when downloading much of anything, this word: "torrent" seems to be popping up everywhere. im not familiar with it, and was wondering if i could get a detailed definition of what it means and what i need to do or avoid doing.. thanks! -mal:)

Although this isn't really a Windows 7 question... "Torrent" is a somewhat generic term for a specific type of peer-to-peer file sharing. See the following Wikipedia article for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_(protocol). It's mostly used to upload and download (illegally pirated) media files such as MP3s and videos. But it's also used by some Linux distros to distribute patches and the like, and that's usually legal. AFAIK Microsoft doesn't use BitTorrent for any of their software or patches, so if you've downloaded their software via a torrent it's probably pirated.