µTorrent 3.0 in Windows 7 |
|
Original author(s) | Ludvig Strigeus |
Developer(s) | BitTorrent, Inc. |
Initial release | September 18, 2005 |
Stable release |
Windows: 3.0.1 (32-bit) with Share (Build 26560) (December 5, 2011 )[3] Mac OS X:1.5.13 (Build 26628) (December 23, 2011 )[1][4] [±] |
Preview release |
Windows: Linux: |
Development status | Active |
Written in | C++ |
Operating system | Microsoft Windows Mac OS X 10.5 (Intel and PPC) Linux (officially supported using Wine),[8] Native version in development[9] |
Size | Windows: 719 kB Mac OS X: 2.54 MB |
Available in | 54 languages |
Type | BitTorrent client |
License | Proprietary software (freeware) |
Website | http://www.utorrent.com/ |
µTorrent (or uTorrent; commonly abbreviated as "µT" or "uT") is a freeware, closed source BitTorrent client owned by BitTorrent, Inc. It is the most widely used BitTorrent client outside China, where Xunlei is more popular. It gets the "µ" in its name from the SI prefix "micro-", referring to the program's small memory footprint: the program is designed to use minimal computer resources while offering functionality comparable to larger BitTorrent clients such as Vuze or BitComet.
The program has received consistently good reviews for its feature set, performance, stability, and support for older hardware and versions of Windows. A report showed that µTorrent is the second most popular BitTorrent client (after the Chinese Xunlei).[10]
It is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A µTorrent Server is available for Linux. All versions are written in C++.[11]
The program has been in active development since its first release in 2005. Although originally developed by Ludvig Strigeus, since December 7, 2006, the code is owned and maintained by BitTorrent, Inc.[12] The code has also been employed by BitTorrent, Inc. as the basis for version 6.0 and above of the BitTorrent client, a re-branded version of µTorrent.
Contents |
Out of general discontent with bloatware, Serge Paquet suggested to Ludvig Strigeus that he should make a small and efficient BitTorrent client. Strigeus began to conceptualize the plans for the program's development, which, at the time, did not include making the client feature-rich. After initially working on it for about a month during the last quarter of 2004 (the first build is dated October 17, 2004), mostly during his free time before and after work, Strigeus ceased coding µTorrent for a year. He resumed work on September 15, 2005, and three days later, the first public release (version 1.1 beta) was made available as freeware, and began generating feedback.
On March 4, 2006, PeerFactor SARL announced the signing of a six-month contract with Strigeus for the development of "new content distribution applications on the Web."[13] PeerFactor SARL is a relatively new company formed by former employees of PeerFactor, which was a subsidiary of the French anti-piracy organization Retspan.
Ludde stated that his coding for PeerFactor SARL was to use his expertise at optimization of the BitTorrent protocol to create a .dll which PeerFactor SARL intended to use as part of a distribution platform for files in a corporate setting.[14] At the time there was some speculation that μTorrent may have been modified to spy on users on Peerfactor's behalf,[13][15] however to date (even following μTorrent's acquisition by BitTorrent, Inc.) no evidence has been produced to support these allegations.
On December 7, 2006, µTorrent was purchased by BitTorrent, Inc., as it was announced on their official forum.[12]
On September 18, 2007, BitTorrent 6.0 was released, which is a re-branded version of µTorrent. As a result, BitTorrent 6 is closed-source (unlike BitTorrent 5.x and before, which were open source software).
On July 15, 2011, BitTorrent announced that they would offer a paid version of µTorrent called "µTorrent Plus". This new version, which was expected to be released in "late fall" 2011, would offer extra features, such as integrated file conversion, anti-virus and a built in media player.[16] On 6 October 2011, the Pre-alpha of µTorrent Plus was released to an invite only community.[17] As of December 2011, µTorrentPlus 3.1 Stable is now available for purchase and download.
|
|
Features present in µTorrent include:
µTorrent is shipped as a single stand-alone compressed executable file, installed at first run. Recent versions have included the ability to install themselves on first run. Small executable size is achieved by avoiding the use of many libraries, notably the C++ standard library and stream facilities, and creating substitutes written specifically for the program. The executable is then compressed to roughly half of its compiled and linked size using UPX.
