pronunciation
Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...
) is a
proprietary
{{Short pages monitor
mitigating possible concerns.
A later version of the software has, instead of ads, a "search all sites" feature, which is a keyword-based search bar that delivers listings of torrent files at different trackers. A frame at the top displays advertisements (server-side) in the browser when the search function is used. In version 1.5, no ads are present in the program itself.
As of build 463, a redirect bypass feature became available in the Advanced options.
As of version 1.8.2, the μTorrent installer gives the user the option to download and install the
Ask.com toolbar
Ask.com (originally known as Ask Jeeves) is a question answering–focused e-business founded in 1996 by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, California.
The original software was implemented by Gary Chevsky, from ...
. This is done on the first run of the program and the user may explicitly opt out of this feature by deselecting it. The developers stated the addition was needed for funds to continue development. In late 2010, this was replaced with the Conduit Engine.
Toolbars
In late 2010, some controversy arose with a release of μTorrent which included
adware
Adware, often called advertising-supported software by its developers, is software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating online advertisements in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the ...
in the form of the
Conduit
Conduit may refer to:
Engineering systems
* Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids
* Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables
* Conduit curre ...
Engine, which installed a toolbar, and made homepage and default search engine changes to a user's web browser. A number of users reported that the installation was made without the user's consent. There were some complaints that the adware software was difficult to remove.
In 2011, μTorrent bundled the
Bing Toolbar
Microsoft Bing (commonly known as Bing) is a web search engine owned and operated by Microsoft. The service has its origins in Microsoft's previous search engines: MSN Search, Windows Live Search and later Live Search. Bing provides a variety ...
.
Paid version
On July 15, 2011, BitTorrent announced that they would offer a paid version of μTorrent called "μTorrent Plus". This new version would offer extra features, such as integrated file conversion, anti-virus and a built in media player. On 6 October 2011, the
Pre-alpha
A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
of μTorrent Plus was released to an invitation only community. As of December 2011, μTorrentPlus 3.1 was available for $24.95; as of December 2014, the Plus version was available as a $19.95 yearly subscription.
Ads and malware
In August 2012, BitTorrent announced the addition of
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
in the free version of µTorrent which could be individually dismissed by users. Due to response from users, a few days later, the company stated that ads could be optionally turned off. A user-created tool known as "Pimp My µTorrent" was also created to simplify the process of disabling ads in the Windows version. Starting with µTorrent version 3.2.2, the software also contains in-content advertisements described as "Featured Torrent". As with ads, it is possible to disable this content.
In March 2015, it was alleged that μTorrent had automatically installed a program known as Epic Scale: a program classified as " riskware" by some security programs, which mines the
cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It i ...
Litecoin
Litecoin (Abbreviation: LTC; sign: Ł) is a decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open-source software project released under the MIT/X11 license. Inspired by Bitcoin, Litecoin was among the earliest altcoins, starting in October 2011. ...
in the background for BitTorrent, Inc. (allegedly giving a portion to charity), utilizing CPU and
GPU
A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobil ...
power. A μTorrent developer disputed the claim that it was automatically installed, and claimed that as with all other "partner" programs bundled with the software, users could decline the installation. On 28 March, Epic Scale was permanently removed from the installation and as a software bundle partner.
Russian and Ukrainian users of μTorrent are being tricked into installing
Yandex Browser
Yandex Browser (Russian: Яндекс.Браузер) is a freeware web browser developed by the Russian technology corporation Yandex that uses the Blink web browser engine and is based on the Chromium open source project. The browser checks w ...
and other Yandex-produced software.
Pronunciation
The author of μTorrent wrote in 2005, "I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", and offered "microtorrent", "mytorrent" (as "my" is the Swedish pronunciation of the Greek letter μ) and later "mutorrent" as alternative pronunciations. In Greece, where the software is widely
used, it is called 'me torrent', since the letter μ of the Greek Alphabet is pronounced iin modern Greek.
The symbol μ is the lowercase
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
SI prefix
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. E ...
"
micro-
''Micro'' (Greek letter μ ( U+03BC) or the legacy symbol µ (U+00B5)) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10−6 (one millionth). Confirmed in 1960, the prefix comes from the Greek ('), meaning "small".
The symbol for th ...
". It refers to the program's originally small footprint.
Contributors
Original development was performed by
Ludvig Strigeus
Ludvig "Ludde" Strigeus (born January 1981) is a Swedish programmer, best known for developing software such as the BitTorrent client μTorrent, '' OpenTTD'', and Spotify.
Early life and education
Strigeus was born in January 1981, and he gradu ...
("ludde", from
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
), the creator of μTorrent. Serge Paquet ("vurlix", from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
) acted as release coordinator, and had intended to work on Linux and macOS ports. He maintained the μTorrent website and forum up until the end of 2005, but is no longer affiliated with μTorrent.
Since its purchase in 2006, development has been performed by various employees of Bittorrent Inc. Strigeus is no longer affiliated.
Reception
μTorrent has been praised for its small size and minimal computer resources used, which set it apart from other clients. ''
PC Magazine
''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
'' stated that it "packs an outstanding array of features" in 2006 and listed it in their 2008 "Best free 157 software tools". It was also in ''PC World'''s "101 Fantastic freebies". The website
TorrentFreak
__NOTOC__
TorrentFreak (TF) is a blog dedicated to reporting the latest news and trends on the BitTorrent protocol and file sharing, as well as on copyright infringement and digital rights.
The website was started in November 2005 by a Dutchman ...
.com said it was the most feature rich BitTorrent client available, later summarizing a 2009
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
study which concluded that "μTorrent Download Speeds Beat Vuze By 16%" on average and "on 10% of
he 30 most used
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
ISPs, μTorrent users were downloading 30% faster than Vuze users".
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
said it was the best BitTorrent client available, citing its small size and "minimal impact to the rest of your computer's speed."
Wired.com
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
said its "memory footprint is also ridiculously small". ''PC & Tech Authority'' magazine (Australia) gave it 6 stars (out of 6).
Lifehacker.com
''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on January 31, 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is currently owned by G/O Media. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microsoft ...
rated it the best BitTorrent client available (Windows) in 2008, 2011 (Windows and Mac) and a follow-up user poll rated it the most popular torrent client in 2015.
CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
.com gave it 5 stars (of 5) saying it features "light and quick downloading".
In November 2009, 52 million users were reported to be using the application, and in late 2011, 132 million.
According to a study by
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communication protocol, communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic ...
by μTorrent caused a 15-fold increase in IPv6 traffic across the Internet over a ten-month period.
See also
*
Comparison of BitTorrent clients
The following is a general comparison of Glossary of BitTorrent terms#Client, BitTorrent clients, which are computer programs designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent (protocol), BitTorrent protocol.
The BitTorrent protocol co ...
traffic shaping
Traffic shaping is a bandwidth management technique used on computer networks which delays some or all datagrams to bring them into compliance with a desired ''traffic profile''. Traffic shaping is used to optimize or guarantee performance, improv ...
(
Max Planck Institute for Software Systems
The Max Planck Institute for Software Systems (MPI-SWS) is a computer science research institute co-located in Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern, Germany. The institute is chartered to conduct basic research in all areas related to the design, anal ...