uTorrent | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 13 Apr 2018 15:41:33 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png uTorrent | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Windows Defender and other anti-virus vendors begin flagging uTorrent as a potential threat https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/windows-defender-and-other-anti-virus-vendors-begin-flagging-utorrent-as-a-potential-threat/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/windows-defender-and-other-anti-virus-vendors-begin-flagging-utorrent-as-a-potential-threat/#respond Fri, 13 Apr 2018 14:08:49 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=370197 It looks like uTorrent users are currently running into issues on Windows, as Microsoft's Windows Defender tool has begun flagging the torrent client as a potential threat. Several other anti-virus vendors have also begun labeling the latest version of uTorrent as harmful. It is unclear exactly what triggered this change at the moment, but as …

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It looks like uTorrent users are currently running into issues on Windows, as Microsoft's Windows Defender tool has begun flagging the torrent client as a potential threat. Several other anti-virus vendors have also begun labeling the latest version of uTorrent as harmful.

It is unclear exactly what triggered this change at the moment, but as TorrentFreak reports, BitTorrent Inc reckons the warnings are false positives, so it doesn't sound like anything nefarious has been added to the uTorrent client recently. Currently, millions of people use uTorrent regularly, making it one of the most popular clients around, so virus warnings could be particularly concerning.

Part of the issue likely lies with the software uTorrent occasionally bundles in its installer package. From time to time the optional installations bundled with the installer include adware, which would be worth flagging up.

BitTorrent Inc owns the uTorrent client and has been made aware of these reports. As a result, the latest build of uTorrent has been pulled from the downloads page. However, based on the company's internal assessment it has “found no reason” for the Windows Defender block, so everything remains a mystery. If anti-virus programs are taking issue with uTorrent's bundled optional software, then it is news to the developers, as they claim to be Google-compliant and in accordance with Clean Software Alliance standards.

KitGuru Says: When I originally spotted this story, I thought this might have been Microsoft's way of discouraging piracy. However, that might not necessarily be the case. Hopefully some clarification will be given on the recent warnings users have been receiving. Have any of you updated uTorrent since Tuesday? Did you get a Windows Defender warning?

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uTorrent users urged to update as Google reveals security issues https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/utorrent-users-urged-to-update-as-google-reveals-security-issues/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/utorrent-users-urged-to-update-as-google-reveals-security-issues/#respond Fri, 23 Feb 2018 11:13:39 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=364981 Given that uTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients around, there is a good chance that many of you currently use it. If you have it installed, then be sure to upgrade to the latest version, as multiple security flaws were recently discovered in the software, and have since been patched. Google's Project …

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Given that uTorrent is one of the most popular torrent clients around, there is a good chance that many of you currently use it. If you have it installed, then be sure to upgrade to the latest version, as multiple security flaws were recently discovered in the software, and have since been patched.

Google's Project Zero security expert, Travis Ormandy, recently reported multiple security issues with the uTorrent client for web and desktop. These security flaws open the door up for attackers to view past downloads, steal data or infect the user's PC.

The issues were caused by the uTorrent client exposing an open remote procedure call (RPC) server. RPCs are particularly common in torrent software, as they request a service from another computer on a different network. By abusing the RPC, hackers could hide commands for the RPC server in web pages and use that to pounce on unsuspecting users.

“By default, uTorrent create an HTTP RPC server on port 10000 (uTorrent classic) or 19575 (uTorrent web). There are numerous problems with these RPC servers that can be exploited by any website using XMLHTTPRequest(). To be clear, visiting *any* website is enough to compromise these applications”, Travis Ormandy explained.

In order to be sure that you are protected from these security issues, you'll need to make sure you have uTorrent Classic Version 3.5.3.44352 installed. Alternatively, if you use the web-based client, you will need version 0.12.0.502. These versions contain the latest security patches.

KitGuru Says: uTorrent is a very common client, so these issues had the potential to affect a lot of users. If you currently have uTorrent installed, then be sure to update to the latest version.

