Some computer users are scared that Bittorrent may infect their computer with Bittorrent viruses. This is not a real risk.

Many computer users are afraid that Bittorrent might corrupt their computer with Bittorrent viruses. This risk is more imagined than real. The real risk is not Bittorrent (Bitt) but the files downloaded using the software. The files may be infected with viruses and other forms of malicious software such as spyware, Trojans and malware.

In a conventional computing model, downloading a file over the Internet involves a computer downloading a file from a central server. For example, a student enrolled in an online university degree might download a lecture file stored on a server managed by the university.

By contrast, BT is designed for peer-to-peer file sharing. Rather than downloading from a single server, the download task is sub-divided into many separate pieces. Each one of those pieces may be downloaded from different individual computers in a way that achieves the overall download task the fastest.

In a peer-to-peer setting, a download is not supplied by a single server. Rather it is supplied by many computers. Hence the term peer-to-peer; the source of the download is a computing device comparable to the device (computer) that initiated the download.

P-to-P file sharing tackles two difficulties with conventional computing. If the server is for some reason down or not available, the download cannot be done. Similarly, if there is explosive demand for the file, the downloaded speed might be slow. Worst still, the server might crash.

Peer-to-peer file sharing spreads out the download demand to many different paths throughout the Net. This distribution may spread across a suburb, region, nation and even the whole globe. For example, say a reader in Sydney wants to download a old book published prior to 1923 and not covered by copyright anymore.

The Sydney computer might use BitT to search for the book and find that, say, 65 computers spread across many different countries. BitT will download the book by accessing all or some of those 65 computers. Each computer will contribute a portion of the total book file. Each portion part is delivered to the Sydney computer where BitT will assemble all the individual batches into a unified file.

To sum up, Bittorrent viruses are not the real risk. The real risk is the files downloaded with Bitt; they may be virus infected. This risk can be controlled by using security software to scrub download files, preferably before they are downloaded.