Article summary: This article can be split into four sections.
Section 1> In the first section, we'll discuss the series of thrilling events; that has lead many people to believe, that torrent is no longer a viable option, to download files over the internet.
May be a little scary to read, so you can skip directly to later sections of this article.
Section 2> The second section will try to debunk the myth, that torrent is dead. And will try to explore whether downloading pirated files using torrent, is morally correct or not.
Section 3> In the third section, a large list of the best free torrent downloader clients of the year 2018 is given.
Torrent, a True Horror Story: And The Reason Why Many Think That Torrent is Dead.
The year 2016 was a fateful year for the torrent users. As it was the year, when a drama would unfold on the world stage. That would shake the torrent community forever.
The debut was on 20th July 2016. It was a fine sunny Wednesday morning, when an announcement made by the United States Department of Justice, plunged the torrent community, into a mess of confusion and panic.
The declaration was regarding the successful identification, of the owner of KickassTorrents. Which was one of the most successful torrent search websites in 2016. And also one most notoriously famous places, to download pirated digital content.
The alleged owner, an Ukrainian man named Artem Vaulin, was subsequently arrested in Poland.
According to the sources; Vaulin was on a holiday trip from Ukraine to Iceland, with his family. But they never reached their destination. As Vaulin was arrested during a short stay in Poland.
A notice stating that the domain was seized by the US authorities, was also shown to the visitors of KAT.cr; which was then the official website for KickassTorrents.
(You can see the notice here:- KickassTorrents Domain Seizure)
The result. In the first few hours after the closure of KickassTorrents. The several online discussion forums, were flooded with all kinds of gossips and rumors.
Some speculated that this was just a hoax, caused by a successful hacking attempt on KickassTorrents. However, things started to take a confusing turn, when even after several hours, KickassTorrents failed to go back online.
And the notice by the US authorities still shone brightly, on the computer screens of the visitors to KAT.cr
Several days passed. KickassTorrents was still not back online. And the discussions in the online forums have already changed from light-hearted gossips and jokes, to horrid speculations and a fear for the worst.
And the biggest fear of the torrent community, did indeed come true. KickassTorrents was really done for this time. This much became clear, when the other remaining domains of KickassTorrents, was taken down by the its own staff and moderators.
Days passed, and things seem to be returning to normal. Many of the torrent users had already started using other torrent search alternatives like The Pirate Bay, and the largest torrent meta-search engine of that time. Torrentz.
The online world still seemed to be a peaceful place. And many people started to remember the incident regarding the KickassTorrents, as just another bad dream.
However, little did they know at that time. That the 'bad dream', had just begun. And would soon turn into a nightmare, for the entire torrent community.
The fateful day when many thought that torrent died. The day of the real nightmare. Was 5th of August, 2016.
And the nightmare had a message, and it was this:
Torrentz will always love you. Farewell.
Yes, this was a devastating blow to the morale of the torrent community. Torrentz. The largest torrent meta-search engine, which was the destination of torrent lovers, for 13 long years. Shut down voluntarily.
And many people speculated, that this was the direct result of the Kickass incident. Many torrent users were so disheartened, that they stopped using torrent altogether.
And the rumor quickly spread, that torrent was not the option anymore. That torrent was dead. And the other torrent search engines will be taken down soon, in a similar fashion.
Torrent Is Dead, Long Live The Torrent.
It's already 2018. And the internet is still filled with countless torrent search websites. Some of them are even carbon copies of the sites, that were taken down.
Why? Because the BitTorrent file sharing technology, is not illegal in itself. It's just a technology; an idea. That can be used to download files.
And a good idea, can be really persistent sometimes.
Cobb: What is the most resilient parasite? A bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm?
Arthur: Uh, what Mr. Cobb is trying to...
Cobb: An idea. Resilient, highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain, it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood. That sticks, right in there somewhere. [points at his head]
- Movie: Inception
But the problem occurs when a goood idea is used for a baaad purpose. And this is not just restricted to the BitTorrent protocol.
That has been used by some individuals; to pirate newly released movies, games, softwares, ebooks and every other copyrighted digital content, at rampant.
Some of them argue, that a digital content is basically an idea. Its knowledge. And knowledge; should be made accessible to all.
Well, that seems to be such a noble and nice proposition. But if that is true, then should the knowledge of how to create nuclear bombs, be made accessible to all. I mean, it's 'knowledge', after all....
But why does it feel like, it might be not such a great idea? Anyways, like I said. Every existing technology has two sides to it. And it's up to the user to decide, which side to choose.