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Bittorrent Inc fall out settles down with co-CEO leaving https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/online/jon-martindale/bittorrent-inc-fall-out-settles-down-with-co-ceo-leaving/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/online/jon-martindale/bittorrent-inc-fall-out-settles-down-with-co-ceo-leaving/#respond Fri, 14 Oct 2016 11:19:32 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=308667 BitTorrent Inc. the company behind the Utorrent file sharing client, has become a one CEO firm once again. This came as part of a falling out between the two heads, who previously joined up as the company transitioned to a more commercial entity. It has denied that the company is losing huge sums of money …

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BitTorrent Inc. the company behind the Utorrent file sharing client, has become a one CEO firm once again. This came as part of a falling out between the two heads, who previously joined up as the company transitioned to a more commercial entity. It has denied that the company is losing huge sums of money and will continue with its BitTorrent Now strategy.

Making money from a service where you facilitate file sharing of all kinds is a difficult road to go down. Adverts have always been how BitTorrent Inc. made its money, but it's recently delved into the idea of facilitating paid for media downloads, as BitTorrent Now. It was during that transition that it took on new CEOs Jeremy Johnson and Robert Delmar.

However clearly the pair didn't work too well together, as after reports of conflict in the company's upper management, Delmar has now moved on to greener pastures, while Johnson plans to continue with the BitTorrent Now strategy.

btnow

“BitTorrent Inc remains focused on the media space and there have been no changes to our platforms,” the company said in a statement to The Inquirer.

While it portrays a rather rosy outlook though, it's clear there is some real upheaval going on at BitTorrent Inc. We'll have to wait and see whether its Bittorrent Bundle inspired BitTorrent Now platform will really catch on. There are other projects like BitTorrent Bleep which may see development too, but for now the parent company of all of them is staying rather quiet.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's always seemed rather impressive that a company so well linked with software that itself is so often linked to piracy, is still afloat. You'd have thought a media lobby group would have taken it down years ago. 

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Utorrent Altruistic Mode helps make you the ideal Seed https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/utorrent-altruistic-mode-helps-make-you-the-ideal-seed/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/utorrent-altruistic-mode-helps-make-you-the-ideal-seed/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:46:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=307328 Whether you're downloading something legally or illegally, peer to peer sharing etiquette dictates that you upload more than you download – it helps files disseminate and counters those who only leech. To help encourage that behaviour, the Utorrent client now has an “Altruistic Mode,” which only downloads half as much as you upload, guaranteeing a …

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Whether you're downloading something legally or illegally, peer to peer sharing etiquette dictates that you upload more than you download – it helps files disseminate and counters those who only leech. To help encourage that behaviour, the Utorrent client now has an “Altruistic Mode,” which only downloads half as much as you upload, guaranteeing a 2:1 ratio.

After updating to the latest version of the Utorrent client, those who want to enable Altruistic Mode can do so through the Preferences-BitTorrent menu – it's the last tick box on the right. Once enabled it forces a 2:1 ratio, so if you are downloading a 1GB file, it will only complete once you have uploaded 2GB – essentially throttling your download so that you always stay ahead of your download.

Although it isn't clear at this time how many users will actually make use of this feature, if a large portion of the torrenting community were to enable it, it would have a two fold impact on the P2P landscape. For starters, those not using the Altruistic Mode would likely see their download speeds improve, since there would be more people downloading at lower rates, as well as uploading more. It would also help proliferate torrents when they are new, when leech numbers are typically higher.

altruistic

Source: TorrentFreak

When asked by TorrentFreak why Utorrent developers didn't offer options for 3:1 ratios or higher, the concern was that some downloads would never complete. If too many people are still sharing the earliest parts of a file, the latter parts will take much longer to proliferate, making it harder for people to get hold of full files at high speed.

A 2:1 ratio is good enough to provide a positive benefit for downloaders, without hampering the torrents' completion.

In reality it's likely that only a minority of torrent users will utilise the new mode, but if even a handful do, it should have a positive overall impact.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: KitGuru only condones legal downloads of course, but for those of you that share those files over P2P networks, what kind of ratio do you aim for? 

