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Best Free BitTorrent Client

 
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  Go straight to the Quick Selection Guide
Introduction

Since its inauspicious public appearance 10 years ago  bittorrent has become one of the major download formats. With good reason too: it's fast, equitable and efficient. If you haven't yet installed a Bittorrent client on your PC, you should as there are some great freeware clients available.   In Bittorrent the best clients are free.  (In fact, if a client costs money, it is most likely a scam).

If you are unaware of the bittorrent protocol, you may take a look at my article, What is Bittorrent, as well as the listings within Searching for Torrents and Finding Legal (and free) Torrents to see the massive amount of content available through bittorrent.

Testing

Anyone with knowledge of bittorrent knows that it is nearly impossible to have a testing procedure that is foolproof in measuring small differentials in speed among bittorrent clients.  This is due to the fact that your download speed depends on the upload of other active users and there is no control over their actions while testing.  However, I have been testing clients for this category for several years and am convinced that the better clients can be separated from the others.

For this round of testing, I used 9 torrents, 3 from large and healthy torrents where high speeds could be obtained, 3 from medium sized torrents and 3 from smaller torrents.  I was continually moving back and forth between the clients to verify the differentials in speeds. 

There definitely was a difference between the superior clients and the excellent clients listed below, as well as substantial differences from all of those and the inadequate clients not listed here. For instance on the large and healthy torrents, the superior clients consistently reached speeds over 1.5MBps, while the excellent clients consistently maxed out at 1MBps.  The inferior clients fell quite a bit below the 1MBps level.  On the medium and small torrents the superior and excellent clients fared pretty equal, with the inadequate clients performing significantly worse (percentage wise).

Testing was performed on both Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP SP3.

Ranking

For my last review I separated the bittorrent clients that has toolbars etc., to a listing below those that bittorrent clients that had a clean install.  This time, I have decided to rank the clients based upon their results on the speed testing, their features and their help resources. 

I will make note of those that have installs or other changes to your system that are not necessary for the proper function of the bittorrent client.   I will strongly suggest that if you choose a bittorrent client that has these unnecessary add ons, to not accept those changes or add ons.

Thanks to a comment from Luke, I have added some information on private tracker acceptance of these clients.  While the vast majority of bittorrent users utilize public sites, this information will be pertinent to some.

Discussion

Superior Bittorrent Clients

Although these superior bittorrent clients are listed in order according to the ranking criteria above, I will point out that the differences as far as speed are so slight that in real life there would be no real difference.  Any one of these bittorrent clients will perform as good as can be and the choice usually comes down to which GUI suits your personal preference.

qbittorrent-main-screen-thumbqBittorrent is once again my top pick in this review.  I was unaware of the existence of this client until it was suggested by IronPlatypus in the comments here a year ago.   This time around, it was almost dethroned until a new version came out as I finished my testing.  When I finished my re-testing qBittorrent soared back to the top placing first on seven of the nine test torrents.  I was amazed at how quickly qBittorrent got going on the torrents.  Also, many of the other clients would have speeds jump around, but qBittorrent ran at a stable speed level throughout the download.  I was even more impressed this time around with qBittorrent.  I should add a caveat that the version just prior did not fare too well and was pushed way down this listing.  However, the latest version is as good a bittorrent client as I have seen  qBittorrent was also stable and efficient in both operating systems tested.  Its RAM use was low and stable as was its CPU use.  It has all the features that an ordinary user would want and is unlikely to cause issues on any Windows system. Their built in search is a real plus.  It runs quick and has a good number of sites included at default.  I am usually not a big fan of built in searches, but since this allows you to visit the web page for the torrent and see comments/ratings there, I find this search usefu and the best among all the bittorrent clients.  (Thanks to xTobix for reminding me of how good the search is)  Plugins for additional sites are available.  A downside to this client is that it basically is a one person operation, which might affect growth and support.  The updates seem to be coming regularly, so the growth is not  an issue as of yet (in fact they seem to do more updates than the other clients).  Another negative is the lack of acceptance at private sites, though not for any fault of the client other than it not being widely used or known.  The Wiki and Documentation have improved, but still parts are out of date.  The situation at the forums has improved from my last review.  Also I requested a feature change at their bugs page (the feature was already in the client-doh!) and received a instant response from the developer.  qBittorrent is a clean install, no addons etc.  Our Guides

 Pros:  Low and stable RAM and CPU with all the necessary features.  Excellent performance on torrents.  Development still seems to be very active and responsive to users.  Clean install, no addons etc.

