New Torrent Site Guide-Public vs Private Trackers

Edit on May 30th 2011: The top TV private torrent tracker Bitmetv.org has opened up account registration to new members. This is a very rare event and is not likely to last long. You can sign up at their website or drop into IRC to ask any questions.

Update: As of Jun 02 2011 Bitmetv.org is once again invite only. 

As noted below and in my other torrent guides, becoming active in the IRC community and making friends is always an open option to getting an invite.  Always remember to be patient and polite, and be sure to take a few minutes to read each sites rules of conduct.

Before reading this guide you should be familiar with common terms and basic torrent information new torrent users need to know. This information is vital for any new torrent user and as an introduction to torrent files in general. After you are comftorble with that information you need to pick out a new torrent client that is both popular, trusted, and most importantly will keep your computer safe. Lucky for you there is this handy Torrent Client Guide. which will help making this choice in a new torrent client much easier. Once you know the basics, and have a reliable torrent client, you are ready to join a new torrent tracker (website).

Public Torrent Trackers Vs. Private Torrent Trackers: Debate??

Choosing the right torrent tracker is the most important decision every new torrent user you will have to make. If you get your content from an unreliable source you are just asking for computer trouble. In order to protect yourself and limit the risk of downloading harmful content, it is vital that you read about the new torrent tracker you are considering before downloading any torrents from them. Don't assume being invited to a private tracker means it’s safe and regulated. Take a couple minutes to double check with a trusted community or even at other torrent sites before risking harm to your computer.

Something as simple as private torrent sites requiring invites to join them leads to a safer overall atmosphere. I will cover the benefits and differences of each tracker type in more later in this guide. For now just know private tracker sites are superior in almost every way; if you are concerned about security you will want to avoid public trackers whenever possible. I strongly recommend new torrent users start with a private tracker site, and only attempt to use a popular public tracker when comfortable downloading and using torrents safely.

Due to the large amount of new torrents added daily, it is difficult for even the best of the public trackers to scan for harmful files and regulate content. This constant stream of new torrents being added to public trackers which leads to decreased security is also the major appeal; and is really the only reason to ever consider using a public tracker site. Although they are less safe, public trackers should not be avoided like the plague. I still use public trackers on occasion, and they can be the only source to find old or less popular content. You just need to know which ones to use and how to protect yourself. Here are some basic guidelines to use if you decide to go the public tracker route.

Ways to Limit Your Risk When Using Public Torrent Sites

I never download from any public tracker that does not allow the community to comment on the torrents listed on their website.

• This first suggestion is a big one, and while it is not always the case it should give you a good idea on the reliability of the public tracker. If the site doesn’t want people to report on the quality of new torrent additions or content, that should raise a huge red flag in your head.

Consider how well the torrent search engine is designed.

• You can get an idea of a new torrent sites intentions by simply trying to search for something through the questionable new torrent site. It should be very apparent if the site is a genuine torrent host or simply designed to link you to advertisements. If you search for one thing and the results come back with that word added to everything on the page, or links you to other new torrent sites, that is a bad sign. While in most cases this won’t lead to harmful material on your computer, you will more than likely just be sent in circles.

Do not let your desire to download rare/hard to find material blind you to the warning signs.

• There is no harm in searching for more rare torrents on new torrent sites you are not familiar with. Just don’t let this search turn into desperation where you attempt download from a site you normally would not trust. If you can’t find a particular file after searching the usual sources it is highly unlikely that a new torrent website you never heard of, that has no comments or feedback, really has the file they claim with multiple seeders.

The dangers listed above are certainly worth worrying about, but they are still simply annoying time wasters. Most are designed to make you click on links to other pages, and are not looking to harm your computer. If you are feeling confident in a new torrent source, and think the rare content is worth the risk of downloading from a questionable new torrent site, there are still some steps you can take to limit your potential risk.

If you feel you must risk downloading from a questionable or new torrent site STAY SMART.

• This means take the time to find out what the content you are downloading should look like if it is legitimate. For instance if you are downloading a 1 hour television show, do a quick search to see how large other 1 hour television shows are. Make sure it is a valid .avi .mkv or other video format before risking exposing your computer to the file. If it is a movie or game take the time to run a quick search on the file size of similar games and movies of that runtime and format. Spending 5 minutes to gather information and make an informed decision is preferable to potentially damaging your computer.

If you are still unsure at this point if the file is legitimate just don’t risk it. If it is an .exe file NEVER take the chance without some form of 3^rd party confirmation. Exe files are the most common extension of viruses and the most harmful forms of malware.

