BitTorrent Magnet Links Explained

cooooooooool, let's get this going and post some links!

> In fact, magnet links can be copy-pasted as plain text by users and shared
> via email, IM or any other medium

So can any link to a .torrent file.
I do it all the time.

> So can any link to a .torrent file.
> I do it all the time.

But a .torrent file needs a tracker, unless you're using purely DHT, and a tracker requires a copy of the torrent file, thereby putting its owners at risk.

You did read the article, right?

> In fact, magnet links can be copy-pasted as plain text by users and shared
> via email, IM or any other medium
Possibly, But HOW do you find out which is the URL ? of all the numbers ?
And how do you transfer the numbers to (for instance) uTorrent ?

Should be noted, that the technology is more developed currently than the article says. Now, when you add a magned link to your torrent client, you should be able to select the download destination at first. When the download is started, your client will download a small portion of metadata (usually measured in kb), which contains stuff like torrent name, file names, hashes etc. When the meta is downloaded, you can choose ie which files you want to download. It's quite awesome in the current form but still, it could use some refining and it could be bit more user friendly.

this is great. i just tried it from piratebay but does seeding still work cos mine didnt seem as if it was uploading

Seeding definitely will still work, but you won't always successfully connect to other peers. Are your ports open?

Not a review or an opinion but a question.
How do I get Firefox to recognise the Magnet link file type?
I tried using one on TPB but my browser just wouldn't have it.
Ordinary torrent files are simple to download by comparrison.

open utorrent and then go to options and associate magnet files with it

how to make a magnet

I think you need electrical currents for that...

Just google magnet link generator, it's the first result (as of today). Paste the torrent hash on that site the click generate maganet link, it'll automatically generate a magenet link for you.

Fffing magnets! How do they work?

its a good one but the bit torrets are realy slow

They're as slow as the upload speed of the peers you're connected to. I use private sites and my download is usually maxed out.

I find that torrents usually run a decent speed. Several hundred KB/s in most cases.

Excellent info and very clear explaination! Thanks!

good info, will use in future!

First used a magnet link just now, then decided to find out what they were... Bit silly but no harm done. Now I don't have to delete my .torrent files, so not bad at all.

Thank you for the info. Always wondered what the difference was and shied away from magnet links. Happier to use them now.

"Theoretically, magnet links should not have any disadvantages for the users over .torrent files either. It would also potentially make downloads faster as it would enable the clients to download from peers which have identical files but with different names, for example."

Not quite. The hash for a bittorrent magnet link (urn:btih) is a hash of the "info" section of the torrent file. It's not a hash of the payload file(s) that you're actually interested in. So even if someone else has the same file under the same name, I don't think it will work unless they also have the same "info" section stored in their client. non-torrent file sharing can find individual files based on their hash, but I don't think torrenting can.

There is no date on your article! In which millennium was it written? Geez... you'd think it would be such a simple thing.

top of article

Jeeezzz... You think opening your eyes and reading before making a * comment would be such an easy thing.

I don't like magnet files because all the little metal pieces keep getting stuck on them and they are hard to clean.

No kidding! I downloaded a magnet link and it erased my hard disk!

update: TPB removed .torrent links... Only magnet now =(

This is very sad. I use a NAS server for download and it does not support magnet links ;(..

Downloading to my computer is not an option when i only have disk space on my NAS with wifi access.

Is there a way to create/extract a torrent file somehow?

As of Wed, Feb 29th, The Pirate Bay has switched to using magnet links exclusively.

First off I'm not using utorrent. I'm using rtgui on a server. I have not tried the conversion from hash to link yet, while it's another step that is livable. The real problem for me is that I go through the lists of available torrents and save the .torrent file for later to prioritize the stuff I'm downloading. It looks like it's not going to be easy to do this now.

I'm using windows xp sp 3 with utorrent. When i try to open the magnet link file with firefox a windows pop up but does not allow me to choose a program to download the file with. With Google chrome nothing happens, anyone can help?

Very simple. What do I do,, I go to TPB and select what I want. Right click on the magnet icon and select open window, the pop up window opens and at the top U can see the magnet URL adress, Control-C it (copy) it over and close window. Open uTorrent and from File menu select Add torrent from URL, a little windows pops up, Paste the adress over and click-Ok.. keep an eye on a little running icon to the left of pop window and wait till stops revolving, the click Ok and is done... Ur file will start downloading fairly fast. Try selecting files with more peers than leechers, obviously. Good luk. PS maybe U got wait for TPB to comeback alive again... Also a bit later after the file is completed uTorrent will show U the file in Red saying that it is not completed, but it is, I guess this extra information is needed to add so other peers can see the file and proceed to download... , U will asked to do a Force-rechek, U do that (right click on file), Will proceed to download some more stuff and it will tell is done, after a while.

* the new system, the noobs just want to download without even thinking.

Ktorrent also support magnet links

all the people so excited about magnet links are idiots, why would you prefer magnet links over torrents, when torrents give you the choice to uncheck unwanted files from downloading, when you download a magnet link you have to do a full download of the folder without knowing what files are inside, so when you download viruses don't start crying

I can uncheck the files I dont want just fine in Utorrent bud. Don't know where you get your information from ;-)

Oh yah I didnt even think of that. that really sucks!

you need a new torrent program because i use uTorrent and i can choose to slip downloading any file in the torrent when using magnet links. i have been using magnet links from thepiratebay since before they decided to switch completely over.

Using Bittorrent, I can select the files I want to download. I.E., I don't want the sample .avi so I unclick it. The main file is left to down load. Same with the .txt & .jpg files that sometimes come with the download.
Magnet makes it a lot simpler for me. Can still select the folder to download to. Seems to me that the downloads are much faster too.
PirateBay made a positive change for me.

what of those who wants to save and share files personally with family...friends?

