OK I give up. What's a 'torrent'?

A link to a file shared on a P2P "peer to peer" network.

You need a program like Utorrent to download it.

These files use less load on web because the file gets chopped into pieces and the pieces get passed on by multiple people on the P2P network.

It is called a torrent because the bits of the file get passed through the web like a torrential rain.

Torrents are something you download from the internet, not necessarily illegal, yet commonly is illegal. People generally go to torrent website, such as The Pirate Bay (thepiratebay.org), and download anything they want for free. To do this you must get software like "Miro" which lets you download the torrent the software. I have stopped recently to torrent software, but people torrent everything from music albums all the way to $1000+ products like photoshop and Final Cut Pro.

Probably 99% of the torrents from The Pirate Bay are illegal. The only legal ones are those that are free from the creator. (Not sure about this part).

for some reason my computer (or maybe the anti-virus software) never liked the "torrent" thing. I stay away from it. Basically, it just seems too complicated for me. I liked the old Napster, but America's legal system shut that down. Piracy is not going to be allowed. Well, unless you are a member of Congress ;-)

A bunch of something coming all at once.

Ex: There was a torrent of rain last night.

Its a file someone uploads to a website allowing someone else to download that file. "Torrent"