My Suggested Public Torrent Trackers – What I Use

Let me be clear strait off – the sites I am listing should not be considered safe and you still need to be smart about what you download. These sites are simply the ones I have used over the years, and offer a wide variety of new torrent content daily. There are other popular and generally safe public torrent trackers not listed here, I am only listing what I have first hand information with.

http://isohunt.com/

Isohunt is one of the first public trackers I used as a new torrent user. It is a little less known than some of the more commonly referred to public torrent sites, but I have never had any issues with this one and recommend it without a second thought. Unlike many new torrent sites coming out, isohunt doesn’t try to link you to other torrent sites. Also absent from isohunt is a seperate torrent serach result list "suggested by their sponsors”. It is very simple enter a search and get relevant torrent matches, and the basic sorting features are all there. This may not seem like a big deal but the new torrent tracker sites seem to be dropping in quality latelty. New torrent sites now seem to favor of link looping rather than offering useablity.

http://thepiratebay.org/

The Piratebay is one of the most popular torrent sites out there. I will use this one on occasion but it is a little lacking in a few areas opinion. I have had some problems with their search tool in the past. Although it has gotten better lately it still results in way too many seemingly random matches. They are also constantly entangled in legal issues, and their site owner recently changed. This was only a couple months ago (written August 09) so I can’t comment on it’s full effect. I have noticed a lot more pop-ups and more annoyingly page redirects. These redirects never used to happen, so I have been hesitant to visit them lately. They get on the list due to longevity and past experience, hopefully this is just a temporary issue.

http://www.mininova.org/

Mininova is another one that has been around for a while. The first thing you will notice when browsing is the annoying “featured torrents” which I expressed my distaste for. I use public trackers very rarely in general, and mainly stick with isohunt, but I have used mininova to grab some old television series and did not run into any problems. They allow for users to comment and rate their torrents, so you can get a good impression on the quality of the new torrent before deciding whether to download it.

As I said at the start of this section, there are other popular sites to choose from, I am just not familiar enough with any to offer firsthand knowledge. Many of the sites frequently change owners, or close down to be replaced by a new torrent site with an almost identical name; so it can be difficult to stay up to date and I’d rather not give out 3^rd hand information here.

You can avoid all of the above headaches, simply by taking 5-10 minutes and getting invited to a private torrent site. I can’t stress enough how much safer, faster, and simply better private trackers are. Do yourself the favor of either joining one, or at least reading more information on why they are preferable.

Update: My new torrent guide to get invited to a private torrent site quickly by using IRC chat is finished.

Benefits of Private Torrent Tracker Sites Plus My Suggested Torrent Trackers

Although the risk with public trackers is small, it is undeniably always present. That is why I so strongly suggest new torrent users take the time to get invited to a private torrent tracker. There are around 100 or so reputable private trackers, so it is becoming much easier than in years past to become a member of one. Some are harder for new torrent users to be invited to to than others. Most top ranked torrent trackers for instance rarely ever open invites. Thankfully it really isn’t necessary to get invited to the trackers that appear on the many “top tracker” lists you will find apeparing on the internet. In fact there is only one of these top trackers listed in my suggested torrent trackers.

One of the factors that lead to safer communities in private torrent sites is requiring members to maintain a certain ratio. A torrent ratio is simply the amount of data you upload (share) compared to the amount of data you download (leech). By making users share they are able to maintain incredibly fast download speeds when compared to public sites. You can expect to download at the maximum capacity of your connection, even if it is a new torrent with only one or two people seeding the file.

Almost all private torrent sites have special requirements and an application process to become an uploader; uploaders are the only users that can add new torrent content. This means it is much more difficult for harmful content to appear, and in many cases almost impossible. In the rare case it does, users and staff will catch it within minutes, and that users IP will be forever banned. In addition to the increased speed and safety offered by private trackers, many of them also have a friendly and helpful community. The fellow torrent users and staff will usually be quite welcoming of new torrent users with questions. It is this feeling of belonging to a community and contributing to something that allows private sites to maintain such a high level of support and quality control.

Downside to Private Torrent Trackers: Ratio Requirements

Despite the benefits of this “downside” which I covered above, some users claim it is impossible to maintain a ratio with their upload speed. In extreme cases those users refuse to use private trackers all together based mainly on ratio requirements. This ratio requirement is also commonly given as a reason new torrent users state for not trying private torrent sites. If you have a slower connection or are unsure how ratios work, I encourage you to read further before becoming discouraged.

Many of these sites offer ratio building opportunities to help new torrent users maintain a healthy ratio. Examples of these are bonuses for uploading (adding a file ) new content yourself. Others offer bonuses or give 2x upload credit for seeding (sharing) rare or old files. Other sites also offer large or popular files as “free torrents”; meaning the amount you share with others is counted fully, but your ratio is unaffected by data you download. Other sites will offer weeks or various periods of time where a “free leech” period is enabled. This means all torrents are considered as free torrents and you can see your ratio shoot up dramatically during these periods.

