Geek Central HOW-TO: RSS Downloading

Now that you have setup uTorrent and your computer for peer-to-peer file sharing, it's time to set it up for more advanced features. This time it is RSS Downloading, a type of search and download function that can be deployed in uTorrent.

Now, you may ask what is RSS downloading, what it does, and how it works. Let's start with what you will know: the logo. You have seen it across the internet, typically on news sites and such. It looks like this:

RSS is "Rich Site Summary " and is a group of web feed formats. An RSS document, which is called a feed, contains either a summary of the website or the whole text. Essentially, the site that is being summarized will update it's feed file and send it to it's subscribers, which have a program or application that reads the feed and turns it back into text and which ever. A good example of this is a home page from Yahoo! or MSN. It uses these feeds and translates them into information that would otherwise be in all corners of the internet and puts it right in front of you.

If a torrent indexing site has RSS ability, and it's sorted into proper categories, then you can access this feed from within uTorrent and download torrents that meet your criteria. You then can setup Favorites from within uTorrent to specifically download certain things depending on the criteria. A television show is a prime example of this; it comes out, let's say weekly, on Thursday at 9 and your boss regularly schedules to work Thursday until 10:30. Now, with Favorites and RSS Downloader, you can set uTorrent up to catch the show as soon as a release hits that has your criteria.

Adding a feed

Click on the RSS button, then click Add. Paste in the feed URL and hit OK. If you want to name the feed, simply type the name in front of the URL, like so:
TV Feed|http://somesite.com/rss.xml (NO SPACE BEFORE OR AFTER THE | )

Note that the RSS Downloader will NOT consume any extra resources if you have no feeds present/enabled. Some feeds do not give direct links to the .torrent files (most notably Mininova) and as such won't work, but you can use the RSSatellite to modify those feeds to work properly.

Disabling a feed or filter

Simply uncheck the box next to the feed or filter, and it will no longer be used.

Renaming a feed or filter

You can rename a feed by selecting it, then single clicking or pressing F2. You can do the same thing for renaming filters.

Sorting filters

You can sort filters by drag and drop. Simply click, hold, and drag to wherever in the list you'd like it.

Using feeds that require HTTP authentication

For feeds that require HTTP authentication, simply use this format for the feed URL: http://username:password@sometorrentsite.com/rss.php

Using feeds that require cookies

To use feeds that require cookies, you must find the cookie for the site, and grab UID and pass from it.

* IE users will find their cookies in %UserProfile%\Cookies
* Firefox users will find their cookies in Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Cookies -> View Cookies
* Opera users will find their cookies in Tools -> Advanced -> Cookies, but they must scroll down manually, find doesn't work
* Users of other browsers will have to consult their browser's documentation

Once you have the appropriate information, use this format for the feed URL:
http://sometorrentsite.com/rss.php:COOKIE:uid=1234;pass=asdjh12378912y3lkj

Some sites do not use uid and pass as the variables, or use additional ones, so you MUST use the exact variable name and the extra variables they specify! For example, on a certain site, it uses id, password, and secure as the cookie variables you must use.

Automatically downloading torrents

To automatically download specific torrents from a feed, you can use Favorites to specify your own filters to grab torrents. It does NOT support regular expressions. Here's a tutorial explaining the various options and how to use them (with examples).

* Hit Add, then type the name of the filter.
* Click on the editbox next to Filter: and add your filter. The allowed wildcards are * ? and |. An example of a filter you could use would be *MP3 Archives*
If you have a strange feed using underscores or something besides periods, you can also try something like *Go?Open*
You cannot specify the season or episode number in the filter if it is decoded by µTorrent (check the Releases tab): you must use the episode number box, OR turn on "Filter matches original name instead of decoded name." You also can't match by group name without first using "Filter matches original name instead of decoded name." Remember, using "Filter matches original name" disables the "Episode number" function!
* Not: allows you to exclude certain strings from matching. An example is you don't want releases with AC3 audio and H.264: you can write *AC3*|*H*264|*x*264* in Not: to exclude those.
* If you want the torrents to automatically download and start without any further input, you MUST specify a folder in Save in:! However, if you have a path set in "Put new downloads in:" in Folder Options, you don't have to set a save folder here.
* Feed: chooses what feed you want the filter to apply to; either all of them or a specific one
* Quality allows you choose various qualities to match against, or allow all. You can choose more than one quality in the dropdown list.
* Episode number is to download only specific ep numbers, say to avoid releases of old episodes. It does support ranges (i.e. 1x4-26).
* "Filter matches original name instead of decoded name" is so that you can match based off what the original name is in the feed, instead of µTorrent's parsed result.
* Give download highest priority sets all torrents downloaded automatically through RSS to the top of the queue, making your seeds and other downloads get queued if you reach the max active torrents.
* Smart ep. filter makes µTorrent only download the first version of each new episode that matches your filter. Do NOT turn this option on if the episode number isn't parseable (shows ? for all episodes)!
* Minimum interval sets a minimum interval between matches for the filter: if you set it to 2 days, µTorrent will not download anything for at least 2 days after a match.
* You can use the Reset button to make µTorrent forget that it has downloaded episodes and the last time matched for that filter.
* Label for new torrents auto-sets a label for torrents that match the filter.
* All changes are automatically saved when you make them, so you don't have to do anything once you're done editing the filter.
* You can select a filter and press ? to see what the last four episodes were that matched, and the last time that the filter matched something. A list of the currently matching episodes from the feeds you've defined for it is also available in the "?" dialog, so you can double-check your filter expression.

Here is the Favorites tab with an example filter:


RSS Downloader Releases Tab

You can add and remove columns to the Releases tab by right clicking on them and choosing from the list. You can double click or right click -> open to download releases listed here.