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BitTorrent Inc. serves 200 million+ ads a day https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/bittorrent-inc-serves-200-million-ads-a-day/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/bittorrent-inc-serves-200-million-ads-a-day/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:34:03 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=277299 When it was announced back in 2012 that the Utorrent BitTorrent client was going to begin serving adverts, it wasn't a particularly popular move. Despite that though, to this day they continue to be served in monstrous numbers. The latest count has the software's parent company BitTorrent Inc., serving upwards of 200 million adverts per …

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When it was announced back in 2012 that the Utorrent BitTorrent client was going to begin serving adverts, it wasn't a particularly popular move. Despite that though, to this day they continue to be served in monstrous numbers. The latest count has the software's parent company BitTorrent Inc., serving upwards of 200 million adverts per day.

This is an impressive number in its own right, even more so because it shows growth over the years. Back in 2013 we were shocked to learn that the software was serving five billion impressions per month, but a little bit of maths shows us that we're more like six billion and change in 2015.

torrentads

What's perhaps more surprising though is that viewing adverts is an optional feature. Utorrent users can go into the options menu and turn them off, but most choose not to, as per TorrentFreak.

Of course despite serving so many adverts to its customers on a daily basis, it isn't making much from them compared to other ad firms. While Youtube might be able to charge over a dollar per thousand impressions, BiTorrent Inc. is currently pushing its impressions at just seven cents per thousand.

If it manages to sell all of them it's still making $14,000 (£9,000) per day, which is decent, but not exactly industry dominating. It's all because of the platform too, with torrent's links with piracy. Traditionally a cheap source of advertising like this that targets men, mostly aged between 18 and 24, 45 per cent of whom have college education, would be jumped on by high profile advertisers.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do the Utorrent users among you have ads enabled in the software? If so, do you ever click them? Those ad rates are tempting for an author looking for a few clicks.

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uTorrent update secretly installs Bitcoin miner https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/utorrent-update-secretly-installs-bitcoin-miner/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/matthew-wilson/utorrent-update-secretly-installs-bitcoin-miner/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2015 16:08:12 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=238987 uTorrent has been caught secretly bundling and installing a Bitcoin miner with its latest client update. The latest update has been found to secretly install EpicScale without user permission, which uses a certain amount of CPU power to mine Bitcoin in the background. Since the program comes automatically as part of the update, many users …

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uTorrent has been caught secretly bundling and installing a Bitcoin miner with its latest client update. The latest update has been found to secretly install EpicScale without user permission, which uses a certain amount of CPU power to mine Bitcoin in the background.

Since the program comes automatically as part of the update, many users weren't aware that it was installed and that their PCs were being used to mine Bitcoin. Some users noticed a slight increase in processor load after the update, which prompted some further digging and led back to the EpicScale program.

uTorrent

In a forum thread (via Trusted Reviews), a uTorrent rep confirmed that it was bundling the Bitcoin miner with its latest client update, saying “EpicScale is a great partner for us to continue to generate revenue for the company”.

This isn't the first time a Bitcoin minder has been installed to ‘borrow' power from other machines in order to turn a profit. The fact that uTorrent bundled this with an update and avoided being upfront about it to begin with makes the whole thing pretty shady.

Update: It seems that uTorrent has updated its update installer. The EpicScale miner will no longer silently install and will actually give users the option to decline. This came shortly after the company faced massive backlash from users complaining about the situation. 

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is a particularly bad move from uTorrent. Personally, I wouldn't trust the company again for some time following this. What do you guys think? Will this turn you away from uTorrent? 

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Bittorrent wants to distribute music, legally https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/bittorrent-wants-to-distribute-music-legally/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/bittorrent-wants-to-distribute-music-legally/#respond Wed, 01 Oct 2014 08:50:57 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=214600 Bittorrent Inc, the company behind the uTorrent client and some of the Bittorrent Bundles of the past couple of years, recently released Radiohead singer Thom Yorke's latest solo album through a paywall protected torrent, in an effort to show that peer to peer networking can be used as a legitimate distribution platform. The release went …

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Bittorrent Inc, the company behind the uTorrent client and some of the Bittorrent Bundles of the past couple of years, recently released Radiohead singer Thom Yorke's latest solo album through a paywall protected torrent, in an effort to show that peer to peer networking can be used as a legitimate distribution platform. The release went so well, that Bittorrent Inc. is now hoping to receive approval from the RIAA to become an official music sales platform and thereby contribute to chart sales numbers and industry awards.