Cons:  Basically a one person operation, which could affect progress (though it has not as of now).   Support has improved, but still needs work.  Not accepted at many private trackers, although I am sure it would be if it were more well known.

utorrent-main-screen-thumbµTorrent was the top pick for two years in a row, but last time it was demoted, mostly due to their inclusion of a malware ridden toolbar at default on install.  They have switched to the Bing toolbar (along with a home page and search page change).  These can easily, and should, be avoided during installation.  Their uTP protocol looked to be a big step forward for bittorrent, but really has not amounted to much at this time.  Their recent addition of Apps looks more promising that I originally thought.  However, it still has not grown all that much.  Still, this is an interesting development that may grow into something useful for users.   µTorrent was to be chosen Top Pick again until the newer qBittorrent came out and performed so excellently.  Still, with the excellent results on the test torrents, the fact that it is a stable and low resource using client, the vast amount of features packed into this tiny program and the excellent support provided by  µTorrent's FAQs, guides and forums this is a top flight bittorrent program.  µTorrent is by far and away the most popular bittorrent client.  Once you get past the install addon and change issues, this is an excellent client for all Windows users.  Wide acceptance at private sites.  Our Guides

Pros:  Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into a tiny package.  Excellent help resources.  Leader in the bittorrent field at the moment.   Wide acceptance at private trackers.

Cons:  Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (though none on this version) Bing Toolbar install and search/home page change enabled at default on install. Unnecessary DNA program enabled at default and should be disabled in Options after install.   Also, an unnecessary "app" (changes from time to time) is offered during install (enabled at default).  Thanks to Gavin for pointing this out.  The toolbar, changes and app should all be rejected during install.

Tixati is a retixati-main-screen-thumblatively new bittorrent client that entered this review for the first time two years ago.  Of course, it performed excellently on the test torrents (or it would not be here), but it is also an appealing client, with its varied GUIs and layout.  Tixati was very stable in both RAM and CPU on both of my systems.  While its use of those is slightly higher than µTorrent or BitTorrent, it is still very easy on system resources.  Tixati always seems to be in active development and the developers are receptive to users input.  Compared to µTorrent/BitTorrent, Tixati is a Mom and Pop operation, which many users will prefer, but some may be wary.  This is reflected in their promise never to include addons/changes such as seen in µTorrent/BitTorrent.  Their help facilities have grown and are kept up to date.  Their forums are responsive, but not at the level of µTorrent's, which has the best support forum.  It s performance on the test torrents was only sightly below µTorrent/BitTorrent and for all practical purposes it is equal to them.  their interface options will appeal to many users.  Their clean install will appeal to all.  Not accepted at many, if any, private sites and being closed source will not help it gain acceptance.  Our Guides

Pros:  Generally stable and efficient with a good variety of options.  Developers are active and responsive to user requests.  Attractive interface.  Good help resources.  Excellent performance on torrents.  No addons etc. during install.
Cons:   Help resource, though very good, could use some more.  Smaller operation, which you may or may not like.

halite-main-screen-thumbHalite is a client that made it into the top client list two years ago and I had hoped this client would make its move to the top as it is the most efficient client of all I have tested and only needed some additional features to move up. Unfortunately, halite has not been updated in over a year and this gives me some reason for concern about its development.  I, and a significant minority of Windows users had some issues with this version previously and it is disappointing to see no new version in response.  I should point out that those issues disappeared for me during this testing.    While accepted at many private sites, not as many as µTorrent or Deluge.  Their help facilities are limited as there are no guides or documentation.  Their forums appear to be well tended.  Again, the differences in results on the test torrents from the above was so slight that it will make no difference in real world use. Halite has a clean install with no addons etc.  Our Guides

Pros:  Low and stable RAM use.  Working versions had low CPU use.  Excellent performance on torrents.  Clean install, no addons etc.
Cons:  Has not  been updated in over a year, even though a good number (though a minority) of Windows users had issues.   Decent amount of private trackers accept its use, but not as many as Deluge and µTorrent.  Help resources need an upgrade.

deluge-main-screen-thumbDeluge made this list last time around for the first time, but its performance this time using the latest version was so poor that I almost removed it from the listing.  In reading their forums, it appears a good number of Windows users had similar issues. The Windows version of this freeware bittorrent client is not the primary focus of the development team and it does show a bit.  If you are going to use this client on a Windows system (and this article is for Windows users), then you should use version 1.3.1.  The other clients here (except for µTorrent) would not be accepted at most private torrent sites.  Deluge does have a good reputation and is accepted at most private sites.  Its forums, user guide and FAQ provide a good level of support.    With version 1.3.1, this client will perform as good as any of the above.   Deluge has a clean install, no addons etc.  Our Guides

Pros:  Cross platform client that is stable for the most part and efficient.  Well accepted at private trackers.  Excellent performance on torrents.  Good help resources.  Pretty wide acceptance at private trackers.  Clean install, no addons etc.

