AfterDawn: News

The Pirate Bay stops distributing .torrent files

The Pirate Bay has ceased distributing torrent files, a necessary move, they say, to "step forward in technology."

Instead of torrent files, the site will now use magnets, which they say will be more efficient and take up less space.



Reads the full statement:

No more torrents=no changes anyhow

Today marks the end of an era. Sort of.

TPB will no longer give out links to .torrent files. The reason is simple: They're just a waste of space and our time.

Instead we're giving you Magnet links. It's simpler for us and no more hassle for you. It's more resilient than .torrent files and it uses much less bandwidth for those who wants to mirror. Also, since the magnet links are just a hash, it's on every single torrent detail page - so noone knows that you actually downloaded a file or not.

This means that noone can block torrent files without blocking data within a webpage. So far, few countries have implemented such harsh censorship tactics. Countries, particularily in EU, seems to moving towards total censorship so we do all we can to avoid our users ending up with less freedom.

A lot of media has hyped that we're stopping with the torrent files. It's like saying that Ferrari is no longer sellings cars - they're just selling BETTER cars. As are we, we're giving you the best links there are!

And to kinda-quote a bible, "Spilling seed is more severe then all sins, since he defiles his soul in this world and the world to come and he does not see the glory of the sharing."

PS. you _can_ download individual files using magnets - just wait until the metadata is fetched from the network. It is worth it.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Feb 2012 13:04

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• 30 comments

• shortybob

  Scared the **** out of me for s second...
  

  29.2.2012 13:27 #1

• tongs007

  well i cant figure out even how to open a magnet file, using chrome or i.e with bitlord

  29.2.2012 14:54 #2

• elitepunk

  ARE YOU F--CKING KIDDING ME/// noooo i hate magnets i cant use them with PORTALBE UTORRENT GRRRRRR =[

  29.2.2012 15:12 #3

• snardos

  I have had issues with magnet links in the past. Sometimes the metadata never got fetched which means the download wouldn't start. I neved did figure out how to use them in linux, but I also didn't try very hard since the .torrent files worked just fine.

  29.2.2012 15:54 #4

• tongs007

  figured it out, used latest utorrent

  29.2.2012 15:55 #5

• tongs007

  Originally posted by snardos: I have had issues with magnet links in the past. Sometimes the metadata never got fetched which means the download wouldn't start. I neved did figure out how to use them in linux, but I also didn't try very hard since the .torrent files worked just fine. i heard it works well on ubatanu ( or whatever its called) for linux os

  29.2.2012 15:57 #6

• JOHNSTARR

  The most heavily monitored sight on the planet ---> Arrrrrggghhhh , don't cry when you get hit with a lawsuit for downloading movies like Conan, me Matey!!!
  

  No time for Leap frog!!!

  29.2.2012 16:06 #7

• elitepunk

  GR8 now we can't select what we want to d/l out of torrent files anymore...this really sucks, and is a HUGE move backwards...this is just so they don't get shutdown. however they still will get shutdown eventually anyway so who really gives a sh-t!

  29.2.2012 16:24 #8

• tongs007

  Originally posted by elitepunk: GR8 now we can't select what we want to d/l out of torrent files anymore...this really sucks, and is a HUGE move backwards...this is just so they don't get shutdown. however they still will get shutdown eventually anyway so who really gives a sh-t! i dont know about that, piratebay still has answers for everything flung at them, the government try and block it and piratebay always counter measure, it should have been shut down years ago but its still going. hope it lasts to be honest :D

  29.2.2012 17:02 #9

• ivymike

  I read a while back that TPB was working with Bittorrent developers on a replacement protocol that features more encrypted data streams and more flexibility......Perhaps this is a prelude to a rollout of such a product.

  29.2.2012 17:58 #10

• stardata

  Ahh the ole Magnet bay. you have got to hand it to them, works great but a lot of people don't like change but it is a worthwhile change in regard to keeping one step ahead. well done the magnet bay. A new name for a new begining.
  

  29.2.2012 18:25 #11

• mike.m

  Haven't used Magnet yet. Just tried one out with uTorrent. Seemed pretty simple. I don't really see much of a difference, but I didn't have to download anything else to make it work, so nothing to complain about. At least Piratebay is still up and running. The only really "good" torrent site, or should I now say magnet site out there, IMO, besides private trackers.

  29.2.2012 20:41 #12

• Bozobub

  Originally posted by elitepunk: ARE YOU F--CKING KIDDING ME/// noooo i hate magnets i cant use them with PORTALBE UTORRENT GRRRRRR =[
  aTorrent (Android) deals with magnet links just fine, actually.

  29.2.2012 21:33 #13

• stuntz0rZ

  magnet links never worked for me b4. will have to try it again arrg!

