FileShareFreak Filesharefreak - THE source for P2P File Sharing Tips, Tricks and Info.

We all know how big of a pain it is having to extract all those RAR files after downloading a torrent, especially if it’s a large game ISO or DVDr movie. Even on a zippy computer it takes up to 5 minutes to extract a full DVD release - let alone if you’re stuck using an old clunker. So why not set up µTorrent to do the hard work for you while you’re at work or busy sleeping? Who doesn’t like the idea of waking up and finding your finished torrents already extracted, ready-to-watch?

This tip will allow you to set up µTorrent to automatically unRAR the files in a torrent once it’s finished downloading. Here’s how to do it:

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(Most of this guide was posted at OiNK.cd and presently resides in the Waffles forums, but these tips pertain to just about any private music tracker).

Tip #1A — Freeleech. Ah, freeleech - the magical elixir to bad ratios. Most trackers have some form of freeleech, be it on selected types of torrents, or for special time periods (holidays, site milestones, etc.). Either way, become very interested in freeleech. And we mean interested! Download everything you can - fill up your seedbox (if you have one) and rotate the torrents, but keep it full. Also be sure to fill up your home BitTorrent client, as well. You want to complete as many torrents as you can in the freeleech timeframe - some sites will have ‘freeleech weekends’ or other short promotions. You should save your completed downloads - then, once freeleech is over, you can (re)seed those torrents and completed files for free upload ratio, during non-freeleech times (whenever you want).

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When attempting to troubleshoot BitTorrent problems, there are a zillion factors that need to be considered. Many issues involve the BT client configuration, ports and connectivity. Other errors are rooted in the BT tracker, bad ISP, faulty torrents, or software incompatibility issues. Put all this together and you’ve got endless possibilities for errors, dropped connections and hair-pulling frustration.

Here’s a list of some of the most common BitTorrent error messages, what they mean, and how to fix them.

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Many torrenters aren’t aware of this, but by default µTorrent functions on some very uncharitable out-of-the-box settings. This is to accommodate users who have a slow Internet connection (dialup) or have a small TCP limit. Or perhaps they’re just an evil crew that wants to download faster than you! Whatever the motives, here’s how to get µTorrent running in tip-top shape.

Before we begin, you’ll need the latest version of µTorrent. Most private trackers are moving away from any version that is not 1.7.7 (this means even v1.6.1 won’t work on private BitTorrent sites). Got it? Great!

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Fastest BitTorrent Clients - The Tests - A Comparison of Speeds in Realtime

Every BitTorrent software developer claims that theirs is the fastest BitTorrent client, but which one really IS the fastest? There are so many variables to be considered: Seed/peer ratio of individual torrents, public or private trackers (and number of trackers in a torrent), DHT “trackerless” support and UPnP port forwarding, just to name a few. Even the default “factory” settings of each client can have an big impact on download speeds.

So how it is truly possible to really know? Conduct speed tests in a controlled experiment, natch! Let’s put ‘em to a test!

About The Tests

To create a semi-controlled environment in which the data could realistically be used, we needed to conduct the experiment in realtime - in a scenario where ALL BitTorrent clients were using the exact same torrent (loaded simultaneously in each) and thus were ideally downloading at the same time. Not only that, but we repeated the same text three times with 3 different .torrents (all 5 clients were loaded with the exact same torrent at the same time, on three separate occasions).

OK, no peeking - don’t scroll down to the bottom just yet. Out of the five tested clients (µtorrent, BitComet, Azureus, BitTorrent and BitLord), which one do YOU think won the races?

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Jan 09/2008

Hello fellow WinXP users.

If you are a fellow Windows XP user (specifically Service Pack 2) and you’ve obtained the copy legally, I repeat - legally, then you’ve recently qualified for the latest CRITICAL RELEASE updates from Microsoft that were sent out on Jan 8th, 2008.

Did you install these new updates? You did? Well, I know what you’re thinking: It’s hard not to when they keep nagging about it in the taskbar. Notice anything different now in regards to your Internet speed? We sure did - browsing and P2P programs just got a whole lot slower, as of about three hours ago. “Why’s that?”, you may ask.

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Other solutions to vulnerabilities

MS Windows (all versions) is extremely susceptible to security breaches, backdoors and other unwanted entry. This leaves the door open to a number of identity theft scams via keylogger programs, password hacking and cached browser accessing to get at your personal data. Here’s a few solutions to close those holes and unwanted programs that run in the background.