µTorrent is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.[30]
The first test version for Mac OS X, running on Mac OS X 10.5, was released on 27 November 2008.[31]
On September 2, 2010, the native Linux version of µTorrent Server was released. An administrator said that they have been working on this project for a few months prior to the release as it was the most requested feature for some time. This release is intended for users who are seeking a fast command-line interface based BitTorrent client with a remote web-based management. They also mentioned that a full featured client with a GUI is a work in progress.[32] Firon also said This is a native Linux port and is known to work on Ubuntu 9.10+, Debian 5+ and Fedora 12+. Others may work, but they are not officially supported. Kernel 2.6.13 or newer required. 64-bit host systems currently have some problems, so 32-bit only for now. For trackers who whitelist, the user agent is "uTorrent/300B(build#)(server)". The peerid is identical to the Windows 3.0 client. They share version numbers because of a common codebase.[32]
In early versions, Strigeus had built in a web redirection via nanotorrent for search queries entered through the search bar that displayed advertisements in a frame on the web browser. Some users thought this suspicious because tracking could be implemented by recording the IP addresses of those downloading/receiving the advertisements, and the search functionality could easily be used to track user queries through whichever web-interface the client is going through to execute the search. After a short trial period, the advertising was disabled, mitigating possible concerns.[33]
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. This is done on the first run of the program and the user may explicitly opt out of this feature by deselecting it.[34][35] The developers stated the addition was needed for funds to continue development. In late 2010, this was replaced with the Conduit Engine.
The author of µTorrent wrote in 2005, "I usually say 'you torrent' because it looks like a u", and offered "microtorrent", "mytorrent" (as "my" [myː] is the Swedish pronunciation of the Greek letter µ) and later "mutorrent" as alternate pronunciations.[36]
The symbol μ is the lowercase Greek letter Mu, which stands for the SI prefix "micro-" meaning "one millionth"; it refers to the program's small footprint.
The traditional English pronunciation of the letter μ is /ˈmjuː/ (as in the English word 'mew'), derived from its Classical Greek pronunciation [mŷː] (impossible to represent accurately with "sound-alike" respelling, since English lacks the close front rounded vowel [y]). The corresponding Standard Modern Greek pronunciation is [mi], much like the English word 'me'.
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 Mac OS X ports. He maintained the µTorrent website and forum up until the end of 2005, but is no longer affiliated with µTorrent.
Development after the purchase by BitTorrent is performed by developers Adam Kennedy ("AdamK"), Arvid Norberg ("arvid", author of libtorrent), Greg Hazel ("alus"), Jan Brittenson ("CodeRed"), Richard Choi ("rchoi"), and Ryan Norton ("RyanNorton") among others at BitTorrent Inc. Strigeus remains as a technical consultant.
Other tasks continue to be performed by ongoing contributors. Giancarlo Martínez ("Firon", from Puerto Rico) maintains the µTorrent forums and FAQ. Carsten Niebuhr ("Directrix", from Germany) developed the original µTorrent Web User Interface which is now maintained by "Ultima".
μTorrent has been praised for its small size and the minimal computer resources it uses which sets it apart from other clients. PC Magazine gave the program a positive review saying that it "packs an outstanding array of features".[37] and was also listed in their Best free 157 software tools.[38] It was also in PC World Magazine's 101 Fantastic freebies.[39] The website TorrentFreak.com said it was the most feature rich BitTorrent client available,[40] later summarizing an August 2009 University of California, Riverside study[41] which concluded that "uTorrent Download Speeds Beat Vuze By 16%" on average and "On 10% of [the 30 most used] ISPs, uTorrent users were downloading 30% faster than Vuze users".[42] 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."[43] Wired.com said its "memory footprint is also ridiculously small".[44] The Australian PC & Tech Authority magazine gave it a 6 out of 6 stars.[45] Lifehacker.com has continued to rate it the best BitTorrent client available.[46] CNET.com gave it a 5 out of 5 stars saying it features "Light and quick downloading".[47]
In November 2009, 52 million users used the application.[48]
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.[49]
The software is available in the following languages:
Arabic | Chinese (Simplified) | Gaeilge | Kannada | Malayalam | Russian | Thai |
Awadh | Chinese (Traditional) | Georgian | Kazakh | Marathi | Serbian (Cyrillic) | Turkish |
Armenian | Croatian | Greek | Khmer | Mongolian | Serbian (Latin) | Ukrainian |
Azerbaijani | Czech | Hebrew | Korean | Norwegian | Sinhala | Urdu |
Basque | Danish | Hindi | Kurdish | Norwegian Nynorsk | Slovak | Vietnamese |
Belarusian | Dutch | Hungarian | Kyrgyz | Persian | Slovenian | Welsh |
Bengali | Esperanto | Icelandic | Latvian | Polish | Spanish | |
Bosnian | Estonian | Indonesian | Lithuanian | Portuguese (Brazil) | Swedish | |
Bulgarian | Finnish | Italian | Macedonian | Portuguese (Portugal) | Taiwan | |
Catalan | French | Japanese | Malay | Romanian | Tamil |
As of late 2010, some controversy has arisen with the release of a new version of the uTorrent client. The installation now includes adware in the form of the Conduit Engine, which installs a toolbar and makes homepage and default search engine changes to the user's browser. While most have had the option to opt-out of this feature, some users have reported that this installation is made without the user's consent, either installing this software and making these changes without notifying the user, or still going ahead after the user has explicitly opted out.[50] In addition, there have been complaints that the software is extremely difficult to remove once installed.[51]
|