Toolbars
In late 2010, some controversy arose with the release of μTorrent which included adware in the form of the Conduit (publisher network and platform), Conduit 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.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 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 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 Litecoin in the background for BitTorrent, Inc. (allegedly giving a portion to charity), utilizing CPU and GPU 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. Yandex Browser and other Yandex-produced software are being advertised to Russian and Ukrainian users of μTorrent.Pronunciation
An admin on the μTorrent forums wrote in 2005, "I don't really know how it's pronounced... ...I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", while stating they were not sure, they also mentioned the correct pronunciations for "μTorrent" "microtorrent", "mytorrent" (as "my" is the Swedish pronunciation of the Greek letter μ) and "mutorrent". In Greece, where the software is widely used, it is called 'me torrent', since the letter μ of the Greek Alphabet is pronounced [mi] in modern Greek. The symbol μ is the lowercase Greek language, Greek letter Mu (letter), mu, which stands for the SI prefix " micro-". It refers to the program's originally small footprint.Contributors
The original development was performed by Ludvig Strigeus ("ludde", from Sweden), the creator of μTorrent. Serge Paquet ("vurlix", from Canada) 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'' 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 (magazine), ''PC World'''s "101 Fantastic freebies". The website TorrentFreak.com said it was the most feature rich BitTorrent client available, later summarizing a 2009 University of California, Riverside study which concluded that "μTorrent Download Speeds Beat Vuze By 16%" on average and "on 10% of [the 30 most used] ISPs, μTorrent users were downloading 30% faster than Vuze users". About.com 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 said its "memory footprint is also ridiculously small". ''PC & Tech Authority'' magazine (Australia) gave it 6 stars (out of 6). Lifehacker.com 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.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 Arbor Networks, the 2008 adoption of IPv6 by μTorrent caused a 15-fold increase in IPv6 traffic across the Internet over a ten-month period.See also
* Comparison of BitTorrent clientsReferences
External links
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