µTorrent

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
µTorrent

UTorrent (logo) .png
Basic data

developer BitTorrent Inc.
Publishing year September 18, 2005
Current  version 3.5.3 (build 44358) Windows , 3.3 build 30470 Linux , 1.8.7 build 43796 Mac OS X , 4.11.2 Android
(February 20, 2018, November 27, 2016, December 6, 2017, March 23, 2018)
operating system Windows , Mac OS X , Linux , Android
programming language C ++
category Bit torrent client
License Freeware , closed source
German speaking Yes
www.utorrent.com

µTorrent (uTorrent) is a file sharing program for the BitTorrent protocol for the Microsoft Windows , Linux , Mac OS X and Android operating systems . The program is freeware and designed for a low CPU and RAM load (usually <12 MB ). It is less than 1.7 MB (version 3.4.2 for Windows) and is written in C ++ . As of December 2009, around 52 million users were using the client each month.

pronunciation

Since there is no official statement on how the “µ” in µTorrent is pronounced, there are several variants. Some users call the program “micro torrent”, whereby this option creates a connection between the “µ” as a short symbol for the prefix “micro” in the international system of units and the small file size of the program. Another possibility is "MjuTorrent", which goes back directly to the English pronunciation of the twelfth letter of the Greek alphabet. At the same time, the “µ” in µTorrent is pronounced in ancient Greek [ myː ] in German-speaking countries , or according to Modern Greek [ miː ] (“MüTorrent” or “MiTorrent”). Often it is pronounced "uTorrent" because that is what the installation folder is called under Windows.

Functions

  • Configurable surface (based on Vuze )
  • Distributed hash table (DHT), compatible with the mainline
  • Queue list and multiple downloads at the same time
  • Creation of .torrent files
  • Low CPU usage
  • Low memory consumption
  • Super-Seeding (seed function in which all parts of a file from a seeder are only sent once to another peer . Other peers who are only leeching at this point must receive the parts already sent by the seeder from the first or further peers. The feature is mainly used when new files are to be distributed with as little bandwidth as possible in order to increase the number of seeders that offer the entire file.)
  • Integrated feed reader to keep track of tracker pages
  • Like Vuze and BitComet, it supports the protocol end-to-end encryption with RC4
  • Source exchange (with other µTorrent clients)
  • Bypassing the Windows XP firewall
  • Automatic shutdown of the PC after the download is complete (hibernation, standby, exit Windows)
  • Web interface that can be used to control µTorrent using a browser
  • Support of NAT-PMP
  • Local Peer Discovery (finding remote stations in the local network)
  • Support of IPv6

The developer Ludvig Strigeus has been working with PeerFactor, a former subsidiary of the anti- P2P organization RetSpan , on the development of a BT client since March 2006 . Strigeus stated that this had no effect on µTorrent and that although he knew of an anti-P2P history of this company, he did not know the magnitude. An explanation of this process can be found on the µTorrent website. Since December 2006 µTorrent belongs to BitTorrent Inc.

business

µTorrent does not have to be installed and can therefore be used as portable software (for example on a USB stick ).

The Windows versions prior to 2.0 could run on all 32-bit systems; since v2.0 only the NT rail (Windows NT / 2000 to Windows 8) is supported. Only the current version is offered on the homepage, but older versions are available online.

Version 3.0 of the program can be operated under Linux.

A version for Mac was announced with the release of version 1.8 and finally released as version beta 0.90 at the end of November 2008.

A native client for Android smartphones has been available in the Google Play Store since September 2012 .

criticism

µTorrent has been criticized many times because, due to its own BitTorrent protocol extensions from version 1.7.7, it throttles the upload to non-µTorrent clients or preferring clients that also use the µTorrent protocol. With version 2.0 µTorrent was banned from some trackers as a result.

At the beginning of March 2015 it was announced that µTorrent uses the computing power of the user to generate units of the crypto currency Litecoin in the background . The user is not informed of this and does not receive anything from the profit.

Easter eggs

Various Easter Eggs are built into µTorrent :

  • From version 1.4.2-beta (build 432): If you select the menu item Help  > About and press "T", the game Tetris starts . If you press the "P" key in the game, the current game is paused.
  • In point Help  > About click on the logo. A tone sequence similar to the recognition sound of THX (the "deep note") is played.
  • In version 1.3 or earlier, a Christmas E-Card is displayed when you start the program at Christmas.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ uTorrent Turns 10 Years Old Today .
  2. ↑ Ghandy: File sharing is not dead! uTorrent users doubled. In: News. gulli.com, December 26, 2009, archived from the original on January 25, 2013 ; Retrieved January 5, 2010 .
  3. ↑ uTorrent 1.4 can use RSS. In: News. gulli.com, January 11, 2006, archived from the original on January 25, 2013 ; Retrieved January 5, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Firon: µTorrent 1.7.2 released. In: µTorrent Community. BitTorrent, July 12, 2007, archived from the original on May 14, 2009 ; Retrieved January 5, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Firon: µTorrent 1.8.1 released. In: µTorrent Community. BitTorrent, October 6, 2008, archived from the original on August 4, 2009 ; Retrieved January 5, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Carsten Meyer: µTorrent developer cooperates with anti-pirates. In: heise online. March 5, 2006, accessed January 5, 2010 .
  7. ↑ Installation - FAQ. In: µTorrent Support. BitTorrent, archived from the original on January 6, 2010 ; accessed on January 5, 2010 (Official FAQ entry for portable use of µTorrent).
  8. ↑ Ernesto: uTorrent 1.8 Released, Mac Version Coming Soon. TorrentFreak, August 10, 2008, accessed January 5, 2010 (English): "The journey from 1.7.7 has been a long one, but now that 1.8 stable is out, the uTorrent team will dedicate more time developing the long awaited Mac version of the client. [...] The good news for Mac users is that Greg hinted that the first public Alpha version will be released in just a few weeks. "
  9. ↑ Volker Zota: Bit torrent client µTorrent for Mac OS X. In: heise online. November 28, 2008, accessed January 5, 2010 .
  10. ↑ µtorrent: increasingly locked out since version 2.0. In: gulli.com. March 16, 2010, archived from the original on January 25, 2013 ; Retrieved January 17, 2011 .
  11. ↑ µtorrent secretly digs Litecoins and annoys users. In: heise.de. March 7, 2015, accessed March 9, 2015 .