The album, titled Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, has “sold” over 700,000 times in just a few days. That does include free downloads of the few sample songs, as well as the full album purchases though. If even 10 per cent of “buyers,” spent the $6 required to download the full eight tracks, Yorke hasn't exactly done poorly.

bittorrentbundle2

Bittorrent Inc. knows how many were actually sold, but apparently Yorke has requested it keep quiet about it for now. What it isn't staying hush over though, is what it has planned for the future.

“Our vision is absolutely that Bundles will count toward all the usual industry accolades and charts. Again, it will be up to the publisher of the specific Bundle. But the numbers certainly merit the recognition,” Bittorrent's Christian Averill told TorrentFreak.

The RIAA, for all of its faults, was more than willing to accept this too. In a statement it said that as long as music sales are properly reported to record labels and involve a customer paying for the content through a subscription, single payment or advertising “payment,” then the RIAA was willing to count it.

For full RIAA certification though, Bittorrent Inc. will need to be audited, which is something few would expect Bittorrent Inc. to push for, but if it wants to be considered a legitimate platform for music sales, it will need to bite the bullet.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Do you guys think Bittorrent Inc. will be happy for its affairs to be looked over? Or will it steer clear of that for now in-case it is accused of having benefited financially from piracy?

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Utorrent backs off of mandatory adverts https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/utorrent-backs-off-of-mandatory-adverts/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/jon-martindale/utorrent-backs-off-of-mandatory-adverts/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2014 08:15:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=200694 uTorrent maker BitTorrent Inc. was hit with a lot of flak last week for introducing mandatory adverts into its once upon a time, lightweight torrent sharing client, Utorrent. Over the weekend however, it dropped that idea and returned the service to optional advertisements. The advert in question is a small banner MPU that sits in …

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uTorrent maker BitTorrent Inc. was hit with a lot of flak last week for introducing mandatory adverts into its once upon a time, lightweight torrent sharing client, Utorrent. Over the weekend however, it dropped that idea and returned the service to optional advertisements.

The advert in question is a small banner MPU that sits in the bottom left of the client. Previously BitTorrent Inc. had allowed for its removal in the options and a secondary feature in the client's advanced settings. However in a recent update it took out both of those tick boxes, leaving fans of the software annoyed.

While Bittorrent Inc. hasn't commented on its latest of rollbacks, it did add the following note to its most recent version changelog: “Added back: Feature gui_plus_upsell in advanced settings”. As TorrentFreak points out, this re-adds the option to turn the advert box off in the advanced options menu, which is quite difficult to find – or at least it will likely be for a large number of the 150 million some users of the service.

utorrentplus
This may have been an attempt to drive users to the paid-for uTorrent Plus software

Many users of the service of course won't have come across this most recent problem/fallout, as uTorrent was once a much more lightweight client (it's still hardly bloated, but it's certainly bigger than it once was) which has prompted many users to continue using much older versions.

BitTorrent Inc. was unlikely to draw those people in to downloading the new client with its actions over the past couple of weeks and may have even driven some away, but uTorrent remains the most popular torrent client by a long way.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: We have a fair few downloaders reading KitGuru, what do you guys use for your torrenting? 

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uTorrent is generating a lot of ad impressions https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/utorrent-is-generating-a-lot-of-ad-impressions/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/utorrent-is-generating-a-lot-of-ad-impressions/#respond Tue, 21 May 2013 12:55:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=135405 When uTorrent‘s parent company, BitTorrent Inc. announced that it would be adding banner like adverts to its torrent client, there was some measure of outcry from users. Not that much though and it shows, as most haven't turned off the optional feature or used an older version. So much so in-fact, that it's already generating …

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When uTorrent‘s parent company, BitTorrent Inc. announced that it would be adding banner like adverts to its torrent client, there was some measure of outcry from users. Not that much though and it shows, as most haven't turned off the optional feature or used an older version. So much so in-fact, that it's already generating over five billion impressions a month. 

