10 Ways To Speed Up Torrent Downloads

Imagine being on the autobahn with the accelerator down and then you realize that you are driving a wrecked car. The plight is not so uncommon on the information superhighway too.

Torrent users would attest to the fact that half of our time is spent looking for ‘healthy’ torrents and the other half trying to download (and a bit of upload too) at the maximum speed. The former is mandatory; the latter thankfully is within the realm of tweaking.

If you are the one who thinks that your torrent download speeds could do with a boost then keep reading. Below, you’ll find a few tips on how to speed up torrent download speed.

1. Your ISP is where it starts

Check the maximum download and upload speeds allowed by your ISP. Most ISP’s have specific bandwidths for both uploads and downloads. Obviously your torrent download speed won’t cross the cap set by the ISP. Go over to this article on Speed.io for broadband speed test and this one by Tina on ways to increase your connection speed. There are many other bandwidth testers like DSLReports which is included in the speed test within uTorrent.

2. Choosing the right BitTorrent client

Use the better clients out there like uTorrent, Vuze or the BitTorrent client itself.Wikipedia lists about 51 of them supporting the BitTorrent protocol. The choice of client used should always be updated to the latest version. The screenshots here depict uTorrent. The settings should be similarly configurable for other clients too. Mac users shuld also check our Transmission vs. uTorrent post

3. Go for healthy seeds and peers

A peer is any computer participating in the download and upload of a torrent file. A seed (or seeder) is anyone who has one complete copy of the file being shared across the torrent network. A leech (or a leecher) is the person who does not have the complete file yet but has joined the network to download it. A leecher becomes a seeder when he downloads the entire file and then shares it across the network.

For high torrent speeds, the best bet is in numbers. The greater the number of seeders, the healthier the torrent and the better the chance of higher speeds. The rule of thumb says to choose the torrent files with a high number of seeders and preferably lesser number of leechers i.e. a higher seed-leecher ratio.

4. Get through the firewall

Firewalls can block all incoming BitTorrent connections coming through. To ensure otherwise, a firewall should be manually configured to accept the connections and let it through the client. Windows XP has the Windows Firewall. Configure the firewall installed to accept the connections by checking the BitTorrent client on the allowed list i.e. Options – Preferences ““ Connection – check Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall. Also, check the Windows Firewall exception (if you keep it enabled) in your client too. Shutting down the firewall is not recommended as it leaves the computer open to attack.

Note: If the home computer is behind a router, it also should be configured through the feature called Port Range Forwarding to enable torrent traffic. The router documentation should have specific information on this.

5. Limit your upload rate

A peer to peer network is all about sharing alike, but an unlimited upload rate hits the download rate too. Using the speed tests, find out your maximum upload speed and then set your client’s upload rate (Global Upload Rate in uTorrent) to about 80% of your maximum upload speed. You can also try varying your upload speeds ““ keep it high initially and then gradually bring it down towards the middle of the download.
Note: Mind the speed units ““ it may be given in kilobits per second (kb/sec) orkilobytes per second (kB/sec). 1 kilobyte = 8 kilobit

6. Go to a different port

The default port for the BitTorrent protocol is any between port numbers 6881-6999. ISPs throttle traffic on these ports as BitTorrent sharing involves high bandwidth usage. It’s easy to configure a different port in your torrent client. Use some number above 10000 to get around ISPs and also avoid problems with other applications. By default, the uTorrent port is randomized each time it starts. Set a specific port by not enabling the Randomize Port setting.

7. Increase the number of Max Half Open TCP connections

This figure specifies how many connections a torrent client should attempt to establish simultaneously at any given time. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or newer, limits this to a default of 10 as a barrier against virus multiplication. But that’s a bummer for torrent speeds as torrents too need a large number of simultaneous connections.
A patch has been available for a while from LvlLord which modifies the TCPIP.sys file in Windows to allow a higher number of TCP connections.

After running the patch, you have to set the number of connections in your torrent client. For example, in uTorrent go to Options ““ Preferences ““ Advanced – net.max_halfopen. Set any number from 50 to 100. But see that net.max_halfopen is set lower than the value set in TCPIP.SYS. Always check if it is still patched because Windows updates sometimes overwrite it.