Cons:  Latest versions have severe issues for Windows users and are not recommended.

transmission-qt-windows-main-screen-thumbTransmission-QT (Windows) is not an "official" release of the Transmission team, but has been touted in their forums for years and recently moved to its own site.  Previous versions had issues for me and were not included in this review.  however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this version has crossed the line to become one of the best bittorrent clients for Windows.  Its performance on the test torrents puts it on a par with all of the above in real world application, though it did fall slightly behind.  This version ran stable and efficient as well on both of my Windows operating systems.  Many users will find its simple interface appealing.  The help resources are limited, but for more savvy users this is an excellent choice.  Even for newer users, the setup guide that I have prepared will be all you need to get up and running well.  I tested at a couple of private trackers and this window version was rejected even though the mainline client Transmission was accepted there.  This port has a clean install, no addons etc.  Our Guides

Pros:  Efficient and stable with excellent speeds.  Simple interface.  Clean install, no addons etc.

Cons:  Not an "official" release of the Transmission team and is lacking help resources.

bittorrent-main-screen-thumbBitTorrent and µTorrent are both owned by BitTorrent, Inc., and are supposed to be identical.  Except for the name, the features and look are identical.  There were some small differences in RAM and CPU use on my systems, but these do not amount to much.  For years I did not list BitTorrent as it included a separate and unnecessary, for the user, program called DNA.  Even after removing DNA, the size of the BitTorrent installer was quite a bit larger than µTorrent's and that raised suspicions among myself and others that something else was being packaged.  The official word on that was that Bittorrent used an installer package and µTorrent did not.  In any event, the BitTorrent installer is now a tiny bit smaller than µTorrent's, erasing any doubts on this issue.  All the positives, and negatives of µTorrent's apply here.  This is a feature rich, small, efficient client that performs with the best as far as speeds.  The help resources are not quite at µTorrent's level, but really any of the µTorrent resources may be used for Bittorrent, so they are identically excellent there also.  Its performance on the test torrents was very slightly behind µTorrent's, but in practical use they are the same superior results.  BitTorrent was the original client created and if you like  the name better than µTorrent's, this is an excellent choice.  Although identical to µTorrent and owned by the same company, BitTorrent is not accepted at many, if any, private sites.  Our Guides

Update:  BitTorrent has gone back to the larger installer with the next build after my testing.  It is now 5.68MB as opposed to 538kB.  They are also enabling DNA at default.  I suggest disabling this at Options>Preferences>DNA.    I had them placed higher on this review due to their test results, but have moved them down due to the recent change.  Since it is identical in performance and look (except for name) to µTorrent, I will leave it on the listing, but I go back to my original position on BitTorrent: Just get µTorrent.  Thanks to "mrinmoyjk" for calling my attention to this.

Pros:  Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into a tiny package.  Excellent help resources.  Leader in the bittorrent field at the moment.

Cons:  Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (now that it is essentially the µTorrent program-though none on latest versions).  Bing Toolbar install and search/home page change enabled at default on install. Unnecessary DNA program enabled at default and should be disabled in Options after install.   Not accepted at many private sites.  Also, an unnecessary "app" (changes from time to time) is offered during install (enabled at default).  Thanks to Gavin for pointing this out.  The toolbar, changes and app should all be rejected during install.

Excellent Clients

These two clients ran very well on the small and medium swarm torrents, but suffered on the large swarm torrents.  Each of these fell behind the above Superior clients in speed.  While the above were running above 1.5MBps, these came close to only 1MBps. I found that hard to believe as these two have been staples of the bittorrent scene for quite a while, but I tested this over and over and still reached the same result.  Still many users will like their features and interface and each of these has a loyal following.

bitcomet-main-screen-thumbBitComet has always suffered, unnecessarily in my opinion, from an image of a cheating, or poorly built client.  This has hurt their acceptance at private trackers although this has eased a bit.  The language issues of having a development team that is Chinese speaking only has hurt them over the years.  Still this is a solid bittorrent client with a small, but devoted, following.   The install does include a homepage change and a media player install enabled at default, but these can easily, and should, be rejected.  After install, one is still presented with self-promotional advertising which can be disabled, but is enabled at default.   I also find their interface cluttered with items that should be cleared up.  Their listing of torrent search sites would be agood feature if dead sites etc. would be cleared out (with some tinkering this can be done by the users).    They also do have their own LTSeed network as well as the ability to connect to other sources (which may help with torrents that appear dead) and http/ftp support..  They also have incorporated a provision to prevent duplicate sats to private trackers which should help users avoid "cheating" claims from the site.   But, BitComet does have a wide variety of options and for the most part runs stable.  They also have an excellent support structure through their two forums (CometForums and UniteTheCows (independent support forum)  and their wiki .(there is a nice FAQ at the Wiki).  In my test torrents, BitComet ran very well on all test torrents, but on the large swarm torrents did not reach the speeds of the Superior clients above.  Still, it is just a notch below and many people like the BitComet interface and performance as well as their varied source abilities.  Our Guides

