Introduction
Thepiratebay.org is a public file tracking site which tracks BitTorrent files. BitTorrent is a way of distributing large amount of data, files at much cheaper and faster rate. Thepiratebay is a Swedish website and was launched in 2003. The website is mainly funded by advertisements which appear on the torrent listing page. It has 25 million users currently and they may be the world’s largest BitTorrent tracker, for which it has applied for Guinness book of World Records. It has had its share of controversies and lawsuits, but thepiratebay.org has emerged stronger every time.
Features
Bittorrent is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing protocol. It allows distribution of files between computers without a central server. BitTorrent was a revolution; it let the users transfer files at a much faster rate than any previous software. Anyone can search and download bittorrent files at thepiratebay.org website. The downloading is facilitated by bittorrent tracker. A BitTorrent breaks down files into small files. Since they can send large files, without any central server, it has become a popular way of distribution of movies, music and computer games. For uploading and posting comments you need to be a registered member.
Torrent search engine searcher scans for torrent files and use Open Tracker as their tracking software. Baywords is a feature by thepiratebay.org for their users where they can start a blog. This free blog service is free for all users but the page has some advertisements to cover their costs. They have Bayimg which is a free image hosting site. The user can upload in 40 different formats and maximum limit set is 100 MB.
Slopbox is a temporary mailbox and it can be used by users who do not want to reveal their identity by giving their real mail addresses. Within twenty four hours the mail is deleted from the inbox.
The browse function takes you to the broad categories like audio, video, games and movies. Under these broad heads they have specifics like music, sound clips, audio books in the audio category; movies, TV shows, music clips under the Video head; PC, Mac, Wii under games and e books, comics under the Others head.
Tips and tricks
Two years ago, thepiratebay.org was raided and their IP addresses were seized. Thus, while uploading any copyrighted content you have to be cautious as your IP address is displayed after your login page. The site has torrents which has movies that do not play, is full of viruses. Run a virus scan on those files which you have downloaded. Always read the comments offered by the site just to be sure if it is safe or virus infected. Though porn is not among one of the categories at the site, it is deftly hidden somewhere. So just be little vigilant.
Newbie friendly rating
Their devil-may-care stance and not so clean image has not dented their popularity a bit. Their users are expanding day by day. One must say that the site is humorous. The site gets a newbie rating of 7 out of 10.