8. Experiment with Protocol Encryption

Some ISPs love to act like Big Brothers and constrict bandwidth for P2P protocols. Protocol Encryption in most of the torrent clients helps to override this bandwidth shaping. Enable outgoing protocol encryption and put a checkmark on Allow Incoming Legacy Connections.

With protocol encryption, ISPs find it difficult if not impossible to detect that the traffic is coming from BitTorrent. Experiment with enabled, disabled and forced options because you could be getting better speeds with encryption disabled. Non-encryption makes a torrent connection compatible with someone who is not using encryption but as a minus it makes the torrent detectable to an ISP with a bandwidth restricting policy.

9. Bandwidth and connections

Your BitTorrent client’s settings options will let you enter figures for ““
Global maximum number of connections gives the maximum number of connections that a BitTorrent client can make for any P2P exchange. Setting this too high does NOT mean higher speeds. Setting it too high would take up useless bandwidth and too low a figure would miss out on peers. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 130.
Maximum number of connected peers per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client can connect to for any P2P exchange. Experiment by setting this number close to the available peers for a particular torrent. For my 256kbps connection, I have a default setting of 70.
Number of upload slots per torrent gives the maximum number of peers that a BitTorrent client will upload to for any P2P exchange. A low setting may affect downloads. For my 256kbps connection, I have a setting of 3.

uTorrent has a Speed Guide which handily calculates the figures for a particular connection.

10. Some common sense

Most BitTorrent clients allow us to view the individual files in a download. You can selectively disable the download of files you don’t think necessary.
Familiarize yourself with the customization settings of your particular client available in the Help files or at the website FAQs.

Some useful resources:

BitTorrent User Guide
uTorrent FAQ
Vuze FAQ

How to transfer balance from one mobile to another mobile?

Transferring balance/fund from one mobile to another mobile is very easy in India. Almost all mobile networks supporting this facility. Some times we really need this service because we will face network coverage issue, money shortage in our account or something like that. So here i have added how to transfer balance from one mobile to another mobile.. step by step tutor.

Vodafone Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in vodafone?

Transfer balance/fund from one vodafone mobile from another mobile by using below shown format.

*131*amount*mobile-number#

Eg: transfer Rs.100/-  from  9048990906 to  9048203040 then,

use:    *131*100*9048203040

Your Rs. 100 will transfer.

Airtel Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in airtel?

Transfer balance/fund from one airtel mobile from another airtel mobile by using below shown format.

*141#

A display will show:

1. Send Talktime

2.Gift Packs

3.Recommend

4.Rate service

5.Account

6.Help

Reply with option

Press 1 and click send button

Then you will get a message by saying “thankyou for visiting airtel gifting service. To be able to access this service from your phonebook save *141# as Airtel Gift or Airtel Gifting.

Aircel Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in aircel ?

Transfer balance/fund from one aircel mobile from another  mobile by using below shown format.

*122*666#

You can transfer Rs.10,20,50,100 recharges by using this aircel balance transfer service.

BSNL Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in bsnl?

Transfer balance/fund from one BSNL mobile from another  mobile by using below shown format.

Type    GIFT <mobile number> <Amount> and send to 53733.

Eg: If you want to transfer Rs. 50/- then you want to type    GIFT <9447xxxxxxx> 50 and send to 53733.

Idea Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in idea ?

Transfer code is  GIVE amount and send to 55567

Eg: transfer Rs.100/-  then,

use:    type GIVE 9847000000(mobile No)100  and send to  55567.

Above shown mobile number is example only. you can use the destination mobile number instead of that number.

Reliance Mobile – how to transfer balance from one mobile to another in reliance ?

Transfer code is:    dial  *367*3#  then enter *312*3#  then type the mobile number, then add transfer amount , then add PIN number (default PIN No is 1.)

Uninor Mobile – How to transfer balance from one mobile to another in uninor ?

Transfer balance/fund from one Uninor mobile from another  Uninor mobile by using below shown format.

*202*mobilenumber*amount

How to transfer balance from one mobile to another in docomo?

Type a message BTFriend’s Mobile numberAmount of balance transfer and send sms to 54321 For Eg:  To Transfer Rs.50 Talk-time from 9030012456 to 9030099900 . The sender(9030012456) types “BT 9030099900 50″ and send SMS to 54321

How to book IRCTC Tatkal ticket fast?