Using .magnet files is less secure than .torrent files as you need DHT to be enabled in the torrent client to use .magnet files and this can be/is used to link to fake servers on the Internet and used to get your IP Address. You will all start moaning when the copyright letters start appearing. Torrent files are much better and secure for the peers downloading (who want to stay hidden) as you can stipulate and limit which trackers you are connected to. Magnet files are more secure for the sites linking/indexing the .magnet files and they can sleep a lot easier at night. Staying secure and limiting the servers you connect to cannot be achieved using DHT which is open to all! :-(

Very good. I didnt know what a magnet link was and i was wondering why magnetic links are given in torrent sites and i usually ignore these links. But now I started using magnetic links. Thanks to you.

Peer Guardian might be able to help block undesirable sites.

I am an avid collector of the old black and whites (public domain) and have been using magnet links now for six weeks. I find down loads generally faster and less complicated to edit and save.

I'm trying to figure out how to use magnet links in the way I used .torrent files. What I do to make it easier for my wife is to have her right-click a torrent and save the file to a folder on a mapped drive on the home server. The uTorrent is always runningn on the home server looking for .torrents to show up in the folder and then start up the download.

Seems like there should be a way to do the same or similar with a magnet link.

Thanks,
Gary

one of the issues ive been having while using bitcomet is that the file gets downloaded but the file extension gets left out in the name...by adding it bak the file then works fine but u have to kno what the file type is...hopefully that small issue will be fixed soon on a newer version of bitcomet

If you use uTorrent, you can change the preferences>UI Settings>When Adding Torrents to display a content window that "shows" all the files in advanced mode. While you can no longer select or deselect files to download from that window (you can still do it after the torrent gets going), you CAN still use that window to specify a custom download location before the link begins to DL. Cheers.

* TPB for only using magnet links. Life is hard enough - my utorrent won't handle magnets when configured for an anonymous VPN and the new utorrent won't work with my VPN either - not without enabling DHT or UDP Trackers which defeats the purpose of being annonymized. They just suck. Magnet links are of no advantage whatsoever to the consumer.

Great info, was really amazed by the downloads starting automatically, thought they had found a way to have a file (.torrent) opened by utorrent automatically, but this much more clever!

So, ultimately, is a magnet link more anonymous / more secure than a regular torrent?

MAGNET FILES = are not anonymous as you need to be connected to the DHT, so they are less secure for the end user who is downloading the files and sharing files. MAGNET FILES = are better (safer) only for the sites distributing the Magnet links as it makes it harder 4 the sites to be held accountable. Peer Guardian/Block only works for sites and fake servers that it is aware of and is not 100% guaranteed. Read the info on their site = Peer Guardian/Peer Block is probably about 90-95%, but it only takes you to connect to 1 fake server and for the authorities to press their advantage to make an example out of you! You cannot use MAGNET files and stay hidden completely (that's the whole downside) - in time people will see the true downside of MAGNET files, when facing the heavty fines from the copyright brigade :-((

"MAGNET FILES = are not anonymous as you need to be connected to the DHT, so they are less secure for the end user who is downloading the files and sharing files."

How is this any different than a .torrent file. Most BitTorrent clients use DHT by default. Even if they didn't, you're still using a tracker that anyone else can connect with, at least with the Pirate Bay. Unless you were using a really, really private tracker, you can't know where you'll get your files from.
There's no such thing as anonymity with BitTorrent thanks to the simple fact that its p2p sharing, as in peer-to-peer. And those peers may be anyone. The best you could do is use a VPN or TOR.

That's not true, you don't need DHT to use magnet links, at least not in utorrent.

I also download from PB with utorrent 1.8.5 and have DHT disabled in the client and have never used it.

There is no such program as uTorrent. It's called "µTorrent."

µTorrent.com doesn't seem to be working. Try utorrent.com instead.

Interesting, thanks.

Great article. I don't care for the progression though. Let the .torrent counter culture begin here. Death to the magnets!

MAGNET ARE VERY STICKY TO EACHOTHER SO YEA

Could use to mention that Deluge is available for all three main platforms and handles magnet links perfectly. With the newer versions, I prefer deluge over all other clients even when multiplatform isn't necessary. Glad they finally worked out the kinks.

I've been using magnet links for some time now without any problem and not of what you described under Current Limitations has ever happened to me. I see files listed and other information and it appears indexed with a name in my torrent client. In fact nothing is different to torrent files except a delayed period of a few seconds in which the client must retrieve the information to display. I have tested magnet links on many different indexing sites including the one you mentioned.

You realize this article was written in 2010. So now would be the time that those limitations would have been over come as he said.

Hi Yours is a really simple and good comment. Please recommend the torrent client. In my uTorrent v3.1.3 I dont see any file lists when TPB is my source, so I am not able to deselect at all.
Which is your client? please help.
Are magnet links faster than torrents in downloading?
Thanks in advance, for your reply!!!

What is torrent meta data how do I get it?

I fail to see the big difference between:

1. All the torrent info is stored on a server, in a database, and sent as a very SMALL TEXT FILE.
or...
2. All the torrent info is stored on a server, in a database, and sent as a very long URL. (The same as the info in #1, but all on 1 line)

Since the URL can hold far *LESS* info... you know less and less about the torrent and its matching file.

Magnetic torrents sound like it's all either "no big improvement".... or "a big step backwards."

I have Trend Micro Titanium and keeps blocking my entrance into Vuze or Bit Torrent, any knows how to disable TMT or disable and then turn on again+

I thought I'd try out Vuze (I currently use uTorrent). When I saw all the add ons I would be forced to agree to in order to run the program, tool bars and 3rd party garbage, I clicked disagree but the * program still installed. WTF?