Most of these impressions come from the uTorrent client, the most popular one BitTorrent Inc. created, but there's more than a handful of impressions coming from the BitTorrent client as well. While these sorts of software aren't the most legitimate out there, the sheer number of impressions served dwarfs other advertising networks and could potentially rake in some big sponsors looking for a good deal.

ads
BitTorrent ads could see a big boost if a few respected names took the plunge

As it stands, most of the ones are pretty standard, shady looking ads. There's lots for PC speed up tools and Poker sites, the bargain basement of banner advertisers. Really though, some tech firms and PC hardware companies could get some great exposure there for I suspect, much less than other advertising outlets.

Ironically, media companies could do very well with ads within uTorrent too. How about you put your movie up online to download from a legitimate source – at a reasonable price and with little in the way of restrictive DRM – and then advertise it through uTorrent. Sure the piracy numbers would go up, but I guarantee the legal buys would too.

KitGuru Says: This is where movie studios could do so well if they would just accept that this sort of technology is here to stay. Use it as a tool, don't fight against it.

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CNET can keep its torrent client downloads, court rules https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/cnet-can-keep-its-torrent-client-downloads-court-rules/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/cnet-can-keep-its-torrent-client-downloads-court-rules/#respond Thu, 21 Feb 2013 11:38:34 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=125981 Last week we heard how a coalition of artists and one billionaire had targeted CNET's Download.com with legal action, hoping that the court would ban it from distributing the file sharing software uTorrent. However a court has now ruled that the site is more than within its right to continue doing so. Initially it was …

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Last week we heard how a coalition of artists and one billionaire had targeted CNET's Download.com with legal action, hoping that the court would ban it from distributing the file sharing software uTorrent. However a court has now ruled that the site is more than within its right to continue doing so.

Initially it was claimed by the coalition, that because CNET had reviewed the software and provided an instructional video on how to use it, that it was encouraging the use of the program. The court disagreed, with the judge saying that there was no indication of encouragement and that a ban on any distribution of the technology would dampen “public discussion of P2P technologies.”

The judge did admit that there was plenty of evidence to suggest that uTorrent and other P2P clients can be used to infringe copyright, “However, inducement of infringement requires more than just knowledge of actual or potential infringement. While there might be some evidence of past inducement of copyright infringement, there is no evidence of any ongoing distribution of any file sharing software ‘with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement’.”

TorrentFreak explains, that despite the argument by the coalition that past infringement had been made by those that downloaded the client, ultimately they needed to prove that future infringement would occur – which they cannot.

UTorrent
It remains online, for now

Any stifling of file sharing software, could potentially lead to less of a discussion on file sharing in the media, the judge suggested. Which is something he didn't want to allow.

“The Court has clearly recognized that none of our ongoing actions encourage or induce copyright infringement. Needless to say, we are very pleased with this resounding victory at this stage, and are fully confident we will similarly prevail on all remaining claims as well,” said CBS Interactive’s Rosabel Tao.

KitGuru Says: Good to hear this. It's unfair for the software creators to be found liable for what end users do with it – let alone the software distributors.

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Artists claim CNET responsible for all BitTorrent piracy https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/artists-claim-cnet-responsible-for-all-bittorrent-piracy/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/artists-claim-cnet-responsible-for-all-bittorrent-piracy/#comments Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:17:24 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=125368 A collection of artists and billionaire FilmOn founder Alki David, have accused CBS and CNET's run Download.com, as being responsible for most of the world's piracy, simply because it currently and has for a long time, offered torrent software for download. Of course that's like suggesting kitchen utensil sales companies like John Lewis are responsible for all …

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A collection of artists and billionaire FilmOn founder Alki David, have accused CBS and CNET's run Download.com, as being responsible for most of the world's piracy, simply because it currently and has for a long time, offered torrent software for download.

