
It starts with an initial “seeder” who has a complete copy of data that’s to be shared. It can do all of this without ever involving servers or data centers. What makes BitTorrent so popular and effective is that it can quickly share a file to millions of people using a network of computers that belong to regular people. That’s unlike downloading a file hosted on a centralized server.

Torrents work through networks like the public internet and are decentralized. In short, this means that it allows data to be transferred from one computer to another directly. A Quick Recap of How Torrents Work #īitTorrent is a “peer-to-peer” file transfer protocol. So, if you’re trying to open a Torrent file on Windows or Mac, but aren’t sure how to do it, here’s what you need to know.

Yet, torrenting itself isn’t illegal and can be a cost-effective and useful way to share files with people without paying for online file storage.