Pros:  A stable and efficient client.  They offer a wide variety of features and excellent help resources.  Their torrent exchange, LTSeed network, support for other networks and support of http/ftp and other community features may interest some users and does make them unique among bittorrent clients in this regard.

Cons:  Still not accepted at a few private trackers (although this issue is rightfully being resolved) .  Home page change and media player program download enabled at default on install.  Self-promotional advertising banners and popups within client.  Performance on large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.

vuze-main-screen-thumbVuze  This once top flight program is definitely in decline.  This has become a back burner project for the development group as they are now involved in  the Fanhattan project. The plugins available from their days as Azureus are, for the most part, not being updated anymore.   Their forum has suffered as it is rarely attended by developers. The Vuze-Wiki is still an excellent help ressource, but it is also fading from lack of oversight.  Their install includes a toolbar and home and search page changes enabled at default.  There are also advertisements in the Vuze portion of the client.. macktone87 brought my attention to an important feature of Vuze.  As he put it "I haven't left Vuze yet because of its ability to be able to stream to pretty much any thing connected to the same router. I really enjoy watching videos on my TV, phone, I-Pod etc."  Its performance on the  test torrents this time was disappointing, though still respectable.  This is a decent client still, but its main attraction is its ability to stream to devices.   I also see many users who think that buying the Plus version of Vuze will improve performance.  The Plus version provides no additional features for bittorrent.  It provides a burner and anti-virus and you can get better free ones here at Gizmo's.  Bottom line, if you are not interested in the streaming, this client is not for you   Our Guides

Pros:    Streaming capability to connected devices.  Wide acceptance at private trackers.

Cons:  Lack of focus on bittorrent resulting in no major upgrades to that portion of their client in recent years.  The Vuze interface is useless for all but a few.  Bing Toolbar install and home page change enabled at default on install.  Advertisements within free version of Vuze interface.  Performance on large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above. 

Download Programs That Have Bittorrent Support

I received a good amount of comments regarding download programs that had recently added bittorrent support.  I have been testing such programs along with strictly bittorrent programs for several years and they always fail to reach the performance levels of the above programs.  Even if one already has a download program with bittorrent support, I would still suggest using any one of these seven programs for bittorrent.

Related Products and Links

There are guides for getting the best download speed for each of the bittorrent clients above, here at Gizmo's Tech Support Alert:

After you have installed your bittorrent client and have set it up, you might want to check my articles

Quick Selection Guide

qBittorrent
9
 
Gizmo's Freeware award as the best product in its class!

Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Low and stable RAM and CPU with all the necessary features. Excellent performance on torrents. Development still seems to be very active and responsive to users. Clean install, no addons etc.
Basically a one person operation, which could affect progress (though it has not as of now). Not widely accepted at private sites, only due to it being a newer cliennt and not that well known. Support has improved, but still needs work.
2.9.0.1
5.53MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Open source freeware
A portable version of this product is available but not from the developer
Windows XP/Vista/7 Linux Mac
µTorrent
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into a tiny package. Excellent help resources.Widely accepted at private sites. Leader in the bittorrent field at the moment.
Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (though none on this version) Bing Toolbar install and search/home page change enabled at default on install. Unnecessary DNA program enabled at default and should be disabled in Options after install. Also, an unnecessary "app" (changes from time to time) is offered durig install (enabled at default). Thanks to Gavin for pointing this out. The toolbar, changes and app should all be rejected during install.
http://www.utorrent.com/
3,0
626KB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Free for private use only
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows XP, Vista, 7, Wine Mac Linux (Alpha)
Tixati
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Stable and efficient with a good variety of options. Developers are active and responsive to user requests. Attractive interface. Good help resources. Excellent performance on torrents. No addons etc. during install.
Help resources, though very good, could use some more. Smaller operation, which you may or may not like. Not accepted at many, if any, private sites.
http://tixati.com/
1.74
6.64MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Free for private use only
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 Linux
Halite
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Low and stable RAM use. Working versions had low CPU use. Excellent performance on torrents. Clean install, no addons etc.
Has not been updated in over a year. Help resources need an upgrade. Decent amount of private trackers accept its use, but not as many as Deluge and µTorrent.
0.3.3.0
2.0MB
32 and 64 bit versions available
Open source freeware
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP), 64-bit MS Windows, Vista, Win2K, Windows 7, WinXP
Deluge
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Cross platform client that is stable for the most part and efficient. Well accepted at private trackers. Excellent performance on torrents. Good help resources. Pretty wide acceptance at private trackers. Clean install, no addons etc.
Latest versions have severe issues for Windows users and are not recommended. Help resources are good, but could be better.
http://deluge-torrent.org/
1.3.1 (rec)
8.2MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Open source freeware
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows XP/Vista/7 Linux Mac
Transmission-QT (Windows)
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Efficient and stable with excellent speeds. Simple interface. Clean install, no addons etc.
Not an "official" release of the Transmission team and is lacking help resources. Not accepted at private trackers as it is a newer client and not well known.
2.41
8.76MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Open source freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Windows XP/Vista/7
BitTorrent
8
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Excellent speeds on torrents, efficient and stable client with a large amount of features packed into a tiny package. Excellent help resources. Leader in the bittorrent field at the moment.
Has had critical security alerts at Secunia. (now that it is essentially the µTorrent program-though none on latest versions). Bing Toolbar install and search/home page change enabled at default on install. Also, an unnecessary "app" (changes from time to time) is offered durig install (enabled at default). Thanks to Gavin for pointing this out. The toolbar, changes and app should all be rejected during install. Not accepted at many, if any, private sites. Unnecessary DNA program enabled at default and should be disabled in Options after install. Since identical to µTorrent, Just get µTorrent.
http://www.bittorrent.com/
7.5
538KB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Free for private use only
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows XP, Vista, 7, Wine Mac Linux
BitComet
7
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
A stable client that that is efficient and has some unique features. Excellent help resources. Their torrent exchange and other community features may interest some users.
Apparently still has issues as initial seed on torrents. Still not accepted at a few private trackers (although this issue is rightfully being resolved) . Home page change enabled at default on install. Self-promotional advertising banners and popups within client. Media player install at default on program install. Performance on large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.
http://www.bitcomet.com/
1.29
12.3MB
32 and 64 bit versions available
Free for private use only
A portable version of this product is available from the developer.
Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/7
Vuze
6
 
Runs as a stand-alone program on a user's computer
Streaming capability to connected devices. Wide acceptance at private trackers.
Lack of focus on bittorrent resulting in no major upgrades to that portion of their client in recent years. The Vuze interface is useless for all but a few. Bing Toolbar install and home page change enabled at default on install. Advertisements within free version of Vuze interface. Performance on large swarm torrents was not at the level of the superior clients above.
http://www.vuze.com/
4.7.0.0
8.62MB
32 bit but 64 bit compatible
Open source freeware
There is no portable version of this product available.
Java support /Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008/7/NT, Linux, Mac

 

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Comments

by mrinmoyjk on 3. February 2012 - 14:38  (88215)

Previously when I was using uTorrent, I got about 20mb "wasted" for a 100mb download (don't remember actual values, just a rough idea). Now I am using qBittorrent and getting about 5 mb "wasted" for a 100mb download. I don't know if the client is the reason but still I want to know why these wastage occur and how to reduce them?

by ernae4tnae4tn (not verified) on 9. January 2012 - 10:54  (86866)

Although qbittorrent is very nice, you can't give the program first place. First of all it's copy of utorrent. It has the same interface and features.
And more important it can not handle the buggy windows cache. When downloading the cache uses all the ram available and utorrent overwrites caching so the amaount of ram used is significantly less.

by mr6n8 on 9. January 2012 - 12:29  (86869)

It is in no way a copy of uTorrent. All bittorrent clients are going to have similar features. qBittorrent is open source and based upon libtorrent, while uTorrent is closed source. qBittorrent's search feature differs greatly from uTorrent's and is much better.

I do not know what you are talking about as far as the "buggy" windows cache.

I tested qBittorrent on Windows XP and Windows 7 and had no RAM issues and its RAM use was very close to uTorrent - slightly better in some situations and slightly worse in some others.

Sounds like you have not even looked at qBittorrent. Are you talking about BitTorrent (which is exactly like uTorrent as BitTorrent owns uTorrent)? If you are there is absolutely no difference between BitTorrent and uTorrent, except the installer. Performance wise they are identical.

by no security (not verified) on 23. December 2011 - 3:38  (85779)

How about addressing security in the bittorrent client reviews?

