading a file, you can suffer lags in between connection while the client application is looking for exact matches. By lowering the SET limit, you can then close these soft spots or lagging download points drastically which if figure out over the length of the entire download, you can increase the download time by up to 71%.

However, on popular data, the SET will most likely not help your download capabilities as these are limited by your ISP. However, when it comes to less popular files that have little seeds available, you can then increase this download time drastically whi will make it worth the effort.

The SET was developed by a joint effort between Professor David Andersen, Himabindu Pucha and Dr. Michael Kaminsky. After the development of this file sharing protocol, it would later be integrated into the bit torrent protocol. It is for this reason, that the bit torrent client applications are very expedient when it comes to downloading files. This also plays an important role in the development if the bit torrent protocol’s rarest first paradigm. In the rarest first technique, the client application will hunt down the rarest portions of the requested file first using the SET concept, therefore making the rarest portion, the least rarest and this will continue indefinitely until a medium is found in which all the pieces of data have the same availability. Or until you finish downloading the file!

There are many other concepts that have been envisioned into the development of the bit torrent protocol to help with its popularity and speed. Regardless of the underlying technology involved, the bit torrent protocol is now considered to be the most popular file sharing protocol in the world. Users can be found in any country that has a public internet access. Yes, there are still some in which the citizens do not have sufficient, or any internet access at all. Some of these reasons for the lacking can be as simple as cost, while others may be due to government constraints and control on its people. None the less, the bit torrent network is still considered to be the largest community on the web and in the world to date.

Popularity: 23% [?]

The concept of the swarm structure of a peer to peer file sharing network has stayed a constant since the 2nd generation of peer to peer file sharing protocols. When a use wants a file, they will go to a website and look up the file that they are in search of and download the tracker or .torrent file. From this point, the peer to peer file sharing client then connects to the URLs in the torrent tracker files and begins to make connections with various nodes around the world who have part or all of the file in question. The minute the client starts to make connections to other nodes or computers, then then join the swarm for that particular file. In general, the peers in the network, or leechers will trade file parts until they both have all of the pieces, or until they both are lacking certain pieces. It is only at this point that a client or node will begin to download directly from a seed.

It is for this reason that while downloading a file, you may be connected to multiple seeds for the file in question but may not be downloading directly from them. It is the basic hierarchy of the protocol which states the rarest files first. The main reason for this is the simple fact that seeds, especially the original seeder, should by now already shared a substantial amount of the file during the download itself. Because they have most likely met the basic share ratio of 1.5 to 1 they no longer need to be part of the general population of the swarm and instead, only give out pieces when there are none available, which technically should never happen.

This type pf hierarchy on the network is usually very efficient, except in the cases where certain nodes may choose o download certain files in certain orders. Although by default, a user is forced to download based on the rarest first protocol, due to the customizability of the particular peer to peer file sharing client, any user can choose which files to download in which order. A use can even decide to not even download certain portions of a file, or may choose to give higher priority to certain bits of file data based on how the file was broken down by the original seeder.

When we talk about the swarm structure of the 4th generation of peer to peer file sharing networks, we have to go no farther than the previous generations. The previous generations of peer to peer file sharing networks have mainly focused on perfecting the structure of the file sharing networks, while the 4th generation began its focus on the one request that has been asked for since the 2nd generation which is the ability to preview the download as it is happening. Since newer technology and faster internet connections have become available, the ability to live stream a video of virtually any size has now been available making it a priority to the file sharing networks.

Finally the out cry for a previewable download in the peer to peer file sharing industry. This is not the first time that previews have been available as it was actually introduced in clients like Ares back in the 3rd generation, but was not very efficient at the preview process as it had a habit of jumping from piece of data to another piece leaving a virtually indistinguishable preview especially on smaller files.

Popularity: 16% [?]

When speaking about the various bit torrent client software, the biggest issue that is always brought up is the limitations and security vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, a bit torrent client software does not offer any of its users any real form of anonymity. The ips of anyone who may currently or previously be included in the swarm for any particular file is available to almost anyone who wants it. The reason for this is plainly due to the tracker. Although the DHT, a trackerless form of sharing bit torrent data, has been introduced, many websites and torrent files, still today prohibit the use of a DHT.

A user of a bit torrent client software is vulnerable to possible attacks from any number of dubious hackers on the internet today.

There is also no way to give an incentive to share a file after you have downloaded it, so many people will download and simply remove it from their torrent folder. This eventually leads to a torrents death. Many websites today have attempted to prevent this from happening by keeping tallies of your IP addresses uploads and downloads. Unfortunately, many people today still share IP address and therefore cannot access certain files if many others that share their IP have not shared. This sort of becomes a catch 22. Most people do not like seeing that dreaded message “You may not leech, you may only seed” This then may cause someone to not want to seed since they were not able to access the tracker on that site.

Although there is no real incentive to seeding, the bit torrent client software does punish you if you do not seed. This comes in the form of the share ratio. A good share ratio is 1.5, this means that for every 1 MB you download, you have shared 1.5 MB with others, this helps the torrent files last longer. Many of the bit torrent client software will control the amount you can download if your share ratio is too low. Likewise, many tracker indexing websites may also perform in the same way. But unfortunately, if you sare an IP address with any number of people, there is the possibility that you will not be allowed to download from IPs listed at that indexing site due to any number of other users that may or may not have shared a file in the past.