A caveat before you start using torrent to download files: Using Torrent is not illegal in most of the countries. But 'most', doesn't mean 'all'. So it is advisable, to check whether using Torrent is legal in your country, before you start using it.
Furthermore, in countries where the use of Torrent is not prohibited. It is very easy for the user to get tempted, to download illegal content using Torrent. As the steps involved are so effortless.
But this may sometimes land the user in legal trouble, because the copyright watchers may file a complaint against him/her. For sharing pirated content.
So, it is advisable to check whether the content is pirated, before you download it using torrent. And the most straightforward way to do so, is to ask this simple question. Is the content, that I am about to download for free using torrent, paid?
If it is, then it must be pirated.
The Mega List OF The Best(Free) Torrent Downloader Clients Of 2018.
Below is a list of the 12 best free torrent downloader clients, of the year 2018.
A Quick Note:
Interface
UI = User Interface.
GUI = Graphical User Interface.
License
Proprietary License = The source code of the software is not made public. The software is owned by some individual or company.
Adware = Software shows ads when connected to the internet.
GNU GPL = GNU General Public License. The source code of the software is made available to the public. Users can use the software freely. They can even modify the software, use it for commercial purpose, share it with their acquaintances or with the public.
GNU LGPL = GNU Lesser General Public License.
1. BitTorrent (Clickable Link)
One of the most popular and powerful Torrent download clients. BitTorrent has all the features, that can deliver the ultimate torrent downloading experience to its user.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Android License: Proprietary, Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: C++
2. μtorrent (Clickable Link)
Another popular Torrent download client, designed by the same company which designed BitTorrent. μTorrent has features similar to BitTorrent.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Android License: Proprietary, Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: C++
A good torrent download client. With robust features. Vuze can be a good alternative to softwares such as BitTorrent or μTorrent.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, BSD License: Proprietary (Platform), Core Engine (GPL), Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: Java, SWT
A Torrent download client, which also has an inbuilt media player. Can also download files from cloud.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, Android License: GNU GPL UI: GUI Programming Language: Java
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Android License: Proprietary, Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: C++
3. Vuze (Clickable Link)
A good torrent download client. With robust features. Vuze can be a good alternative to softwares such as BitTorrent or μTorrent.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, BSD License: Proprietary (Platform), Core Engine (GPL), Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: Java, SWT
4. FrostWire (Clickable Link)
A Torrent download client, which also has an inbuilt media player. Can also download files from cloud.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, Android License: GNU GPL UI: GUI Programming Language: Java
5. BitComet (Clickable Link)
BitComet focuses on speed. It also has some good features such as 'Long-Term Seeding', and 'Preview While Downloading'.
OS Support: Windows License: Proprietary, Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: C++
6. qBittorrent (Clickable Link)
A 'BitTorrent' competitor, qBittorrent has some cool features such as extensible search engine, sequential downloading, bandwidth scheduler etc. It also supports many BitTorrent extensions such as magnet links.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, iOS License: GNU GPL UI: GUI Programming Language: Python, C++
7. Deluge (Clickable Link)
A good cross-platform torrent download client. Deluge is designed to be light-weight. It also comes with some good features such as 'Full Encryption', 'Plugin System' etc.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD License: GNU GPL UI: GUI Programming Language: Python, C++
8. Bitlord (Clickable Link)
Bitlord is designed to deliver a good experience, while downloading audio or video using torrent. It can stream audio or video while downloading, and also has an inbuilt search engine. It can also fetch video subtitles.
OS Support: Windows, Mac License: Proprietary, Adware UI: GUI Programming Language: Python, C++
9. Transmission (Clickable Link)
A torrent download client, that is designed to use less system resources than its competitors. Transmission also supports full encryption, DHT and magnet link etc.
OS Support: Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, iOS(through Cydia) License: GNU GPL UI: GUI Programming Language: C, Objective-C
10. OneSwarm (Clickable Link)
OneSwarm is a good user-friendly, privacy oriented peer-to-peer data sharing client. It also supports torrent download.
11. Tixati (Clickable Link)
This torrent download client comes with a 'No Spyware, No Adware, No Nonsense Guarantee'. Tixati also has some advanced torrent downloading features. And is also available in Windows and Linux portable versions.
12. Tribler (Clickable Link)
A very advanced torrent download client, that takes privacy to new levels. Tribler has developed its own 'Tor-like onion routing network exclusively for torrent downloading'. It is has its own search engine, and media player.
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