I use bit torrents on a continual basis all day long.
I live in a foreign country and download things like Breaking Bad, movies (sometime cam shot movies of new releases still in the theater that are not release here), XBOX360 games (games cost about $150 here and a new system goes for about $800 due to import taxes and no free trade agreements with the US or China on electronics, and don't get me started on TV's)
For me piratebay and isohunt are very good sites but you still have to know what you are looking for from time to time. Demonoid gets great reviews but I have never been able to join so therefore I have never used it so only go by the constant good reviews of others.
NEVER download files with .rar extensions, these are the virus files.
Keep you virus scan up to date
I ALWAYS scan a file before I open it
I also have virus scan set to run on a nightly basis on my computer
A site not mentioned above is eztv.it. Now there are no files actually on this site but rather links to sites such as piratebay, isohunt, and demonoid where the download will actually come from. Rather I find this site to be the single best organized site to find your favorite regular programs. If you have not visited this site and use torrents for regular TV shows, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS SITE at a minimum for a look around.
I also have just reciently found a great torrent engine that has some of the best adjustments available. I use an static IP address on my internet service and combine that with the ease of port forwarding from the TIXATI torrent engine I get some really respectable download speeds considering where I live (Costa Rica does not have the fastest internet service)
I just glanced at my torrent engine and I currently have 6 programs from today downloading. If you know where you are looking and the trusted oploaders you can find shows only a matter of one or two hours after they air.
Not personally a big fan of Two and a Half Men but I have been able to download this show about 45 minutes after the episode ends each week and it only takes about 20 minutes to download.
Another new (or newish) type service is torrent streaming.... I watched the State/So. Carolina game on one of these sites and was only about 15 minutes behind live coverage. I find myself using torrent streaming when something is not available on ESPN3 or through the other P2P streaming sites I use on a regular basis.
There are also many ways you can access sites such as Hulu.com from outside the U.S. Many excellent options that are free of charge. I most of the time use the free version of Hotspot Shield but have been trying a couple other services as Hotspot Shield occasionally has a very annoying pop up add at the top of the screen with video and sound that cannot be muted.
Hidemyass.com is a site that one of my co-workers used (along with a special wireless router) to get access to apple tv and netflix in Costa Rica. But now netflix and apple tv are supported in this country so all is easy to use.
I by no means call my self and IT expert but I do believe I am pretty experienced and knowledgable about using torrents.
In addition to torrents there are MANY sites with streaming episodes that are available 24 to 48 hours after the episode aires. free-tv-video-online.info (or something very close to that, google can help) and tvduck.com (again, could be wrong on the extension, google will help) For movies I regularly check peliculasid.com. This site streams movies (mostly cam shots but many dvd quality) with spanish subtitles. Currently the selection is pretty bad.
My top searches and wants right now are:
Moneyball
30 Minutes or Less
ESPN Films: The Dotted Line
I have been lucky to see pretty much everything I am looking for up to this point.
If anyone has any specific questions, please feel free to PM me. And if anyone has a link to any of the programs I mentioned I am looking for, PLEASE let me know.
Gracis y pura vida!
Andy