The goal, is to help the file last longer. If you make a file that you want to share, firstly, make sure that it is a good copy. Second off, make sure that it will allow a DHT, this will help make more copies quicker due to the many bit torrent indexing websites that may be preventing others from accessing your file due to past users on that same IP address.

If you are good at making the torrent files, and they are considered to be of higher quality, you may just become famous. Many people when they look for a certain file, they also look for the collaborator who has offered that particular torrent. The reason for this is due to quality. I will not go into particulars, but you will notice certain names more often than others. When you then check these names with the number of available seeds, you will see that they are usually higher.

Just remember, that although you may have a firewall in place, make sure to add your bit torrent client software to its exclusion list, otherwise you may find a software program on your computer one day that you did not download, and cannot seem to get rid of. Never take down your firewall, only add exemption for your bit torrent client software in order to prevent this in the future.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Commenting is another one of the most important parts of sharing a bit torrent file. There are many people out there today who like to embed viruses and other form of malicious codes into various files so that they can cause havoc on those around them. It is pointless really, but still many people still do it. When one such file is created and shared with the rest of the world, others who encounter the problem, can then post a comment about the file on the indexing websites so that others can stop downloading it.

On top of this, there are still others who purposely misname files just because for some odd reason, they seem to think it is funny that another person may spend a full day downloading a file before they realize that it is not the right file. This also leads to illegal downloading of copyrighted data as well. If you find that you are downloading a file about dolphins, but once you have downloaded and took a look at it and realized it is about alligators, simply return to the indexing website that you received the torrent from and post a comment telling others that the file is not as it says it is.

The concept of commenting plays a pivotal role in the ability for any particular file to last as a bit torrent file. If people just plainly stop downloading a file because there are comments about it that are negative, the file eventually fades away and is no longer available, even though it may still be in the indexing website’s database. But once again, all this information is available if you do a search on the indexing website. It will tell you how many seeds and leechers are available, how strong that particular file is. If you notice that a file is not very strong at all, it is important to go to its comments section to determine if it is a weak file due to malicious or misinformed data, or if it is just plainly not a highly sought after torrent file.

Always remember to comment. If the file is strong, and the file its self is good, comment about it. There are so many people out there, that will want to know this before they even start the downloading process.

You should always post a comment about any file that you downloading. Regardless as to whether or not the comment is negative or positive, it will help others decide if they want to download it. If you comment accurately enough, others will turn to you as a role model in the bit torrent community.

There are many people out there who are actively participating in the bit torrent networks. You should too. And not only does this mean to download the files, but to also share the files and comments about that file with others in the community. The bit torrent network is a fully self-sustained network and because of this, it requires the participation of those in it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Indexing your .torrent files are an important part of sharing any piece of data utilizing the bit torrent network. The reason for this, is that the indexing websites give you a place where you can store your .torrent files so that they are easily accessible to others. Each and every .torrent file that is stored on any given indexing website, is also added to the database so that one may actually search through that entire database to find that particular file that they may be looking for.

Not only do these websites allow for your .torrent file to be indexed, they also give you an ability to share information regarding that file. On top of all of this, the various indexing websites also track to file automatically for you so that you do not have to. They maintain information regarding the availability of any particular file including the total number of seeds currently available as well as the number of leechers in the swarm.

A good, strong file also has many comments left about the file that can include information like if the file has a possible dangerous virus, any passwords necessary to open the file once downloaded, as well as information from others regarding how they felt the file was after downloading it.

All of this combined plays an important role in the livelihood of any given torrent file. For a file to stay strong and last, you need others in the bit torrent community who are always willing to share information regarding their files. That is what the whole thing is about, the absolute freedom of experiencing the world all from that small corner of your home without having to worry about boundaries or limitation. Bit torrent client software allows one to be part of one of the largest anonymous communities in the world. You can very easily find yourself sharing files and creating friends in almost any country in the world that has a publicly available internet access.

It all comes down to the indexing of your .torrent files. Without indexing them in the various online indexing websites, how can you share what you have to offer? The truth is, that you cannot. Otherwise, it is not a publicly available .torrent file, it then becomes a private tracker. Unless in which case you have already determined that a particular file is to be a privately shared one, but if not, you should always index them. You do not have to add your file to multiple indexing websites, only one of them. Most bit torrent client software will from there, then create a unique hash key of that file, so that even if the .torrent file is lost, the downloading can continue.

The concept behind the hash keys are simple. If you have ever noticed that on a particular website, the file that you have decided to download only reports so many seeds and leechers but then once you have started to download you notice many more than were actually announced. What happens is that when you are connected to another computer and downloading a file, the client software is making a network with other computers that may not have that particular file. It then finds another has key that is exactly the same but the .torrent file is named differently. Although it is possible to have multiple different files having the same hash key, the possibilities are very slim. It is these individual hash keys that allow your software to find other computers with the same file as some people like to rename files and re-index them on another or the same site under a different name and title.

Popularity: 2% [?]