I found this disturbing remark (The attack is actually worse than that: apparently in some cases uTorrent, BitSpirit, and libTorrent simply write your IP address directly into the information they send to the tracker and/or to other peers.) here:

https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-good-idea

by mr6n8 on 23. December 2011 - 6:48  (85793)

That is not a security issue, it is a privacy issue.

Anyone who uses bittorrent should be aware that their IP address is freely given out and I will add some information in on this.

That article deals with using bittorrent over Tor and basically describes how one's IP address is still available even when using Tor for bittorrent. I knew that Tor did not want bittorrent traffic, but was unaware of this issue - so thanks for that.

Steve

by no security (not verified) on 25. December 2011 - 19:03  (85958)

You are right, that's a privacy issue. However, there may be a utorrent/Bittorrent security issue described here:

http://wefixedtheglitch.tumblr.com/post/22786974/extracting-the-bittorrent-dna

(I’d like to sum up this article with several things of concern . . . Using the information provided by the “btdna.js” and a packet trace from the Flash/Flex movie talking to it over TCP it is not impossible for ANY website to hijack and offload content onto your “btdna.exe” process. I consider this risk as “HIGH” and do not recommend users to have the “btdna.exe” software installed on their systems due to these risks,)

PS: I find your review site so thorough and helpful that I no longer use any other review site.

by mr6n8 on 26. December 2011 - 2:03  (85989)

For further info on that "risk" see here as BitTorrent responds to that blog in the article
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-dna-vulnerable-to-remote-hijack-080103/

In any event, I advise in the review to disable DNA (uTorrent and BitTorrent recently made DNA enabled at default again). DNA is useless for the average user.

DNA used to use users bandwidth to support affiliate sites even when the user was not downloading DNA supported material (back at the time of that post you referred to). Supposedly this has been changed so that DNA is only used when you get a DNA enabled download. I have never run across DNA enabled content.

The setting to disable DNA in uTorrent or BitTorrent is at Options>Preferences>DNA.

Thanks for the compliment on our site. I got started in bittorrent years ago based upon Gizmo's review and use the reviews whenever I am looking for a new program. It is nice to read a review from someone who is interested in an area and has no financial interest.

You brought up some good points that users should be aware of.

Thanks

Steve

by Concerned User on 12. December 2011 - 17:21  (84903)

utorrent 3.1 has been released. FYI.

by mr6n8 on 12. December 2011 - 19:48  (84915)

Thanks for reminding me.

This is a big update as they have added device support.

Steve

by mrinmoyjk on 25. November 2011 - 12:24  (83868)

Brilliant reviews, Thanks.

I am writing this as I have a question and I think you know a lot about torrents. I have seen on "Peers" tab in uTorrent that most people uses older uTorrent versions like 2.2.1, 2.2 etc. rather than 3. Why is it so? Is there any disadvantage with the newer version 3?

by mr6n8 on 25. November 2011 - 12:48  (83870)

There are always myths that come out with each upgrade of uTorrent. There is no disadvantage with the newer version and it has better features. Also, there have been no Secunia security alerts with version 3.

Every upgrade comes with the myth that the prior version was faster. I have been testing uTorrent for years and can state that this is not true.

When version 2 came out, a large number of users were insisting one should stay with the version 1 series. The biggest myth there was that version 2 was sending information on your activity to the copyright authorities or something to that effect. That myth died away when uTorrent became, by far and away, the most popular bittorrent client and nothing happened as far as the reporting.

I have seen a couple of myths on version 3. One particularly stupid one was that "uTorrent was monitoring your bandwidth in version 3", again with the "conspiracy" theory. This was a mangled reference to a new feature of uTorrent that would allow a user to set a bandwidth cap (Options>Preferences>Bandwidth Cap). This is a useful feature for those that have transfer caps from their ISP.

Besides the myths, some users just do not want to change.

I always suggest using the latest stable version of uTorrent.

Steve

by mrinmoyjk on 25. November 2011 - 19:10  (83895)

Thanks a lot for explaining. You guys are doing great job.

by mr6n8 on 25. November 2011 - 19:32  (83898)

My pleasure.
It was a good question.
There is a lot of misinformation on the web on that.

Thanks

Steve

by Old Fat Guy (not verified) on 19. November 2011 - 3:02  (83521)

Hello,

I just tried QBittorent based on your review and I like it a lot.

The search function though finds thousands of torrents many of which seem to not have any relation to the search query.

For example just to test it (I have no need to download as I watch it religiously), I typed in "Terra Nova".