I recommend you to have a trail one day before the booking date, so that you can have overall idea regarding at what time exactly the tatkal quota is being booked totally. For example if you want to book IRCTC ticket on 23rd, then log in on 22nd 10 AM to check details. Of course this will be applicable only for daily trains.

If any train tatkal quota is totally booked at sharp 10:05 AM then technically it is not possible to book ticket via IRCTC. Because by the time you select class and click on Book link and going through all the subsequent pages, the time will be already 5 minutes over. Moreover the website becomes dead slow after 8 AM, no matter even you are having 10 Mbps net connection. So you will end up booking wait listed ticket even though confirmed seat is available at the time of clicking Book link.

So I suggest don't depend upon IRCTC for tickets where quota is quickly filling (I mean getting REGRET quickly). Instead go to railway station in the morning and be the first person in the queue when the tatkal counter opens. I am not kidding at all. This is the only way of booking tatkal ticket successfully. I hope the reservation clerk will accept your form, instead of processing brokers form first :).

What we will need in the process:

• High speed internet connection, for better reliability.
• Google Chrome browser (with multiple user account to book multiple tickets at a time).
• 2 Google Chrome extensions.
• IRCTC user account, and of course
• Debit/Credit card or Online banking for paymentLets get started:
  1. Create user in Google Chrome but do not associate with Google Account or sync.
  2. Go to newly created chrome user and install Chrome extensions namedAutofill and Allow Right Click.
  3. Go to IRCTC website and fill the login credentials. (wait.. do not hit enter or login button)
     • Right Click and “Add rules for this form” in sub-menu of Autofill. This will save the form and auto fill whenever you come again to the page.
  4. Now hit enter and search the desired train and class for reservation. In this step, our purpose is to go to the passengers’ details page and save to autofill.
  5. On the passengers details page fill the forms (name, sex, age, berth preferences and so on …). Again right-click and save the form to autofill as shown in the image below.
  6. After saving the form, follow the IRCTC instruction to go to the payment option page. Here we should select such payment methods which transact money with fewer steps and clicks. For this purpose I like SBI/HDFC online banking or OR debit card payment option.
  7. If you like to save this sensitive data then again save this to auto fill. BUT don’t forget to delete the information after booking tickets. or save SBI online banking login username and password for one click action, as shown at the bottom of the post.
  8. DON’T pay the amount and hit “Cancel” button if there is or close the window to cancel the ticket.
  Now, You are ready for quickly book tatkal tickets from IRCTC website. For good practice, run the test mode once again and get satisfied if everything is working fine.
  On the day of booking Tatkal Ticket, Login into your IRCTC account at least 15 minutes prior to booking started (i.e. 9:45 AM). And check everything. At this time you may login to your IRCTC account and search trains and stay there until it is 10:00 AM.
  At 10AM you should now proceed for furthers steps to book ticket.
  In this way, you can easily book tatkal tickets.
  Best Practice tips:
  1. Save all the forms I mentioned above. Other forms like “Search Train” will not work and show error. Avoid saving other forms.
  2. Delete all Banking and payment related data from autofill once you used.
  3. Login to IRCTC at 9:45 AM Indian Stranded Time.
  4. AC coaches have significantly less number of Tatkal Tickets Quota compared to Sleeper Class. This is why Sleeper class has better change to book a ticket.
  5. Booking Ticket in test mode is recommended for satisfaction and finding possible errors. Do it.
  6. Use new Chrome user account for faster browser experience.
  7. Never sync banking related data to chrome or any other sync option.
  8. You can book maximum 2 different Tatkal tickets from your (one) account.
  9. Maximum 4 Tatkal tickets can be booked at a time (against a PNR). If you want to book more than 4 tickets create another Chrome account and follow the same tutorial. (Due to high rush and keeping travel agents from out of tatkal tickets IRCTC monitors account. So, I will not recommend anyone to book someone else’s tickets from your IRCTC account)
  There is also a trick for quick login to SBI online banking during payment. To do this you will need to create a bookmark in Chrome “Bookmarks bar” with the given code. To know how to create a bookmark in Google Chrome visit here.
  Now when you visit SBI internet banking page for IRCTC payment, click the bookmark. you will be automatically logged in to SBI. In the code below you will need to change the username and password written in bold, with yours own. I will suggest you to visit SBI login page and test your bookmark for trial, far before booking you online Tatkal ticket for any misconfiguration.
  Code for SBI quick login:

  javascript:function E(){ f0=document.forms[0];f0['userName'].value='USERNAME'; f0['password'].value='PASSWORD'; f0['Button2'].click(); }E()

  Replace USERNAME and PASSWORD with your real ones and save it as bookmark for quick login to SBI internet banking. I have tested the above code on Firefox as well. After booking Tatkal ticket quickly DELETE the bookmark.
  Now, you will have better chance to book Tatkal Ticket online from IRCTC. If you have any suggestion or problem, don’t forget we have commenting system to discuss that. And don’t forget to share the article on twitter, Facebook or Google+. This will help us a lot.

