I know, I know - I am late, but look on the bright side - better late, than never! What should we talk about today? Well, the answer is simple - how to use Azureus, if I recall it well. To be more specific, we should discuss about configuring Azureus, as I promised you last time, when we learned a few general things about this BitTorrent client, and you had a chance to see how to install Azureus, as well as its setup choices, explained.


<-120x240 Vertical Banner - left->We'll get to the setup part right away, since I guess you already have something in mind, and I hope you want to create a logo for free, download a free 3D graphics software, or even get HD content for free, because all these are possible without breaking the law. Anyway, before you download something, I strongly advise double checking what you're grabbing with Azureus - MPAA and RIAA are hardly waiting to get their hands on you! After all, you may have downloaded some files already, since Azureus can easily work right out of the box for most people, but it won't work as it is supposed to be, as you're going to see right away...

After I installed Azureus (I will mention it once and for all - we're talking about Azureus Vuze, since it seems the "classic" version of the program is dead now), I - obviously - started it. So far, so good. I even downloaded some files without changing any settings, but then something hit me in the eye - the interface was not in English!

Come on, I had no language choice during setup, my Windows XP Professional is the English version, and Azureus installed by default the local language, simply because of my Time Zone? It seems so, and I can't really tell about other localizations, but I hate the one in my native language, so I always use English. If you're not like me and you enjoy localised applications, you can skip the next paragraph. OK now, others - let's see how can we fix this, shall we?


Leaving the menus aside, it's enough to press Ctrl+, and you'll be taken to the Configuration tab right away. A very handy addition to Azureus allows you to search through the available options, so simply type "Language" in the search box (translated into the language used by the interface, of course) and you'll be taken to the right option. Otherwise, you should expand the Interface branch, and then find the Language option, which should be first one, as you can see above. After choosing English, or another language that's better for you, click the Save button below, in the left corner.


Good, since we solved the language problem, today I'll show you how to solve another problem - user proficiency. Obviously, you won't become a BitTorrent expert in an hour, but you'll learn how to start digging in. If Azureus already works like a charm, you can simply quit now, but if you're headed towards becoming a power user, you should stay and prepare for what's headed your way...

To start the Configuration Wizard, simply open the Tools menu, and pick it from there. Now, let's follow it, step by step...


Language? Didn't we change it already? Well, we did, but the Configuration Wizard doesn't know that. Too bad the Wizard doesn't run when you start the program for the first time after installing it, as it did before (and if it does, than I got bad luck and it didn't, for me)!


When it comes to user proficiency, I always select the highest level possible. Why? Better have options that you don't know how to use, than lack those you need!


Next, we have the connection settings. These should be pretty easy to set, and if you have no idea about your bandwidth, using a free connection testing tool, like SpeedTest.net, could be a good idea.


In most cases, you should simply skip the NAT/Server Port screen, but first, do the test to ensure that the currently selected port works fine. You should do the same, especially if you had problems with the default configuration.


I've seen too many people that have no idea where a certain program downloads data. To avoid being like them, be sure to change the default folder for Azureus as you can see in the screen above!

At last, press Finish and you can start downloading, if you didn't do it already! On the other hand, you can leave Azureus aside, get back to your life, and wait for the next episode in our series, which is exactly what I would do, if I were you.

Azureus is a BitTorrent client that was built using Java, and while it's compatible with multiple operating systems (Linux, Windows, Mac OS X), we're going to talk only about the Windows version, and there's no need to explain why.

Before running the application for the first time, make sure your system has the latest JRE installed. If not, you can download it from the official Azureus homepage, so let's move on...

Once you have downloaded the program, the setup process won't be as easy as expected, because the settings chosen now can have a major impact on the download speed and amount of memory taken up by Azureus. Anyway, don't expect it not to be resource hungry, because this is an application built using Java, after all.

These being said, let's run the setup package and follow the steps required to complete the installation process, and have Azureus up and running, shall we?


<-234x60 Half Banner - left->As you can see in the image above, I am installing Azureus Vuze 3.0.5.2. Needless to say what needs to be done at this stage...
Once the next setup window opens, you will see the License Agreement. If you're not familiar with the GPL license, you can take your time to read it, but we're sure that in most cases people simply click "I Agree" and move on, so do as you wish. The time you spend reading the License Agreement doesn't have anything to do with your experience as a user, so let's move on to the next step, but don't forget to click the button saying "I Agree," first!
Now that the License Agreement is behind us, we have to choose the location where to install the program, set the file association(automatically opening Torrent files with Azureus), and then wait for a little, while the files are copied.
<-customad->Next, I ran into a little problem. Two, in fact, so I advise you to pay attention here, if you don't want to curse later. Now, depends on the type of user you are, of course, because some people that I won't ever understand like to have their browser full of toolbars, and the default search option to be one they are never using. Considering these, I guess the screenshot above should explain it all - be sure to uncheck both options on this screen, and then press Next to move on.
Look! Now, you can run Azureus Vuze, but before starting to download anything, you should carefully adjust the settings to match your Windows version, Internet connection, and - if your computer isn't powerful enough, some of the choices you make now can have a great impact on the program's performance.I don't know about you, but I am a bit tired, so I'll leave the configuration part for tomorrow, or better said, "starting tomorrow," because when we're talking about settings, this program really has a lot of them. In the meantime, be sure to get ready for next round, all right?

Hello again, and welcome to what I will try to turn into an stream of articles regarding the installation and use of some notorious BitTorrent clients, and maybe even some additional Torrent-related tools, if you'll ask. The idea is pretty simple - I have a plan written down, which I won't completely reveal now or later, because there's plenty of time to hit each subject as we move on, but if you want to know more about some program, just name it, and if it's not on my list, I'll add it. Now, let's talk a little about the big things to come...


Contrary to what most people may think at this time, the BitTorrent communications protocol was not created to help pirates distribute illegal copies of movies, music and games, but to lower costs of hardware, hosting and bandwidth required when dealing with large files, and the first to use this were various Linux distributions.

Since I am sure you're not crazy about technical details, let's check the highlights I have prepared for you already, shall we? As I said, nothing is final, so I will say it again and again: don't hesitate to stand out and shout what you want!

First of all, we'll talk about Azureus, considered by many users to be the best torrent client software available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Since Azureus has a classic version and a new one, called Vuze, and there are some differences between them, we'll also see what Vuze can do and the classic version can't.

Next, we'll cover the same topics for BitComet - installation and initial settings, downloading torrents, creating new torrents and uploading them to a tracker, setting speed limits and using BitComet's search feature.

The third program we'll talk about is uTorrent, a tiny yet powerful piece of code that only requires you to download it and run the executable, without any boring installation and setup steps needed.

Since most downloaded files are disc images using the ISO format and others that are similar, you'll learn how to handle them, using some of the best tools available to get the job done - Daemon Tools for mounting disc images, PowerISo and UltraISO for editing them, and Nero to burn your CD or DVD discs using these images. These are extra-tools, and if you say "no," I can easily push them aside.

Last step of our Spotlight on Torrents series will be to talk about the father of all torrent clients, the first program from this category that has seen the light of day, BitTorrent.

Of course that the list is open - and this is the last time I say it. Since there are a lot of individual torrent tutorials on the Web, but I didn't run into such a thing as this one I am planning now before, I am sure we'll end up with some nice articles in the end but, more important than anything else, I want you to interact with me. Don't be afraid to ask questions, that's why we have the Internet at our disposal, and don't forget: knowledge is power!