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OK, so you’ve downloaded some great software, and you can’t figure out how to get it to work. In general there are only three methods that all ‘Release Groups’ adhere to for getting that illicit piece of software or game to good use: Serial numbers, cracks and key generators.

In a proper release, there is always an information file that accompanies the release (an *.NFO file). It is here that information can be found about how to get the software working normally.

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Firewall Settings

If you are running WinXP, don’t rely on the firewall supplied by Windows XP, it’s not adequate to handle the duties of a dedicated firewall. Get something else like Zone Alarm, it’s free.

When you install software that requires access to the Internet, most firewalls will give you a chance to allow this change in the system, and a window will pop up prompting for your attention to the matter.

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A list of some miscellaneous tips for P2P programs:

• — Try to avoid using P2P programs such as Limewire, Shareaza and BearShare etc. to search for software and games, since many of these files are infected with malware. Use the BitTorrent protocol instead. Music, movies and TV shows are a safe bet, however.
• — Try to upgrade to the “Pro” versions or ad-free “Lite” versions if possible. You may be able to find these premium editions right from a search in the same ‘freeware’ program.
• — If you decide to run more than one P2P program at a time, don’t forget that they BOTH will conceivably be using bandwidth to upload, which in turn can impair downloading for both programs.
• — Note that P2P programs/networks can and have been permanently shut down (lest we forget KaZaA?). This has also happened to WinMX in recent times as well as others, so keep up-to-date on the available programs.
• — Try to “enable” as many networks as you can within the settings. This will maximize speed and search results. (This is not possible within Limewire Pro, as it connects to just one network - Gnutella).
• — If you choose to update or install a newer version of the software, some settings may revert back to the default selection. Normally ‘in-program’ upgrades won’t do this, but if you upgrade from Limewire to Limewire Pro, this may be the case.

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We’ve included this list of release groups specifically for the purpose of searching. Users can enter a “name” in a BitTorrent website to see what this group has released. This is particularly helpful for narrowing down specific searches, and for filtering out the junk torrents from the good ones. These groups are highly-esteemed and respected, and they back it up with solid working releases. Note that some of these RGs are presently inactive. Nevertheless they still generate good search results with active torrents. These lists contains mostly RGs with proper ’scene releases’ only. Stick with releases from these guys, and you can’t go wrong!

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— “Where does all this free stuff come from, anyway?”

Well, that depends on what you are looking for. Generally when it comes to pirated movies, TV shows, software, games and even music, piracy “Release Groups” are the usual starting point for distribution.

Release Groups are at the top of the Illegal Distribution Pyramid, and it is through them that pirated copies are first created.

A typical release group will comprise of members that are very adept at certain tasks. Some members are suppliers; some will ‘crack’ software; some are packers and distributors. After all, groups perform better than even the best individuals at solving complex problems.

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Music/Audio Tags

Release Groups distribute music as well, usually in the form of complete albums, special compilations, sound tracks, etc. whereby the source was, is, or will be, found retail. There’s no sense in a release group downloading a bunch of songs from Limewire and packaging it up as a ‘release’. This just does not occur. So you can expect a “complete” CD from RGs. Sometimes proper releases will have ‘album art’ included, which includes digital pictures of the cover, CD or even inner jackets. Others may include a small playlist file (*.M3U) just for that album. But there will undoubtedly be ‘tags’ in the name of the folder in which the music is contained, and sometimes they will be in the filename of the file (song) also.

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Software Release Groups take their work just as seriously as movie releasers, if not more so. They have a protocol of ‘tags’ on their releases as well. Tags on software/games are becoming more erratic at the P2P level because much of what is found is not a genuine ’scene release’, or the release name has been changed so that it’s no longer identifiable as ‘proper’. An ever-updating list of proper software and game ’scene’ releases can always be found at www.nforce.nl (search their site or click the appropriate ’sections’ tabs on the left).

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The Risks/What to Avoid

One thing that anti-piracy groups and software companies strongly advocate is the fact that software obtained illegally is hazardous and chancy. They want you to believe that illicit software is chock-full of little nasties waiting for the opportunity to unleash disastrous consequences to the unsuspecting user. And for this we do not disagree - there is plenty of bad. This is the Internet; we’re all part of one vast network sharing our computers with each other, a little bad is even expected.

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