So you say you got a fix for all things free huh? Well look no further my friend. What I am going to show you today is going to open you up to a whole new world of free games, movies, videos, and software galore.  :megaman:

The black market has always been a thing of amazement to me. I mean where else can I get a replacement body part, an unwanted child, and a cocktail of narcotics for a nominal fee? The internet has managed to put a new twist of the term “black market” and this twist means that gamers of the world are able to get their weapons of choice, games, for free. I want to re - introduce you all to the torrent.

Wait, Torre what?

You may have heard the term before, or you may be all too familiar with torrents, in which case this post is not for you.

A torrent as defined by Wikipedia:

“A torrent generally signifies a strong flow of something, especially fluids and particles, and in particular water or rain”

That version of the torrent may not seem too familiar to many of you, but it is the proper definition of the term. However, the following definition is what we’re after.

Also taken from Wikipedia:

“BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) communications protocol. BitTorrent is a method of distributing large amounts of data widely without the original distributor incurring the entire costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth resources. Instead, when data is distributed using the BitTorrent protocol, each recipient supplies pieces of the data to newer recipients, reducing the cost and burden on any given individual source, providing redundancy against system problems, and reducing dependence on the original distributor.

The protocol is the brainchild of programmer Bram Cohen, who designed it in April 2001 and released a first implementation on 2 July 2001. It is now maintained by Cohen’s company BitTorrent, Inc.

Usage of the protocol accounts for significant traffic on the Internet, but the precise amount has proven difficult to measure.

There are numerous compatible BitTorrent clients, written in a variety of programming languages, and running on a variety of computing platforms.”

It is this same protocol that feeds the beast that is the torrent marketplace. The sharing of software, content, media, etc… from p2 many p has created the best black market of them all. Torrents can provide you with free videos, free music, free software, and of course, free games.

But wait…nothing in life is free?

In the case of torrents, this is some what true. When you play with torrents, you are, for lack of a better set of words, playing with fire. You run the risk that you could actually be downloading a virus or even worse, spyware. You also run the risk that the software you are downloading has some really malicious anti - piracy capabilities built in. Lastly, you could end up with out internet. If the company who’s software you’re downloading finds out somehow that your sharing their software, then they have the right to contact your ISP and have them stop you from sharing the file/s. My recommendation is to back up your hard drive before proceeding into the world of torrents and p2p file sharing. Tread with caution and don’t get greedy. Also, remember to make use of the files and software you find for yourself alone, DO NOT SELL THE SOFTWARE YOU DOWNLOAD.

So how do I get started
Well it’s easy really.

1) Download and install a torrent client like BitTorrent. uTorrent, or Azureus

2) Go to Google and type in the name of whatever piece of software you’re looking for followed by the word “torrent”

3) Once it’s downloaded simply double click on the torrent file and let the magic happen

To start, check out the following links:

Isohunt - Claims to be the world’s largest BitTorrent and P2P file sharing community, and I would have to agree with them. If you can’t find it here, then you can always try Google again but odds are, you won’t have too.

Wikipedia - More information BitTorrent and the protocol that we have all grown to love.