  29.2.2012 21:38 #14

• freddy11

  Originally posted by mike.m: Havent used Magnet yet. Just tried one out with uTorrent. Seemed pretty simple. I dont really see much of a difference, but I didnt have to download anything else to make it work, so nothing to complain about. At least Piratebay is still up and running. The only really "good" torrent site, or should I now say magnet site out there, IMO, besides private trackers.
  Mike I am not too technical, am retired, and would really appreciate a SIMPLE LAYMANS explanation of "magnets" and how to use them. Fred

  29.2.2012 21:49 #15

• Bozobub

  Click them. If you have a decent torrent client (Vuze/Azureus, uTorrent) a magnet link will work roughly like downloading a full .torrent file. They do take somewhat longer to start, however.

  29.2.2012 21:52 #16

• freddy11

  Originally posted by Bozobub: Click them. If you have a decent torrent client (Vuze/Azureus, uTorrent) a magnet link will work roughly like downloading a full .torrent file. They do take somewhat longer to start, however. What is the magnet, what does it look like?
  

  29.2.2012 22:26 #17

• scorpNZ

  Originally posted by freddy11: Originally posted by Bozobub: Click them. If you have a decent torrent client (Vuze/Azureus, uTorrent) a magnet link will work roughly like downloading a full .torrent file. They do take somewhat longer to start, however. What is the magnet, what does it look like? magnet
  

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  29.2.2012 22:58 #18

• ivymike

  The Magnet icon looks like the classic "U" shaped magnet.

  29.2.2012 23:40 #19

• freddy11

  ok where is it situated
  
  

  1.3.2012 00:02 #20

• freddy11

  Thank you very much in advance to all who took the trouble to help a computer illiterate retiree. Appreciated
  

  1.3.2012 00:07 #21

• xboxdvl2

  i did notice when i click download a torrent file it says choose program to open with and i select vuze and it takes a while for it to start downloading.
  

  R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.got myself a 1993 toyota corolla seems to run good.computers still going good.

  1.3.2012 00:39 #22

• Bozobub

  Originally posted by freddy11: What is the magnet, what does it look like?
  It'll look like any other hyperlink, silly. Generally, with the helpful label, "Magnet link" or "Download magnet link" or "Get magnet link" =3 .
  
  You might, however, also see somewhat misleading ones that say "Get torrent here", or the like.
  
  The main disadvantage with this form of starting a torrent session is that it's much more involved to NOT download specific files in the torrent (yes, it still can be a done*). But if you want all of them, it's exactly equivalent to using a .torrent file, but doesn't need a centralized tracker at all.
  
  * Just click the "Files" (in most torrent clients) tab for a given torrent, then select one or more files (CTRL-click and shift-click DO work here), right-click the selection and then choose "Do not download", or the similarly-worded option in your client (if your client can't do this, sorry, it blows ^^'). You can then safely delete those filenames in the torrent's folder.
  
  If you chose to preallocate space for torrents on your HD in your client's options, this can free up a LOT of space. Unfortunately, AFAIK this is the only real way to do it with magnet links; I'd love to be proven wrong - lol...

  1.3.2012 12:15 #23

• Welchini (unverified)

  UH I dont want this to go too far without mentioning something important. The Pirate Bay is now a pay site.
  
  So they can say that they're all better now, but paying for hijacked and cracked media nad software is not on the list of things a pirate does. Go somewhere else for your torrent files.

  1.3.2012 17:30 #24

• Bozobub

  Complete, utter balderdash and bullpuckey. In fact, I used them today, and my wife is downloading something right now. You got scammed, if you paid one red cent, or if you ever do. TPB is NOT a paid site. They have, however, changed their URL; it ends in ".se" now (been like that for roughly a month).

  1.3.2012 21:16 #25

• Kannz

  TPB said they sold their old domain and didn't know what the new owners would do with it. I guess there's your answer. scam people.
  

  2.3.2012 18:46 #26

• DXR88

  After you get the Maglink and data you can turn it into a torrent file if you want.
  
  Utorrent does not handle maglinks worth a dame anyway even the latest version.
  

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  4.3.2012 23:24 #27

• pmshah

  For all you Windows users there is a freeware utility called OpenExpert available. You can simply point to your bittorrent client for the magen files or simply right click on the file, select properties and set your torrent client as the application to handle the file.
  
  I have had occasions to use magnet links in the past. These work essentially with DHT, Peer Exchange and Local Peer Discovery.

  9.3.2012 21:08 #28

• bratcher

  I've found that magnet links work just fine with the latest Utorrent.

  10.3.2012 01:06 #29

• xboxdvl2

  i use vuze it says asks what application to open with you select vuze or azurus and it puts it in vuze and downloads it.
  

  R.I.P. mr 1990 ford falcon.got myself a 1993 toyota corolla seems to run good.computers still going good.

  10.3.2012 01:18 #30