The Basics of BitTorrent: Using BitTorrent with uTorrent
BitTorrent is a P2P (peer to peer) protocol used for filesharing. For more basic information, you can refer to this Wikipedia article, as this tutorial will cover only how to use BitTorrent using μTorrent (uTorrent). We’re going to assume you’ve installed μTorrent and move the tutorial forward from there. In this example, we’ll be downloading Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron.”
Port Forwarding
This step, while optional, will increase your potential downloading/uploading speeds, so it’s recommended you take the time to complete this step. Select your router model here, then select “UTorrent” on the long list of software applications.
Downloading with uTorrent
![Downloading the Ubuntu \](http://thirderror.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/download1.png "Downloading the Ubuntu \")
When you look at the Ubuntu releases, you’ll be greeted with a long list of different editions and methods of downloading Ubuntu. For this tutorial, I’ll be downloading using BitTorrent, so I select the torrent file.
Firefox will prompt whether to save or open the file. Instruct Firefox to Open with uTorrent (default) and click OK.
uTorrent will ask where to download the file, along with some other options. Since we like the defaults, click OK.
Once you click OK, the torrent will show up on your list. Generally, it takes a few minutes for your torrent to start downloading. uTorrent will tell you basic information about the torrent, but you can just minimize the window and do other things.
Note that your Internet connection will be slower when using BitTorrent, as most of your bandwidth is now taken, so it’s generally best to leave these things on overnight.
When the torrent is finished downloading, a notification will pop-up and tell you. At this point, uTorrent will now be seeding, which is basically sending bits and pieces of the files to other users who are downloading (in essence, sharing). It’s best to wait for your ratio to hit at least 1.000, or otherwise you’ll be considered a leech (person who only downloads and doesn’t share the file). That’s it! Since I saved my file to \My Documents\Downloads\, I’ll look into that folder and find the new ISO file.
That’s basically how to use BitTorrent with uTorrent in a nutshell. Ignore the details of my download, as I had already downloaded Ubuntu and had to download the torrent file, resetting all the stats of the download. 
I'm Jason, the main author of Third Error, and many of the topics I'll focus on concern Windows (and applicable software), web applications, web design, and a bit of *nix (Ubuntu mainly). My computer runs Windows XP, with virtualized Ubuntu and OS X handy.