Ways to earn additional ratio credits are available at almost every private torrent site, and many offer a combination of different types listed above. These types of free torrent download periods and various ratio boosters allow for new torrent users with slow upload speeds to maintain an adequate ratio. Sites will usually detail these bonus methods, and provide other information in their forums or FAQ. Alternatively you can check out my advanced guides which delve into more specifics and contain tips to maximize your upload speed and build your ratio.

Recommended Private Sites & Torrent Trackers I Use

Here is a list of my favorite private torrent trackers. This is in no way meant as a definitive list; you will notice only one of the top 10 torrent sites appear on this list. There are many alternatives, and I encourage any new torrent member to explore and become familiar with them. This list is just meant to share my experience, and if anyone has questions on the sites listed below I will be able to answer them with firsthand knowledge.

The first one I highly recommend is:

Torrent-Damage http://www.torrent-damage.net/index.php

Torrent-Damage (commonly called TD) contains every type of media imaginable. From applications, games, movies, television shows, image sets, it is all there. I have only been using my television to play Xbox games, relying on mainly Torrent-Damage as my source for television and movies. You can expect to see most television shows appear on this torrent site within an hour of airing on live TV. I have used this site for over 3 years now. For much of that time it was the only private torrent site I used, and all I needed. The community here is very friendly, and you can find guides posted on the forums on a plethora unrelated to torrents. Everything from video editing and formatting, how to set up game consoles, and even dedicated gaming servers for popular games. This interactive community with a wide array of hobbies and talents and the amount of quality content I have downloaded over the years, lead me to recently become an uploader myself and begin contributing.

I am not even going to try and deny that I am very partial to this site. It is the first private tracker I joined and will always be my first stop regardless of any torrent rankings. Aside from BitMeTV, the download speeds at Torrent-Damage are the fastest of any other private torrent site on my list. As soon as a torrent is added to the tracker list, I am limited in download rates only by the maximum speed of my internet connection (2.3MB).

BitMeTV http://www.bitmetv.org/index.php

BitMeTV is a tracker that specializes in television only. A more accurate description is that it is obsessive about television shows. You will be able to find extremely rare and old shows here, in complete seasons. Much of the content is released internally by its members. This means it is only available from their site. As I mentioned briefly above, the download speeds here are just as high as Torrent-Damage, and this is a top quality site. There are two downsides however, or three if you consider only carrying television programs as a downside. The major drawback is that it is incredibly difficult to find an invite for. Although it isn’t among the top in terms of rarity (you can find ranking charts on popularity, rarity, and trade rates of invites if you feel like doing some searching), it is one you will have to go looking for or know someone to get an invite in most cases. If do get invited, maintaining a good ratio is also the hardest out of any I am a member of. The main reason for this is many of the ratio building techniques I will go over in the advanced guides cannot be used here. They do not use RAR files and this forces you to download an entire file rather than allowing you to grab just a few parts. Luckily they do not have a hard cut off point or ratio you MUST maintain. Instead they monitor for users who abuse the system and don’t share regularly.

IP Torrents http://www.iptorrents.com/indexipt.php

IP Torrents is a private tracker that is relatively easy to join and almost always accepting new members. The main draw to this site is the amount of content it has and its ability to monitor and regulate the quality of its content through its strict uploader application. The large number users and torrent make it easy to share and maintain a healthy ratio. It also has a bonus point system where you get points for the amount of *Time* you share, rather than simply the *Amount* you share. This enables users with a low upload speed to keep a good ratio buy using bonus points to “purchase” upload amounts. IP Torrents tends to have a good mix of content, including HD content, and sometimes has it available before other sites I check.

The last two sites are both exclusively HD
content. I am a huge HD junky and will often wait until a show or movie comes
out in 720 or 1080p before viewing it.

SceneHD http://scenehd.org/index.php

Bit-HDTV http://www.bit-hdtv.com/index.php

SceneHDis probably better than Bit-HDTV in most castes, but they are both top notch and worth joining. One will sometimes have a file the other does not, or perhaps more seeders and thus allow for a faster download speed. So to get access to the highest amount of HD torrents you should become a member of both if possible. I tend to check SceneHD first, mainly due to its attractive search filter and original bonus point system, but I use and love them both.

If the information in this guide was helpful for you, please visit my blog at Torrent World. I am always adding new torrent guides, and you can look for those in my profile or on my Blog.

New Torrent Information always available at Torrent World