Top Google Chrome tips

Know your keyboard shortcuts

Like any good browser, Google Chrome has several dozen different keyboard shortcuts that can help improve your productivity. Below is just a few of our top favorites.

Ctrl + 1-8 = Pressing Ctrl and any number 1 through 8 will move to the corresponding tab in your tab bar.
Ctrl + 9 = Switch to the last tab.
Ctrl + H = Show history
Ctrl + J = Open Downloads window
Ctrl + K = Move the cursor to the Omnibox (address bar)
Ctrl + T = Open a new tab

Full listing of Google Chrome shortcut keys

Use the Omnibox to do more than just search

The Google Omnibox does more than displaying the URL and allowing you to search. It is also capable of performing mathematical calculations (as shown in the picture) and even answer questions such as "how many cups are in 2 liters?" Try adding any math calculation now in the Omnibox without pressing enter to have the results shown.

Sync Chrome with your Google account

Chrome allows you to sync your settings, passwords, and bookmarks to your Google account. This is a great feature for anyone who switches computers (e.g. work computer and home computer) and needs access to all their bookmarks and account settings. You can log into your Google Account and adjust your sync settings by going into Settings under the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon.

Pin your frequently used tabs

Pin your favorite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favorite pages. In the above picture, you can see we have eight pinned tabs, which would have normally consumed our tab bar.

To Pin a tab right-click on any open tab and click Pin Tab.

Bonus tip: You can also click-and-drag a pinned tab to the position of your choice.

Use the Autofill feature

Use the Chrome Autofill feature for automatically filling out any online form with common fields such as your name, e-mail, address, etc. To enter the Autofill values follow the below steps.

1. Click on the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon in the top right corner.
2. Click Settings
3. At the bottom of Settings, click Show advanced settings...
4. Click Manage Autofill settings under Passwords and forms.
5. In the Autofill settings window, click the Add new street address button.
6. Fill out all address settings you wish to be saved and click ok.
7. Once complete try out your Autofill using the below form. To enter the values click on any of the below fields and select the name of your Autofill.

First name:  Last name: 
Address: 
City:  State:  Zip: 
Phone number:  E-mail: 

Resize text boxes

Chrome gives you the ability to resize any text field. This can be extremely useful for when you're filling out a form that doesn't seem big enough for all the information you're entering. To resize the text field click-and-drag the bottom right corner of the box. Below is a text field that can be used as an example.

Use the Chrome Task manager

Since each open tab runs it its own sandbox to help with browser stability, it can be difficult to see the overall system resources being used. For example, in the Windows Task Manager you will see multiple instances of Google Chrome running for each open tab.

Use the Chrome Task manager to show you how much memory and CPU resources each open tab and extension you have installed is using. To open the Task manager press Shift + Esc or Click on the "wrench"   or "Menu"  icon in the top right corner, click Tools, and then Task manager. If you want to get real geeky click the stats for nerds click at the bottom of the Task manager.

Quickly close a tab

Any tab can be closed by clicking on the x on the tab. However, there are much quicker ways to close a tab. For example, if you have a mouse with a wheel pushing in on the wheel anywhere on the tab will close the tab. The shortcut keys Ctrl + W or Ctrl + F4 will also close the current open tab.

Bonus tip: Middle-clicking on any link will also open that link in a new tab.

Use Chrome commands

Use the chrome:// commands to access many hidden features of Chrome. There is a few dozen of these commands available that will allow you to do everything from viewing DNS information, GPU information, look for conflicts, setting flags, and much more. A listing of these commands can be accessed by typingchrome://chrome-urls in the Omnibox.

