Torrentz

Torrentz
Torrentz website and screenshot for a selected torrent.
Web address torrentz.eu
(.com until April 2011)
Commercial? No
Type of site
 Torrent meta-search engine
Registration Optional
Available in English
Created by Flippy (alias)
Launched 17 July 2003 (2003-07-17)
Alexa rank
 Increase 205 (31 December 2014)[1]
Current status Online

Torrentz is a Finland-based[2] meta-search engine for BitTorrent that is run by an individual known as Flippy. It indexes torrents from various major torrent websites and offers compilations of various trackers per torrent that are not necessarily present in the default .torrent file, so that when a tracker is down, other trackers can do the work. It was the second most popular torrent website in 2012 and again in 2015.[3]

Usage

The user interface is simple and minimal. It consists of two basic blocks: a user menu and a search panel. Users are not required to register before searching the files. The search field is autocomplete-enabled, providing suggestions based on popular searches that match the currently typed keywords.

To perform a search, users simply type in a string of keywords related to their desired content and execute the search by either pressing the search button in the UI or press the enter key on the keyboard. From there, a list of matching torrent files are displayed on the screen for the user to choose from. This list can be filtered by age (one day, three days, one week or one month) and by "safety & quality" (any, good or verified). By default the "good" filter is applied. "Verified" is reserved for torrents uploaded by well-known groups.[4]

Selecting a torrent from the search results list will take the user to another page listing the websites currently hosting the specified torrent with which the user can download the file(s). Selecting a host will redirect the user to the external website so they may complete the download of the torrent file.

History

In November 2008, scammer(s) using fake papers tried to take over the torrentz.com domain. As a backup, the site administrator set up the domain torrentz.eu.[5] After 18 December 2010, torrentz.eu became the site's default domain because of the domain name seizures carried out by US authorities on various torrent websites.[6]

Legal action

In 2013, Paramount Pictures sent a DMCA claim to Google to remove Torrentz homepage and two other pages from the search engine, however Torrentz counter claimed on this request saying the links do not infringe any copyright policy.[7]

Censorship

On 26 May 2014, Torrentz had its domain name suspended without a court order[8][9] following a request from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit. A day after, the suspension of torrentz.eu was lifted. The website has three alternative domains (.me .ch .in) and is hoping to move the .eu domain to a new registrar. All of these domains have since been suspended within the UK by BSkyB.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Torrentz.eu Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
  2. ↑ "torrentz.eu - Torrent Search Engine". 2011-04-16.
  3. ↑ "Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2012". Torrentfreak.com. 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
  4. ↑ Ernesto (29 January 2008). "Torrentz Introduces Verified Torrents and More New Features". TorrentFreak.
  5. ↑ "Torrentz Faces Hostile Domain Takeover". Torrentfreak.com. 2008-11-05. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  6. ↑ "Torrentz dumps .com". Torrentfreak.com. 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  7. ↑ "Paramount Censors Torrentz’s Torrentless Homepage from Google". TorrentFreak. 15 March 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Registrars Can’t Hold ‘Pirate’ Domains Hostage Without Court Order". TorrentFreak. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Whatever Happened to "Due Process" ?". easyDNS. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Torrentz.eu Domain suspended after UK Police request". TorrentFreak. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Torrentz.eu Domain Unsuspended and Back In Action". TorrentFreak. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

External links

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