The BitTorrent protocol still remains one of the fastest ways to download files from the Internet. With this protocol we can download the chosen file by exploiting the connection of the users who already own that file, in the heart of the P2P philosophy; if the file has many owners and they leave the file in upload (redistributing it), the connection speed will be very high and we will be able to download even very large files in a few minutes or hours, depending on the download speed of our line.Normally to download BitTorrent files a particular file is used that contains all the information necessary to start the download: this file is recognizable by the .torrent extension and it is the main method of downloading torrents on PC. Besides this method you can also take advantage of a direct link to start the download: this method is called Magnet Linkis specific for each type of file and allows you to access the shared resource even faster, without having to search the trackers (a sort of telephone directories).If we have never heard of Magnet Link and are looking for a very fast method to download from the Internet, in the guide below we will show you how to use Magnet Links to always get fast downloads. For the guide, we will show you how magnetic links are made, how to open them with the main BitTorrent clients, and how to set the automatic opening of Magnet Links with the chosen program.
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How a Magnet Link is made
A Magnet Link is a unique link assigned to a specific file that can be downloaded via the BitTorrent network. The release (ie the first one that shares the file) can generate both a .torrent file and a Magnet Link, so as to facilitate access to the shared resource.
Magnet Links are easy to recognize because they all start with a magnet: To take a test, you can find downloadable links on the WebTorrent site, where there are links for open-source films distributed under a free license.
By pressing next to the wording magnet link we will have access to the link and, if there is a compatible client on the computer, we will be able to start the download without first having to download the .torrent file. On other sites, you can find the magnetic link next to the file to download, often referred to as a magnet icon.
Download Magnet Link from uTorrent
Who uses uTorrent as a client to download BitTorrent files, you can start the download of magnetic links by opening the program, clicking on the chain icon (at the top, next to the + key), and copying the Magnet Link obtained from the site from which we are downloading or via chat.
Alternatively, we can limit ourselves to clicking on the magnetic link and, if the browser requests it, we confirm the opening of the link with uTorrent, so as to start the download immediately without further confirmation.
Download Magnet Link with other programs
BitTorrent magnetic links are supported by others as well alternative programs to uTorrent among which a BitTorrent and Transmission stand out, both cross-platform and available under an open-source license.
On both clients, it is possible to open the Magnet Links by pressing the chain icon (on qBittorrent) or by pressing on the menu File and clicking on the item Open link (on Transmission). The download will start after a few seconds, the time to find the first sources available on the network.
How to open Magnet Links in the browser
On Windows, we can open the magnetic links simply by clicking on them and opening the client program on the computer. If we use Transmission on our computer or have set up a NAS with torrent download functions it is advisable to enable the remote control functions and use the extension on our browser Magnet Link and .torrent to Transmissionavailable for download for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
By installing this extension we will be able to immediately send the magnetic links to the Transmission client on the PC or, better still, configured for access via the LAN. To succeed in this we will first have to access the Transmission settings, enable the Web interface, configure username and password and, when ready, enter the data inside the extension.
If the program is present on the same PC in use we can use it as an IP address localhost or 127.0.0.1if instead the client is present on another device we will have to get its IP address to be able to configure the extension.
How to open Magnet Links on a phone or tablet
On phones and tablets, we can download many apps for downloading files via the magnetic link; the best client is obviously µTorrentavailable for download from the Google Play Store.
By installing the app we can manage all the magnetic links that we will open in the browser, taking care to select the client when the system requests it. The download speed is the same as the client seen on a PC, making our phone or tablet a very fast download center. There are currently no BitTorrent clients available for iOS so it is not possible to download magnetic links.
If we have enabled the Transmission web interface and we want to check the Magnet Link download when we are away from home we will have to, first of all, forward the right port we will have to retrieve the address Public IP of our line and finally download an app such as Transmission Remote to your phone or tablet.
Those who want to try other useful apps to download files from the BitTorrent network can read our guide to the best apps to download torrent files from Android.
Conclusions
Magnetic links or Magnet Links can speed up the download of larger files via the P2P network, but we must be sure that the file is widespread enough, otherwise, we will not get fast speeds. Many prefer to download the .torrent files anyway to start the download, as they also contain information about trackers; I personally recommend that you always use magnetic links considered the true heirs of P2P technology as they do not need any server to index the available nodes.
On our site, we can also read the guides on how to create a torrent to share files online and how to use the sites to download via the web without programs so as to become true P2P experts.