Install Extensions

No Internet browser will have every feature you want, therefore we suggest visiting the Google Chrome Webstore to install free extensions for your browser. Today, there are thousands of available extensions, games, and other add-ons that can be installed into your browser.

Top Facebook Tips

Hide users, games, polls, etc.

It quickly gets annoying seeing some users posts, game invites, polls, etc. Hovering your mouse to the right of the post and clicking the Hide button as shown below can hide any post. Once this button is pressed you'll be prompted with the option to hide that user or in the case of a Facebook application the option to hide that application from ever showing up on your profile.

To unhide someone or unblock an application click the Edit Options link in the bottom right corner of the news feed as shown below.

Greasemonkey and FB Purity

Although Facebook does not allow the ability to hide friends getting new friends messages, friends becoming fans of something, and some application messages they can still be hidden with browser add-ons. If you're running Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Safari we suggest installing the Facebook Purity add-on.

Update your privacy settings

Click Account in the top right corner of the Facebook window and then click Privacy settings to adjust who is capable of seeing what on your Facebook profile. We highly recommend going through all the privacy settings to verify your privacy is properly protected.

Anything that is not set to friends only or friends of friends can be seen by anyone searching on the Internet. Below is a few things we recommend for most users.

1. Under Search in Privacy settings uncheck Public Search Results. This will prevent users from finding your account and profile picture in search results such as Google
2. Under Application settings, make sure you're only allowing applications you want to have access to your information. Applications that you grant rights to can have access to your Facebook profile information.

• If you're curious to see how a program or web page connect to the Facebook API can see your profile seeTip135.

Use the Facebook top bar for navigation

Knowing how to properly navigate is vital if you want to get the most out of Facebook. Below is a brief description of each of the available options in the top bar as shown above.

Home (facebook logo) - Clicking this logo will take you to your wall (News Feed) that shows all friends recent posts.

Friend requests - If any friend requests are waiting to be approved this icon will show a notification of how many friends are waiting for approval. This icon can also be clicked when you want to view any friend recommendations or search for friends on Facebook.

Messages - This section allows you to send and receive private messages between one or more people you're friends with.

Notifications - Any time a friend or Facebook application creates a new post you'll be notified in this section. Clicking this icon will show all recent notifications. If you wish to change what is capable of sending you notifications including any Facebook applications or games click the See All Notifications link at the bottom and check or uncheck what you want to be notified on.

Search - Finally, the search box in Facebook can be a powerful tool that can be used to quickly find any current friends or people on Facebook. In addition searching for terms such as a company name, product, sports team, music band, etc. will find fan pages and groups that can be joined.

Modify your account notifications

Keep your e-mail and your cell phone clean by updating or eliminate Facebook notifications or keep more up-to-date by adding new notifications. Facebook notifications can be added and removed by clickingAccount link in the top right corner, then Account Settings, and then clicking the Notifications tab.

Top News and Most Recent

By default Facebook will display your wall postings in the News format, which means it only displays posts it believes are most relevant to you. These results are based on your past interaction with your friends. If you want to see every post made by all your friends that are not hidden click the Most recent link in the upper right section of your news feed as shown in the above picture example.

If you want to adjust who shows up manually click the Edit Options in the bottom right corner of your news feed.

View High School work friends

If you've added your High School or previous Work locations to your profile, quickly see all classmates and co-workers on Facebook by clicking the link in your Info tab under your profile.

Quickly change profile picture

Your profile picture can be quickly changed to any other picture by visiting your profile, hovering the mouse over your current profile picture, and clicking the Change Picture link that appears in the top right corner of the picture.

Don't post private information on friend's walls on in comments

When you make a post on a friend's wall or in any of their comments realize that any of their friends are going to be able to see that post. If you wish for something to remain only between you and a friend send them a Facebook message instead.

Suggestions and random friend invites

As you get more friends on Facebook it will begin making friend, groups, and fan suggestions. These are suggestions made by Facebook and not your friends. Unless these are something you're interested in they can be ignored.

This same rule can be applied to people who may want to be your friend that you don't know. If you don't know someone don't accept his or her friend invite. Once someone becomes your friend they'll have access to any information your friends are capable of seeing.

Tag your Facebook friends in your photos

Always make sure to tag any of your Facebook friends that are in pictures you upload. However, never tag someone who is not in the picture. When someone is tagged in a photo that picture is automatically added to that persons profile and is a great way to share pictures with all friends.