Icon Meanings

RSS clock icon means the release is less than 24 hours old.
RSS checkmark means that the torrent was already downloaded and moved to the history.

Join me next time when I'll show how to properly forward ports on your computer, firewall and router to maximize download speed and to avoid getting throttled by your ISP.

Geek Central HOW-TO: Peer to Peer Sharing

A few of my friends have been looking into an alternative to share files amongst the masses, and asked for my help. File sharing is a very simple way to share your project with the masses, whether it be a indie film you made or a demo you recorded. Now, Peer-To-peer or P2P Sharing has some negative rep for illegal activities, but so does Las Vegas and it's still on the map. Remember, P2P is LEGAL and downloading stolen, illegal or pirated properties is NOT. For more information on this use google or look here. Aside from that, the only other threat is malicious software in the download and viruses. With this guide to safe P2P sharing, I will show you some tools to help prevent this. As I go, feel free to click on the links for further information on the topic. I will have a link at the bottom for all the programs and other things you may need.

What Torrents Are and How Torrents Work

Torrents are different from standard downloads in many ways. The main way they differ, without getting overtly technical, is in the way they distribute the contents of the file. All torrents use what is called a BitTorrent Protocol to do what they do.

Typical Download Scenario

The contents of the download in a conventional download scenario come from one place, and that is a server. This server gets up to full download speed fast and is able to respond from rises and falls in bandwidth in a very quick time period. The downfall in that situation is the cost. Servers cost big money and so does bandwidth. In addition, a domain may be required to feed all those files. This is where a BitTorrent client comes in handy.

BitTorrent Download Scenario

In a BitTorrent scenario, the contents of the torrent are split into evenly sized pieces, typically under 1 MB. These pieces are spread out around the internet to people when they download the file. Each recipient shares some pieces with the newer recipients and so on. Eventually, there can be tens of thousands of recipients with all the pieces needed to make the file whole again, thus making the whole process cheaper and easier to manage. Each piece has a mathematical equation attached to it; called a "checksum" and in this case is referred to as "SHA1 Hashing Algorithm" which verifies the files' integrity as it downloads.

Terminology 101

There is some different language that needs to be explained for new users to P2P sharing. Here, I will try to define it the best I can using layman's terms. A very complete (but more technical) guide is available here.

Client- This is the application (such as uTorrent or Azureus) that co-ordinates the download.

Tracker- The file you initially download and open into the BitTorrent client is a file that connects to a url that knows the connected peers on the torrent and who has what piece. Think of it as the keys to the car.

DHT- DHT is an abbreviation of Distributed Hash Table. This means that the peers acts as trackers instead of the url.

Peer- A peer is another client also connected to the same torrent. This is determined by the tracker.

Seed- A seed is a peer that has 100% of the file. It is where you get the most data from.

Leech- A peer that has a very poor seeding ratio.

Software You'll Need

BitTorrent Client

The first thing you'll need is an application to read the torrent file. This is called a "client". The most popular client is uTorrent and I highly reccomend it. It utilizes a friendly and easy-to-use user interface, is lightweight and is also freeware, which is an added bonus. Once you install the program, you are pretty much set to share torrents. But not so fast....there is more.


Firewall

The next thing you'll need is a firewall. Sure, you may have a Norton firewall or Windows Defender, but you want a good one. The undisputed King of firewalls is PeerGuardian2 or PG2. This program runs from your system tray (beside the clock, bottom right) and is red when off, black when on. Follow the instruction on their website to set it up. PG2 blocks unwanted IPs and protects you from spyware and adware.

File Extraction

Sometimes you may get files that look like this: foldername.zip or foldername.rar and within it filename.r001, filename.r002 etc. This means the contents that you downloaded are contained in an archive. The quickest and simplest solution is ExtractNow, a powerful yet simple to use archive extraction app. Simply open the app and select the archive you wish to extract, hit "ExtractNow!" and blam! it's done.

More complex is what is called a disc image. These files are typically large, the capacity of a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. They usually have a file extension of .iso or .bin and you will need a program to use/burn these files. Here, there are a few solutions.

First is InfraRecorder, which is a freeware graphical CD/DVD writing program. You can utilize this optimally when you want to burn the image to a disc itself.

The other option is what is called mounting a disc. Basically, the image is sent to a virtual drive (typically a USB destination) to be emulated by the computer and using the hard disk of the computer. An example of this program is Daemon Tools.

Now, if you do not recognize the file extension (.xxx) just type it into Google and you'll find out what you need to open it.

Getting Content

Now you're ready to get some content. So, from your desktop, activate PeerGuardian2 (it's black when on) and navigate to a hosting site. Try torrentz.com or thepiratebay.org for some ideas. When you find the file you wish to download, click on it and then the "download this file" link. It will download the file, and open uTorrent where it will prompt you for some information. Enter the save file destination (typically My Documents > Downloads) and a label if you wish. Labels are used for sorting. Click on start torrent and you are now getting your data.


Software Sources

Here are all the software sources I mentioned earlier in the article. I do not endorse any of these applications beyond my personal experience with them....bear in mind that each computer is different as is it's operator. You may have to find you're own applications to do the trick.

uTorrent -BitTorrent Client
PeerGuardian2- Firewall and HTML blocker
ExtractNow (at the bottom of the page) - Multiple Archive Extraction App
InfraRecorder - Disc Image Recording Tool
Daemon Tools- Optical Media Emulation Tool

Further Assistance....
For any further assistance, please reply below in the comments section. I will be happy to help if I can. Please include any and all details that apply so I can assist you to the best of my ability.

Please stay tuned as I will share some advanced settings you can do in uTorrent to make it easier to download.