<s>
μTorrent	B-Application
,	O
or	O
uTorrent	B-Application
(	O
see	O
pronunciation	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
adware	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
owned	O
and	O
developed	O
by	O
Rainberry	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
μ	O
"	O
(	O
Greek	O
letter	O
"	O
mu	O
"	O
)	O
in	O
its	O
name	O
comes	O
from	O
the	O
SI	O
prefix	O
"	O
micro-	O
"	O
,	O
referring	O
to	O
the	O
program	O
's	O
small	O
memory	O
footprint	O
:	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
use	O
minimal	O
computer	O
resources	O
while	O
offering	O
functionality	O
comparable	O
to	O
larger	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
clients	O
such	O
as	O
Vuze	B-Application
or	O
BitComet	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
μTorrent	B-Application
became	O
controversial	O
in	O
2015	O
when	O
many	O
users	O
unknowingly	O
accepted	O
a	O
default	O
option	O
during	O
installation	O
which	O
also	O
installed	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
miner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Ludvig	O
Strigeus	O
,	O
since	O
December	O
7	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
the	O
code	O
is	O
owned	O
and	O
maintained	O
by	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
employed	O
by	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
for	O
version	O
6.0	O
and	O
above	O
of	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
re-branded	O
version	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
versions	O
are	O
written	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	O
of	O
general	O
discontent	O
with	O
bloatware	O
,	O
Serge	O
Paquet	O
suggested	O
to	O
Ludvig	O
Strigeus	O
that	O
he	O
should	O
make	O
a	O
smaller	O
and	O
more	O
efficient	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
initially	O
working	O
on	O
it	O
for	O
about	O
a	O
month	O
during	O
the	O
last	O
quarter	O
of	O
2004	O
(	O
the	O
first	O
build	O
is	O
dated	O
October	O
17	O
,	O
2004	O
)	O
,	O
mostly	O
during	O
his	O
free	O
time	O
before	O
and	O
after	O
work	O
,	O
Strigeus	O
ceased	O
coding	O
μTorrent	B-Application
for	O
a	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
resumed	O
work	O
on	O
September	O
15	O
,	O
2005	O
,	O
and	O
three	O
days	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
public	O
release	O
(	O
version	O
1.1	O
beta	O
)	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
as	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
and	O
began	O
generating	O
feedback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PeerFactor	O
SARL	O
is	O
a	O
relatively	O
new	O
company	O
formed	O
by	O
former	O
employees	O
of	O
PeerFactor	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
a	O
subsidiary	O
of	O
the	O
French	O
anti-piracy	O
organization	O
Retspan	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ludde	O
stated	O
that	O
his	O
coding	O
for	O
PeerFactor	O
SARL	O
was	O
to	O
use	O
his	O
expertise	O
at	O
optimization	O
of	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
to	O
create	O
a	O
.dll	O
which	O
PeerFactor	O
SARL	O
intended	O
to	O
use	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
distribution	O
platform	O
for	O
files	O
in	O
a	O
corporate	O
setting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
there	O
was	O
some	O
speculation	O
that	O
μTorrent	B-Application
may	O
have	O
been	O
modified	O
to	O
spy	O
on	O
users	O
on	O
Peerfactor	O
's	O
behalf	O
,	O
however	O
to	O
date	O
(	O
even	O
following	O
μTorrent	B-Application
's	O
acquisition	O
by	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
)	O
no	O
evidence	O
has	O
been	O
produced	O
to	O
support	O
these	O
allegations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
December	O
7	O
,	O
2006	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
was	O
purchased	O
by	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
18	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
6.0	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
previous	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
had	O
been	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
with	O
version	O
6	O
it	O
became	O
proprietary	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
founder	O
Bram	O
Cohen	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
next	O
version	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
would	O
be	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
based	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
μTorrent	B-Application
version	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
stream	O
torrents	B-Protocol
from	O
the	O
default	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
regular	O
streaming	O
site	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Features	O
present	O
in	O
μTorrent	B-Application
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Magnet	B-Protocol
Links	I-Protocol
(	O
URIs	O
)	O
,	O
added	O
in	O
version	O
1.8	O
,	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
9	O
,	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Peer	O
exchange	O
(	O
PEX	O
)	O
with	O
other	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
clients	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Localized	B-General_Concept
for	O
67	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Embedded	B-Protocol
Tracker	I-Protocol
:	O
a	O
simple	O
tracker	B-Protocol
designed	O
for	O
seeding	O
torrents	B-Protocol
,	O
lacking	O
a	O
web	O
interface	O
or	O
list	O
of	O
hosted	O
torrents	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
"	O
easter	O
eggs	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
About	O
subsection	O
of	O
Help	O
:	O
clicking	O
the	O
μTorrent	B-Application
logo	O
plays	O
a	O
Deep	O
