Torrent
The annual list of popular torrent sites features well-known brands, and this year there are some notable additions. The new entrants are a pair of gaming-focused sites; skidrowreloaded.com and igg-games.com.
Torrent
We have limited the list to English-language torrent sites, which means that sites such as Rutracker.org, Rutor.info, Dytt8.net and Etoland.co.kr are not included, despite the fact that they have substantial traffic numbers.
Below is the full list of the top ten most-visited torrent site domains at the start of the new year. The list is based on various traffic reports. Please note that this list is created as a historical record, to keep track of the popularity of these sites over time.
NYAA.si is a popular resurrection of the anime torrent site NYAA. While there is fierce competition from alternative pirate streaming sites, the torrent portal continues to do well, climbing two positions compared to last year.
Launched a little over four years ago, TorrentGalaxy is a relatively new torrent site. It has a dedicated group of uploaders and an active community. In addition to torrents, TorrentGalaxy also makes some releases available for streaming.
Disclaimer: Proxies and clear copycats are excluded. Please keep in mind that many sites have mirrors or alternative domains, which are often not taken into account here. The yearly list is published as an informational / news resource. The 2022 torrent site list is archived.
In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms.[1] A torrent file does not contain the content to be distributed; it only contains information about those files, such as their names, folder structure, sizes, and cryptographic hash values for verifying file integrity. Torrent files are normally named with the extension ".torrent".
A torrent file acts like a table of contents (index) that allows computers to find information through the use of a BitTorrent client. With the help of a torrent file, one can download small parts of the original file from computers that have already downloaded it. These "peers" allow for downloading of the file in addition to, or in place of, the primary server.
The BitTorrent system has been created to ease the load on central servers, as instead of having individual clients fetch files from the server, BitTorrent can crowd-source the bandwidth needed for the file transfer and reduce the time needed to download large files. Many free/freeware programs and operating systems, such as the various Linux distributions offer a torrent download option for users seeking the aforementioned benefits. Other large downloads, such as media files, are often torrented as well.
A small torrent file is created to represent a file or folder to be shared. The torrent file acts as the key to initiating downloading of the actual content. Someone interested in receiving the shared file or folder first obtains the corresponding torrent file, either by directly downloading it or by using a magnet link. The user then opens that file in a BitTorrent client, which automates the rest of the process. In order to learn the internet locations of peers who may be sharing pieces, the client connects to the trackers named in the torrent file, and/or achieves a similar result through the use of distributed hash tables. Then the client connects directly to the peers in order to request pieces and otherwise participate in a swarm. The client may also report progress to trackers, to help the tracker with its peer recommendations.
A torrent is uniquely identified by an infohash, a SHA-1 hash calculated over the contents of the info dictionary in bencode form. Changes to other portions of the torrent does not affect the hash. This hash is used to identify the torrent to other peers via DHT and to the tracker. It is also used in magnet links.
The new format uses SHA-256 in both the piece-hashing and the infohash, replacing the broken SHA-1 hash. The "btmh" magnet link would contain the full 32-byte hash, while communication with trackers and on the DHT uses the 20-byte truncated version to fit into the old message structure.[2] It is possible to construct a torrent file with only updated new fields for a "v2" torrent, or with both the old and new fields for a "hybrid" format. However, as a torrent would have different infohashes in v1 and v2 networks, two swarms would form, requiring special handling by the client to merge the two. In addition, as v2 adds keys to info, there can be no [3]
A core feature of the new format is its application of merkle trees, allowing for 16KiB blocks of a piece to be individually verified and re-downloaded. Each file now always occupy whole piece sizes and have an independent merkle root hash, so that it's possible to find duplicate files across unrelated torrent files of any piece length. The file size is not reduced, but the info dictionary required for magnet links are (only in v2-only torrents).[3]
A torrent file can also contain additional metadata defined in extensions to the BitTorrent specification.[4] These are known as "BitTorrent Enhancement Proposals." Examples of such proposals include metadata for stating who created the torrent, and when.
The specification recommends that nodes "should be set to the K closest nodes in the torrent generating client's routing table. Alternatively, the key could be set to a known good node such as one operated by the person generating the torrent."
In BEP-0017, a new key, httpseeds, is placed in the top-most list (i.e., with announce and info). This key's value is a list of web addresses where torrent data can be retrieved. Special server support is required. It remains at Draft status.
Private torrents are to be used with a private tracker. Such a tracker restricts access to torrents it tracks by checking the peer's IP, refusing to provide a peer list if the IP is unknown. The peer itself is usually registered to the tracker via a gated online community; the private tracker typically also keep statistics of data transfer for use in the community.
Decentralized methods like DHT, PeX, LSD are disabled to maintain the centralized control. A private torrent can be manually edited to remove the private flag, but doing so will change the info-hash (deterministically), forming a separate "swarm" of peers. On the other hand, changing the tracker list will not change the hash. The flag does not offer true privacy, instead operating as a gentlemen's agreement.
BEP-0030[10] extends BitTorrent to support Merkle trees (originally implemented in Tribler). The purpose is to reduce the file size of torrent files, which reduces the burden on those that serve torrent files.
There are several other ways to get Ubuntu including torrents, which can potentially mean a quicker download, our network installer for older systems and special configurations and links to our regional mirrors for our older (and newer) releases. If you don't specifically require any of these installers, we recommend using our standard downloads.
In Washington, some occurrences of Columbia torrent salamanders are in protected areas (for example, state designated Natural Area Preserves), while some riparian habitat protections occur through forest practice rules and habitat conservation plans. Temperature sensitivity and limited dispersal ability makes this species potentially sensitive to climate change.
The Columbia torrent salamander is a small, aquatic, stream-adapted salamander (rarely more than 2.2 inches snout to vent length). The head is small with a short, rounded snout The body is relatively long with short limbs and a short tail. Coloration is beige-brown above and yellow to orange yellow below. White speckling on the body tends to be more concentrated along the sides. Black speckling also exists, but is very reduced to fine flecking, also mostly along the sides. In general, this species lacks the dark dorsal (topside) and ventral (underside) spotting or blotching that is prominent in the Cascades torrent salamander.
Columbia torrent salamanders have large prominent eyes. The large size of the eyes (eye diameter approximately equal to snout length), relatively short, rounded snout and generally prominent yellow component to the belly color are features that help distinguish torrent salamanders from other Washington salamanders.
The color pattern and morphology of torrent salamander species are similar and variable; therefore, torrent salamander species are best identified by collection locality and how that relates to the documented ranges of each species.
Superficially, metamorphosed torrent salamanders resemble woodland salamanders (Plethodon species) and ensatina, but torrent salamanders lack nasolabial grooves and a constriction at the base of the tail (unique to ensatina). Torrent salamanders and rough-skinned newts have a similar color pattern, but differ in overall appearance with newts being stockier, having a thicker skin that is often rough (in the terrestrial phase) and lacking costal grooves.
Columbia torrent salamanders occur in mature, coastal, coniferous forests where they inhabit relatively cold, permanent streams, seepages, and waterfall splash zones. Stream segments tend to be shallow, slow flowing, and have gravel or rock rubble with low levels of silt. They tend to be more abundant in streams with northerly aspects and steep gradients. During rainy wet periods, metamorphosed individuals may occasionally be found in wet terrestrial forest settings away from streams or seepages.
The salamanders are active year round, but the reproductive ecology is not well known. The mating season is probably prolonged similar to other torrent salamander species. Only five nests have been found, presumably because the eggs are laid in inaccessible recesses in head-water streams and seeps. 041b061a72