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Old 16-12-22, 07:27 AM   #1
JackSpratts
 
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Default Peer-To-Peer News - The Week In Review - December 17th, 22

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December 17th, 2022




What is a Torrent?

What you need to know about torrent and torrenting files
Nate Jordan

Anyone who’s used the Internet knows how to download a file. Simply visit a website, click the link and the download automatically begins. The bits of information that make up that one file, such as an image or eBook are copied from the remote server to your computer. If the download is interrupted for any reason, you may have to start it all over again.

Torrent files work a little differently. They’re a much faster and better way to download and share files, especially large ones. In fact over 50% of web traffic in the entire world is done via torrents.

How do torrents work?

Torrents may have a bad reputation as they’re often used by websites that pirate copyrighted media. Still, there’s nothing illegal about them in themselves and as you’ll learn, they can be an extremely efficient way to download and share data.

We already know that traditional downloads work by clicking a link and copying a single file, bit by bit, from a computer on the internet to your home computer. Torrent files - usually identified by the extension .torrent - work with the Bittorrent protocol to help you share and download files via peer-to-peer (P2P).

This means that instead of downloading a file from just one computer, you can download parts of it from multiple computers or ‘peers’ at the same time. This is much faster than traditional downloads.

Let’s say you wanted to download the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from the Internet Archive. Archive.org offer multiple download methods here. You could download the entire set of audio books as a 565MB ZIP file, but this can be very slow. It can also place a huge burden on the website as multiple users try to download files at once.

Alternatively, you can choose to download a torrent file. This contains all the information about where these books are located. In other words, it contains details of computers of people who have already downloaded these audiobooks, so you can connect to them and do the same. These people are known as seeders.

A matter of protocol

By itself your torrent file isn’t much use. Yes, it contains the location of other ‘peers’ who have already downloaded the same file, but what good is this if you can’t do the same?

This is where your torrent client comes in. This is a software program capable of reading the torrent file and communicating with seeders in order to download it to your computer.

When you open a .torrent file in the Bittorrent client, it will first look for the ‘tracker’ specified in the file. This is simply the address for a special server which holds a list of users who have a complete copy of the file (in this case some audio books). The Bittorent protocol can break large files into small chunks and help your client connect to and download them from other users.

Once the download is complete, you can also choose to become a ‘seeder’ by leaving your Bittorrent client open to share your download with others.

Torrent treats

Downloading via bittorrent doesn’t rely on a single computer. As it’s “decentralized”, if one particular computer doesn’t host the files you need any more, you can always get another copy from other ‘seeders’.

The larger the ‘swarm’ - people downloading and sharing the same torrent - the faster the download can be. As you’re copying small bits of information from multiple sources, your download speed isn’t restricted by a single server, as it would be for a regular HTTP download. If a download is interrupted, you can just resume downloading from other peers.

Torrents can also be quite democratic in that if a file turns out not to be as described or is poor quality, fewer people download it. Most bittorrent websites feature rankings for files based on the number of people who’ve successfully downloaded and shared it, allowing you to check which are best.

Torrent tricks

GIven how efficient the Bittorrent protocol is for sharing large files, it’s hardly surprising that it’s used to share music and videos illegally. Some ISPs monitor users who use torrents or even try to block file-sharing websites sued when sharing big files.

Whilst downloading, your IP address is also visible to everyone else who’s doing the same. If you’re worried about being targeted by hackers, consider using a VPN.

Some Bittorrent clients can also install adware or other forms of malware on your system. Consider having a dedicated machine for downloading internet content and consider installing up to date antivirus software.

Just as with traditional downloads, if no one has a copy of a file you need you won’t be able to load it. This means if a site or torrent search engine says a file has zero seeds, downloading the .torrent will have no effect.

Most importantly, using a Bittorrent client means you’ll both be downloading and uploading a lot of data. Check with your network provider to see if there’s a cap on how much data you can transfer monthly and/or there are any extra costs. Many Bittorrent clients allow you to limit the bandwidth for download/upload speeds to make it more manageable.

The bottom line

Despite its reputation, downloading files by Bittorrent isn’t in itself illegal. It’s simply a very effective way of transferring data. If you’re considering getting started, make sure to download torrent files only from a reputable source such as the Internet Archive.