Of course that's like suggesting kitchen utensil sales companies like John Lewis are responsible for all stabbings, but lets not let logic get in the way of this story.

Over the past year, the collection of unnamed artists and David have achieved minor victories in court, with one judge suggesting that because Download.com provided software for distribution as well as reviewing it, you could argue that it is encouraging the use of such software.

The new claim by those gunning for CNET, is that because it encourages usage, it is responsible for all ensuing copyright infringement: “Because CBSI distributed several torrent software programs and encouraged infringement on torrent networks, CBSI is liable for all infringement on the torrent network,” the plaintiffs write (via TorrentFreak).

Utorrent
Even linking through to the creator's website can apparently make you liable

“The fact that other entities such as the torrent publisher or a torrent website like the Pirate Bay might be jointly and severally liable for this infringement does not affect CBSI’s inducement.”

One of CNET's counter claims since the start of this legal action has been that BitTorrent is also used to distribute unique content that is approved by the creator. According to the artists, this is irrelevant.

Now that the courts have heard both arguments, we're waiting on their decision to see where this case moves next. A loss for CNET could see the distribution of file sharing software be restricted to less public locations. On the other hand, if they win, it could make torrents a more legitimate way of distributing original content.

KitGuru Says: While CNET perhaps could have protected itself a bit better by not having a video demo that shows them downloading copyright protected content, it shouldn't be held responsible for what the users do. You can legally and morally restrict access to certain products for certain consumers if you wish, but don't blame the salesman for what the purchaser does with it after it's decided they're able to use it. That's out of everyone's control. The idea that a downloader is influenced by CNET's portrayal of the software is an insult to the consumer as well.

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Demonoid domains for sale, uTorrent going ad supported https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/demonoid-domains-for-sale-utorrent-going-ad-supported/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/demonoid-domains-for-sale-utorrent-going-ad-supported/#comments Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:35:58 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=103977 Lots of torrent news over the weekend for those downloading, legitimately and not. First up, Demonoid's domain names have now been listed for sale. The site has been down for some  time, with some fans of the popular torrent search site suggesting that perhaps it was just a temporary outage; since that had happened before, in the history …

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Lots of torrent news over the weekend for those downloading, legitimately and not.

First up, Demonoid's domain names have now been listed for sale. The site has been down for some  time, with some fans of the popular torrent search site suggesting that perhaps it was just a temporary outage; since that had happened before, in the history of the site. However, a few days later with an official announcement from the IFPI, it became clear that Demonoid would not be making a triumphant return. Now the final nails can be heard being hammered into the site's coffin, as all the domain names (Demonoid.me, Demonoid.com and Demonoid.ph) can now be found for sale on Sedo, a popular domain sales site.

KitGuru Says: With the announcement from the IFPI that along with the site takedown, a criminal investigation was ongoing in Mexico where it is believed the site's administrators reside, this could be an attempt to build some capital in order to mount a legal defence. It could also give them a chance to ride off into the sunset with a fat purse to accompany them.

Torrent News
The death of two torrent big shots, or just one?

The other big torrent story over the weekend was that the world's most popular BitTorrent client, uTorrent, would begin supporting adverts. With over 125 million active users, the owners of the application, BitTorrent Inc. are expected to make a serious amount of money – despite the impending public backlash from fans of the once minimalist software.

Adverts will be displayed from within the client itself, making it difficult for anyone that uses it to avoid them. Some of it will come in the form of sponsored torrents, which users will have to individually click away from in order to remove. These will highlight content from advertisers, which BitTorrent Inc. has described (via TorrentFreak) as “films, games, music, software” and more, suggesting the company is looking to target a wide range of advertisers. That aspect of this at least makes sense, since the popular client is often used to download such mediums – though not necessarily always on the right side of the law.

To date, most of the company's revenue has come from people using the toolbar that comes bundled with the torrent client.

KitGuru Says: While most of the feedback on this story from users has been negative, this does have the potential to legitemise torrents that bit more. Sure it doesn't go as far as The Promo Bay, but it could mean media companies begin injecting money into the torrent industry, not necessarily a bad thing for press and for its future as a platform.

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