Make your Own Torrents by uTorrent

How To Make Your Own Torrents Using uTorrent

In the BitTorrent scene, giving is just as important as receiving.  If you have something you’d like to contribute to your tracker of choice, it’s easy to do if you’re using uTorrent.
In today’s edition of our BitTorrent for Beginners series we’ll show you how to create and share a torrent using uTorrent—be sure to read the first part of the series, where we explain what BitTorrent is and how it all works.

Research Your Tracker

Before you actually create a torrent file, be sure that the files you’re sharing comply with your tracker’s rules.  Here are some important points to follow:

1. Be sure to read the documentation on your tracker.  Some trackers only allow Creative Commons-licensed media, so check to see if yours is before posting it.  There are other rules or guidelines for quality of media (mostly videos and music) and proper tagging, so be sure to comply with them.  Depending on your tracker, torrents violating these rules could be removed and the user can be banned, so please take your time.
2. Go through the rules again.  This is also important because you need to get the tracker’s announce URL, which is usually listed alongside the documentation, FAQ, or in the forum’s sticky posts.  More information on this below.
3. Be prepared to seed!  Most trackers expect you to seed at LEAST twice the size of the upload, or for 72 hours, whichever is longer.  If you can’t comply with this then wait to post your torrent until you can.
4. Look into a license if you’re sharing your own work.  Sharing is a great way to get some exposure, but don’t give away your rights as a media creator.  Take a look at the Creative Commons Licenses and study a bit so that you can share and still maintain ownership of your creations.

BitTorrent is all about the community, so if you’re not yet a part of one, take some time to search online or ask some of the techies you know.  You can also check out our previous article on how to get started downloading torrents for a few places to get started.

How to Create a Torrent

Before you can share a torrent file, you’ll need to make sure to get your tracker’s “announce” URL.  This is the address that your tracker uses to announce torrents and keep track of everything, and is usually in the format of:

http://tracker.whateveryourtrackersiteis.com:port#/announce

Aside from the files you’re sharing, this is the second most important piece of information, so be sure it’s accurate or else your torrent won’t work. Once you’ve figured that out, fire up uTorrent and then click on the button that looks like a magic wand, or go to File > Create New Torrent.

You’ll see something like this—click on Add file or Add directory depending on what you’re going to be turning into a torrent.  As you can see here, I’ve chosen a directory of high quality wallpapers I created.
 
Important: Make sure you put in your tracker URL
We can’t emphasize this enough, as most people forget this and wonder why their torrent doesn’t work.  This is especially important if you’re on a private tracker, i.e. one you need to be registered for.
You’ll probably want to choose some of the options under the “Other” section:

• Start seeding: Select the Start seeding option when you want to post the torrent as soon as you create it, but you can choose to manually start seeding later if you aren’t uploading your torrent file right away. 
• Preserve file order: Choose the Preserve file order option when you have a folder structure that you’d like the torrenters to choose from.
• Private torrent:  Be sure to uncheck Private torrent if you’re uploading to a public tracker. More on this in a future lesson.

When you’re ready, click Create and save as… to save your torrent file.  That’s it! 
Upload Your Torrent File
Now, you can upload this torrent to your tracker, usually with a new forum or blog post with details of what you’re including.  Be aware that if you move your source files or close uTorrent, you will not seed, so be sure you don’t do either of these until you fulfill your initial seeding requirements.  Again, if there’s any doubt, check the Rules sections of your tracker.  Remember, sharing is caring!

Getting Started With BitTorrent

What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is an internet peer-to-peer file sharing protocol that works in a sort of decentralized fashion. You are getting portions from fellow down-loaders to maximize data exchange.
BitTorrent is one of the most commonly used protocols for transferring very large files because it doesn’t overload web servers that provide downloads—since everybody is both sending and receiving, it’s much more efficient than everybody downloading from a single server.

How BitTorrent Works

The initial pieces transfer from the seed (the main server), the pieces are individually transferred from client to client. The original seeder only needs to send out one copy of the file for all the clients to receive a copy.

Indexers An “indexer” is a site that compiles a list of torrents and descriptions and is a place where users form a community (with rules!) around BitTorrent content.  When you want to share, download, or request files, the indexer’s community is where you go.  These usually take the form of a forum and/or an IRC channel.

Trackers
A “tracker” is a server that assists in directing peers, initiated downloads, and maintaining statistics. Since most indexers have their own private tracker, most people just refer to them both as trackers.  In this article, we’re going to use this more general definition to avoid confusion with whatever you may find yourself on the internet.
Trackers route little pieces of data, or packets, to downloaders and assist them in connecting to their fellow peers—as you download chunks of files, you also upload them to other people who have different chunks of the file, and because everybody’s sharing with each other while downloading, it tends to zip along quickly.