Make sure also to install your Bittorrent client directly from the developer’s website - even versions in mainstream app stores may be unofficial.

The best way to make sure it’s ad and malware free is to use open source software, where the code is publicly available such as the cross-platform Transmission or qBittorrent clients.
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/what-is-a-torrent





Piracy of Avatar 2 Likely to Be Legalized In Russia
Klein Felt

A new move by Russian theater owners could legalize piracy of Avatar: The Way of Water, as the film is days away from premiering elsewhere across the world.

Avatar 2 marks the release of a sequel more than a decade in the making. With the film, director James Cameron will attempt to follow up on his 2009 epic, Avatar, a movie that became the biggest box office hit of all time.

And The Way of Water is looking like it is going to live up to the hype of the first film. Critics seem to love the sequel thus far, with some calling it "mind-blowing."

However, one country that will not be able to enjoy the Titanic director's latest sci-fi odyssey is Russia. As the country remains the aggressor in the unfortunate Ukraine/Russia conflict, Disney has decided to pull the film from distribution in the European nation.

But that seemingly will not stop Russian audiences from seeing Avatar 2, as the act of pirating the film may be legalized amongst theater owners in the country.

The Unofficial Russian Avatar 2 Release

According to Russian news outlet Izvestia (via Celluloid Junkie), the practice of piracy for Avatar: The Way of Water may be legalized in Russia.

The outlet reported that the Russian Association of Theater Owners (ABK) is ready to legalize the distribution of the film, despite the Avatar sequel being held back from an official release in the country.

This act would go directly against the copyright of rightsholder, 20th Century Films, but Russian theaters are expecting illegitimate prints of the movie to be making the rounds in time for The Way of Water's December 16 release date.

The pirated copies of Avatar 2 are likely to cost theater owners a pretty penny, with rips of the film costing anywhere from RUB 50 thousand (USD $790) to RUB 1 million rubles (USD $15,820), depending on the quality.

Some theaters on the lower end will show in-theater camcorder recordings from elsewhere in the world, while others will shell out for near-flawless prints of the movie that look straight from Disney.

A number of Russian filmmakers are seemingly against the idea of Avatar: The Way of Water coming to the country, as they hope to catch as much of the box office draw over the holiday season with their own domestic fare instead of international works that aren't even legally allowed to show there, to begin with. This could cause the illegal release of the film to be pushed a number of weeks when the Russian release calendar is a little less crowded.

This mass-pirating effort could potentially cost theater owners thousands of dollars in fines, however. Even though the Russian government does not regulate what movies are shown in cinemas, the local Ministry of Culture does require what is known in Russia as a PU (Distribution Certificate) for new releases, something theater chains can no longer do for foreign films as all Moscow-based arms of the major studios shut down operation earlier this year.

The Association of Cinema Owners in Russia is attempting to push through a system that would allow them to acquire PUs without the Hollywood go-ahead, which would lead to them being able to show pirated copies of films legally on their screens.

Will Avatar 2 Ultimately Come to Russia?

At this point, it seems like Russian theaters are more than willing to do just about anything to get James Cameron's latest blockbuster on their screens. If that means pushing the release date into the new year, incurring fines, or showing a copy filmed by someone elsewhere in the world, they will do that.

It is fascinating to see just how hard they are pushing to play pirated material for Russian audiences. But from a business standpoint, it actually makes sense.

Avatar was/is the biggest movie of all time, and it was no slouch in Russia itself. The first film made just over $120,000,000 at the Russian box office back in 2009, making it the most successful film of the year in the country.

And now, 13 years later, there is physically no legitimate way for Russia to see James Cameron's follow-up.

As war rages on in Ukraine, and the rest of the world cuts ties with Russia, one of the side effects includes none of Hollywood's biggest and brightest playing on Russian screens.

Because of this Russian theaters have been forced to play pirated copies of a number of films including Pixar's Lightyear, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and more.

This isn't something theater owners have any control of. They have no say over their nation's military operations. They just want to be able to make enough money to stay afloat, and something like Avatar could help buoy them in a continually uncertain fiscal and geopolitical time for the European nation.

So, if they have to resort to piracy, that is pretty well the only option they have.

Avatar: The Way of Water releases on December 16 stateside, with no official release for Russia.
https://thedirect.com/article/avatar...ssia-legalized

















Until next week,

- js.



















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