Alec Hunt:I am completely new to this kind of stuff but my friend swears by it. Can anyone help with basic advice to get started. It looks like there is LOTS of stuff out there waiting to be downloaded!
1. Ask your friend
2. Read
http://torrentmind.com/guide_eng.html
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halcyon7:Best client IMO is uTorrent
- That is if you're on a Winbox. For Mac/OSX take a look at Transmission or Tomato T0rrent.
For searching I like BT Monster (a "super" index that feeds off the top bittorrent search engines) for its simplicity and speed.