Background Intelligent Transfer Service
The Background Intelligent Transfer Service ( Engl. For Background Intelligent Transfer Service , short BITS) is a software component in recent versions of Microsoft Windows to transfer data over HTTP in the background. BITS uses unused network resources to transfer data so that the throughput of other network activities is not adversely affected. The service is mainly used by Windows Update , Microsoft Update , Windows Server Update Services and Systems Management Server to distribute software updates . It is also used, for example, in the Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus program to load signature files. BITS can be addressed via a COM interface, which enables access via many programming languages.