Many of the results were for totally different things like Sega games and music etc.

Is there any way to limit the search to just what I type in ie torrents with the words Terra and Nova in that order?

Thanks for a great review. I will be using this client from now on.

Cheers,

Paul

by mr6n8 on 20. November 2011 - 16:42  (83598)

I have gotten the help page for the qBittorrent Search Engine up.

qBittorrent Help: Using the qBittorrent Torrent Search Engine
http://www.techsupportalert.com/qbittorrent-help-torrent-search-engine

Hope it helps.

Steve

by mr6n8 on 19. November 2011 - 7:31  (83534)

Hey Paul

Thanks for the post. I have been meaning to put up a help page on the search, as I feel that is a strong point of qBittorrent. I will tinker with it a bit and put a page up this weekend.

Just ran that search on mine. For me the vast majority were the show. I have sorting set on "seeds" most to least, so the shows came up first. Best thing for a search like that is to use the Categories set to TV shows.

I did run some tests, using and not using quotes and adjusting categories.

Using all categories, got 1154 results using quotes and 1446 without quotes.

Setting category to games Got 6 results using quotes (there is a game called "Terra Nova Strike Force Centauri"). Without quotes, got 59 results.

Set category to music and got 196 results without quotes and 133 with quotes. On the ones I looked at with quotes, all had a song "terra nova".

Category TV shows got 634 results without quotes and 433 with quotes. On the quoted search, it did bring up a couple of other TV shows, but those shows had an episode entitled "terra nova"

So, it looks to me like using the quotes does limit to those with the words in that order. But there are entries in games and music that have "terra nova" as part of the offering.

Also looks like some of the entries were categorized improperly at the sites, or the site might have used Video for category instead of separating TV and movies.

Anyhow, like I said, I will tinker with it a bit and put up a guide. But, to answer your question, it does look like using the quotes does limit the search to where those words are in order (just that there are other entries with terra nova in the name).

Glad you like the client and thanks for the post as you reminded me to get up that guide.

Enjoy

Steve

by Darren D. (not verified) on 18. November 2011 - 19:03  (83502)

Nov 18
I have used many Torrents and tried them all, but I found out a Torrent down-loader is only as good as the search engine you use for your various content, Music, Apps, Video, whatever your Heart Desires. I am Talking
about Bit Torrent 7 (and with BTJunkie as its search engine). Wow ! I get a lot of of content, MP3 Music is larger file sizes (Better Quality) and it can be slow at times, as it has its own protection & that can be turned off or on. Speed is a little drawback, but no problem for speedier system and with the content of stuff, it is still not a bad Trade off. Disappointed with your Torrent ? Give "Bit Torrent" with "Btjunkie"
a try and you will never go back... It has got seed counts, comments to make sure what you are getting is safe, clean, real and good Quality. The others do not have this. They may be faster but it is always a hit or a Miss when downloading. I was sad when Limewire went away But I did not care once I found Bit Torrent. The rest and all above reviews are tested as is. But with the BTjunkie search engines, it make all others second best.

by mr6n8 on 18. November 2011 - 20:02  (83504)

There is much truth in what you say, but you have drawn the wrong conclusions from that truth.

btJunkie is a good torrent search site and is listed at Searching for Torrents (Torrent Search Sites) here. btJunkie is one of my favorites as the comments and ratings are very well used and you can get a quick idea of the clean and real torrents. They also have a large listing as they cull results from other torrent search sites.

But, there are other sites (listed at the article below) that stand right with it in those respects. A good torrent search site is essential to bittorrent, but btJunkie is not alone in that category.

Searching for Torrents (Torrent Search Sites)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/searching-torrents.htm

BitTorrent is listed as one of the superior clients here and will perform as well as any client.

But, there is nothing that makes BitTorrent superior to the other bittorrent clients in the "Superior" category or btJunkie superior to the torrent search sites listed in the article above. The superior clients and any one of the suggested search sites will perform just as well. (In fact some of the test torrents do come from btJunkie).

Many users will say that btJunkie, and other public torrent search site, pale in comparison to private torrent sites and there is some truth to that. There is a link to information on private trackers in the article linked above.

You might want to check out this guide:
Optimizing BitTorrent For Speed
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/optimizing-bittorrent-speed.htm

Thanks for the post.