Seeders and Leechers

Once you’re done downloading, you become a “seeder” and you continue to upload to other peers. If you disable uploading and you only download, you’re referred to as a “leecher,” and aside from its ethical misgivings it can lead to being banned from the tracker.  As such, it’s generally good practice to seed at least as much as you download.

Public vs Private Trackers
Another aspect of trackers are whether they are public or private—the “Private” trackers are based on membership, so only registered users can download, upload, and/or have access to perks like additional downloads. “Public” trackers usually don’t require registration, or if they do, it’s free and always open.  In general, the best experience comes from a private tracker with a strong community, so be sure to look around and see if you can’t find one that suits your tastes.

BitTorrent Clients

The other side of the BitTorrent equation can be found on your local computer: a client.  The client’s job is to manage your torrents, actually connect to other peers, manage statistics on your end, and, of course, download and upload. While the tracker gives instructions on what to do and how to connect, it’s the client that actually does the heavy-lifting.  Because of this, it’s important that you choose a client you trust as well as a client that performs amiably.
There’s no lack of free, feature-packed BitTorrent clients, but we strongly recommend uTorrent (for Windows) and Transmission (for Mac OS and Linux).  uTorrent is a powerhouse of an app, and easily one of the lightest to run on Windows.  Transmission is installed by default on Ubuntu and many other Linux distributions, and the Mac version runs extremely well and has Growl support.  They are both novice and resource-friendly but don’t skip out on some of the more useful options for advanced users.
Note: uTorrent, by default, enables an Ask.com toolbar during installation and offers to make your default search Ask.com.  This can be turned off without any problems, but it bears mentioning.

Legality of BitTorrent

BitTorrent itself is a protocol, so it falls to individual trackers as to what’s legal and what’s not.  If a copyright violation occurs, it is the tracker that is primarily held responsible, and subsequently its users. You probably should avoid blindly downloading copyrighted works on public trackers, since your IP address can be easily tracked.
There are many legal uses for BitTorrent, however—for instance, most community-driven Linux distributions offer torrents for their ISOs. Phish fans often record live shows (so long as they comply with Phish’s policy on music trading) and share them online, as do many artists themselves.
There are plenty of legal trackers out there, as well as torrent aggregators that compile links to legal downloads hosted on other trackers. Here’s a couple of examples:

• Jamendo is a free music tracker that distributes Creative Commons-licensed albums, and artists can contribute their own album if it’s licensed in the same way. 
• Linux Tracker provides downloads to Linux distributions, both popular and low-key, and serves as a great alternative for downloading ISO files. 
• Clear Bits offers “open licensed digital media” downloads for free, charging content providers instead.  And, as always, Google can be a powerful ally in finding legal torrents.

We here at techjt do not condone piracy and we urge you to please download responsibly.

Downloading Torrents

Things are shared through “torrents,” small files containing text that act as instructions for the tracker.  In order to download files, you hop on your tracker’s website and download the torrent file, which is usually under 30 KB.  You then open that torrent in your chosen BitTorrent and you’ve started to download!  The process is that simple, although there is a lot you can do to make the most of your connection if you play around with your client.
Step by Step
First and foremost, download and install your chosen BitTorrent client.  Here, I’m using uTorrent as my chosen client on Windows.  If you’re using Mac or Linux, it won’t be too hard to follow along using Transmission.
Next, we need a torrent file.  I’ve got a torrent of Countdown’s album “Break Rise Blowing” from Jamendo.
 
Once you have your torrent file in an easy-to-reach (or well-organized) location, all you have to do is double-click on the .torrent file to load it in your client.
You’ll see uTorrent pop up and you’ll get a dialog with option for the specific download.

Here, you can choose where the torrent will download to, whether or not you want to add it to the top of your queue of torrents, and you can even unmark individual files from being downloaded.  Once you’ve settled on what you’d like, you can go ahead and click on OK.

In the main uTorrent window you’ll see your queue.  From here you can manage your torrents:

• The Pause button will pause downloading, but keep its connections open.
• The Stop button will stop downloading and close its connections.
• The Play button will start downloads once they’ve been paused or stopped.
• The red X button will give you a prompt to delete your torrent (and files, if you choose).
• The Up arrow will raise your torrent’s priority amongst all of the currently active torrents.
• The Down arrow will lower its priority in the queue.

Getting started is just that easy.  The world of BitTorrent is vast, but hopefully this introduction will give you the incentive to take the plunge.  Happy torrenting!