Speed up torrents

Many people out there suffer from slow downloads through the torrent network.Often times they do not realize that there are ways to improve those slow speeds.Simple tweaks can be done to optimize your current speeds.

If you are on a dialup line wishing to download using Bittorrents,then you’re simply out of luck.Here I will provide some of the many tricks out there to optimize your download speed.

»Cap your Upload Speed

Although Bittorrent protocal is designed to perform efficiently when all users upload to their maxium output,while they are downloading.The truth is that you should not upload to your maxiumum bandwidth because it effects your download speed significantly.You should set your upload to be somewhat of 75-80 percent of your actual maximum upload speed.

Inorder to do that, you should find out your upload speed by using one of the million speed test sites out there.Personally I prefer using Speakeasy Speed Test because I live in the U.S.

»Remove the TCP connection Limit

You might have realized that your Torrent speeds have diminished marginally after you upgraded to windows xp service pack 2.What you fail to realize is that with the update to SP2,microsoft has limited the amount of tcp connections required by torrent programs.Currently the connection limit is capped at a maximum of 10 in service pack 2.

This was implemented by microsoft inorder to limit the spread of worms,trojans and other security threats.The whole idea behind service pack 2 was to secure your computer by all means possible.The most effective way to override the limit on you tcp connections is by using the Event ID4226 patch.Basically what the patch does is override the connection limit imposed by SP2 to any number.I do not recommend setting the connection limit too high,due to security reasons mentioned.An effective number would be anywhere between 50-100 connections.

[More info on the Author of the patch] [Direct link to download EvID4226Patch]

»Unblock Ports in your Router

Most of the time,slow torrent speeds are due to this problem.Usually beginners to torrents do not realize the effect routers have on Bittorent applications.It is important to realize that torrents commonly use ports ranging from 6881~6889 for high speed downloading.

If you do not know how to port forward those ports I mentioned above then visiting this site would be best.The author gives a detailed look into how its done.

If you want to specific on which ports to forward for the your exact application.You should begin by finding out the manufacturer of your router and the specific model.Then you should head over to Portforward.com and begin by choosing the the model of your router.The rest should be very simple.

»Disable Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall was designed to limit traffic in and out of your computer for security purposes.However that is not beneficial for torrent users who need all the extra bandwidth they can get.The best thing to do is simply disable windows firewall and get a more torrent friendly one such as zone alarm.

If you insist on keeping windows firewall on but want to use your internet connection to its maximum,then follow this:

note:Opening ports within windows xp’s built in firewall can be time consuming, because you can not add port ranges. Only single ports, so you will need to do this about 16 or so times, for each port between 6881 ~ 6889…

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections and then click Network Connections.
2. If you have a cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, under LAN or High-Speed Internet, click the connection you use for the Internet.
3. Under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
4. On the Advanced tab, make sure that the check box Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet is selected.
5. Click Settings.
6. On the Services tab, click Add.
7. In Description of service, type a name so that you can identify the port you want to open. For example: Torrent. Type a name that will help you remember the service and the port. You can use any name that you want. The name does not have any effect on the functionality but is only to help you remember.
8. In Name or IP address of the computer hosting this service on your network, type your ip address
9. In External Port number for this service and Internal Port number for this service, type the port number (the same number in both boxes).
10. Click either TCP or UDP, and then click OK.
11. Repeat this process for each port that needs to be opened. That means you need to repeat every step, adding both TCP and UDP ports for each number from 6881 ~ 6889. When your done, you should have 16 services added in there.It is best to name them something like Torrent1_tcp, Torrent1_udp, Torrent2_tcp, Torrent2_udp and so on.

»Choose your Torrents Wisely

Choose torrents that have a good seed to peer ratio.Most of the time,torrent users fail to realize the demand for certain files are very high and those serving it are low.You want to download torrent files that have seeds more than or almost equal to the peers.For example a file having 100 seeds and 100 peers is much better than having 100 seeds and 200 peers