Steve

by Gavin (not verified) on 18. November 2011 - 17:33  (83492)

I'm not familiar with torrents, so I thought I'd try it. I selected uTorrent. uTorrent has a "featured content" page that forces users to download a video from something called "God's Robot", as there are no other choices available. In order to download the "required" torrent, one is also forced to "like" the musical group on Facebook. This is a major negative. uTorrent is now removed from my machine, and I suggest that it should have this listed as a "con" in the write-up. I suspect that compliance with their instructions will free up the featured content to "allow" downloading things that I want to see. For their information, and yours, I want to download things that I want and I will not accept being forced to download anything or "like" something on Facebook to "comply" with someone's "requirements".

by mr6n8 on 18. November 2011 - 18:36  (83497)

When I have a chance, I will reinstall and re-check. But my recollection is that the "app" can be deselected during install. BitTorrent also has this app "offer" during its install.

You are correct that this should be mentioned as a negative as any unnecessary actions enabled by default are a negative. (Update: This info has been added to "cons" in discussion and quick selection guide-thanks again)

Other than uTorrent and BitTorrent, the other "Superior" clients have no such hoops in install. BitComet and Vuze, rated as "Excellent" do have similar junk during install.

Thanks for pointing that out. I did see that during install, but did not make a note of it.

Steve

by courtenayguy on 18. November 2011 - 15:08  (83484)

As usual, another EXCELLENT update!
And I agree with the review/reviewer every time.
I switched from uTorrent to qBitorrent to Tixati...then to a 'combo' of both qBitorrent AND Tixati togther, and now back to qBitorrent.
Steve: you know your stuff and your work here is outstanding.
Take a bow!
Darrell.

by mr6n8 on 18. November 2011 - 16:30  (83489)

Thanks for the good words Darrell.

My trek was Vuze (for a long time) to uTorrent-Tixati-qBittorrent.

Was using uTorrent for private sites, but have switched over to Deluge. Got tired of uTorrent's toolbars, home and search page changes during install.

Steve

by SpiderJon on 18. November 2011 - 14:35  (83481)

qbitorrent installed ok, but on first use Comodo "Cloud Scanner Alert" popped up with

"A malicious item has been detected

"Name: .UnclassifiedMalware@1"
"Location: C:\Program Files\qBittorrent\qBittorrent.exe"

And Comodo Firewall popped up in response to qBittorrent trying to connect to the Internet:

"WARNING! C:\Program Files\qBittorrent\qBittorrent.exe is a known malicious file. you MUST block this request"

Whilst qBittorrent may well be 'safe', this sort of thing isn't at all reassuring.

by mr6n8 on 18. November 2011 - 16:22  (83487)

I was aware that there had been an issue with one version of qBittorent and Comodo. Then version 2.90 did not show up on Comodo.

Since qBittorrent is open source and its code is available to all, I take that as a statement on the ineffectiveness of Comodo.

But, go with what you think is right for you.

Thanks for bringing that up, it is an important point.

Steve

by Henkie (not verified) on 18. November 2011 - 14:29  (83480)

I totally disagree, qtorrent is by far not as good as uTorrent.

by mr6n8 on 18. November 2011 - 16:26  (83488)

A general statement such as that does not carry much weight.

In what way is qBittorrent "by far not as good as uTorrent"?

qBittorrent is as light on system resources as uTorrent, gets as good or better speeds and has a better search mechanism.

Steve

by Tomaso (not verified) on 14. November 2011 - 19:53  (83292)

Hello.
Just though I'd mention that a Windows build of qBittorent v2.9.2 has been out since November 4th.
It's posted in the forum here:
http://qbforums.shiki.hu/index.php?topic=553.0
It was built by Mohammad Dib, which is one of the official Windows maintainers for qBittorrent (sledgehammer_999 is the other Windows maintainer).
No I/O errors has been reported for the v2.9.2 build.

by mr6n8 on 14. November 2011 - 22:26  (83307)

Thanks for that.

I would point out though that it does appear to be a "beta" release, since he says:
"It would be very interresting to test this version and write your remarks on this topic."

I thought the I/O errors were gone by 2.9, but I never had the issue, so I do not know for certain.

Some users do like to try the test versions, so thanks for the link.

For others, the latest official releases are at the Sourceforge link in the article.

Steve

by mrinmoyjk on 13. November 2011 - 7:20  (83186)

But the bittorrent download is more than 5 MB, not 538 KB.

by mr6n8 on 13. November 2011 - 12:09  (83198)

Thanks.

They have changed it back again. I still have the installer I used which is 538kB, but I see the download is now 5.68MB.

They must have switched from 7.5 Build 25681 (kB) to 7.5 Build 25682 (MB). The exe in program files has changed size also being the same sizes as the installers.

I also see they are enabling DNA at default. With the increased size, I am not sure what is going on inside and whether it should be on the list at all.

I am going to make a change-not sure yet if I am going to remove or amend.

Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

Steve

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