Note-like	O
sound	O
effect	O
,	O
and	O
typing	O
the	O
letter	O
"	O
t	O
"	O
starts	O
a	O
Tetris-like	O
game	O
called	O
μTris	O
,	O
which	O
in	O
2008	O
was	O
selected	O
as	O
#1	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
Top	O
10	O
Software	O
Easter	O
Eggs	O
"	O
by	O
LifeHacker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
encryption	O
of	O
all	O
traffic	O
to	O
bypass	O
torrent	B-Protocol
blocking	O
on	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
μTorrent	B-Application
is	O
shipped	O
as	O
a	O
single	O
stand-alone	O
compressed	B-Application
executable	I-Application
file	I-Application
,	O
installed	O
at	O
first	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Small	O
executable	O
size	O
is	O
achieved	O
by	O
avoiding	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
many	O
libraries	B-Library
,	O
notably	O
the	O
C++	B-Language
standard	O
library	O
and	O
stream	O
facilities	O
,	O
and	O
creating	O
substitutes	O
written	O
specifically	O
for	O
the	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
executable	O
is	O
then	O
compressed	O
to	O
roughly	O
half	O
of	O
its	O
compiled	O
and	O
linked	O
size	O
using	O
UPX	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
μTorrent	B-Application
is	O
available	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
μTorrent	B-Application
Server	O
is	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
test	O
version	O
for	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
running	O
on	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
Leopard	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
27	O
November	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
2	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
the	O
native	O
Linux	B-Application
version	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
Server	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Firon	O
,	O
an	O
administrator	O
of	O
the	O
μTorrent	B-Application
community	O
forum	O
,	O
said	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
been	O
working	O
on	O
this	O
project	O
for	O
a	O
few	O
months	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
release	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
requested	O
feature	O
for	O
some	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
release	O
is	O
intended	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
are	O
seeking	O
a	O
fast	O
command-line	B-Application
interface	I-Application
based	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
with	O
a	O
remote	O
web-based	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
mentioned	O
that	O
a	O
full	O
featured	O
client	O
with	O
a	O
GUI	B-Application
is	O
a	O
work	O
in	O
progress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2020	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
server	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
suppports	O
Debian	O
6.0	O
or	O
later	O
and	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
12	O
or	O
later	O
,	O
with	O
both	O
32-bit	O
&	O
64-bit	O
options	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
1	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
users	O
who	O
upgrade	O
to	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
Catalina	I-Device
will	O
be	O
upgraded	O
to	O
μTorrent	B-Application
web	O
automatically	O
,	O
since	O
that	O
version	O
of	O
MacOS	B-Application
(	O
and	O
subsequent	O
releases	O
)	O
supports	O
64-bit	O
applications	O
only	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
supports	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
or	O
later	O
,	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	I-Device
X	I-Device
Snow	I-Device
Leopard	I-Device
or	O
later	O
and	O
Android	B-Application
5.0	O
or	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
versions	O
,	O
Strigeus	O
had	O
built	O
in	O
a	O
web	O
redirection	O
via	O
nanotorrent	O
for	O
search	O
queries	O
entered	O
through	O
the	O
search	O
bar	O
that	O
displayed	O
advertisements	O
in	O
a	O
frame	O
on	O
the	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
users	O
thought	O
this	O
suspicious	O
because	O
tracking	O
could	O
be	O
implemented	O
by	O
recording	O
the	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
of	O
those	O
downloading/receiving	O
the	O
advertisements	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
search	O
functionality	O
could	O
easily	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
track	O
user	O
queries	O
through	O
whichever	O
web-interface	O
the	O
client	O
is	O
going	O
through	O
to	O
execute	O
the	O
search	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
later	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
has	O
,	O
instead	O
of	O
ads	O
,	O
a	O
"	O
search	O
all	O
sites	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
keyword-based	O
search	O
bar	O
that	O
delivers	O
listings	O
of	O
torrent	B-Protocol
files	O
at	O
different	O
trackers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
frame	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
displays	O
advertisements	O
(	O
server-side	O
)	O
in	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
when	O
the	O
search	O
function	O
is	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
version	O
1.8.2	O
,	O
the	O
μTorrent	B-Application
installer	O
gives	O
the	O
user	O
the	O
option	O
to	O
download	O
and	O
install	O
the	O
Ask.com	O
toolbar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2010	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
replaced	O
with	O
the	O
Conduit	B-Application
Engine	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
generates	O
revenue	O
through	O
in-content	O
advertisements	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
free	O
version	O
for	O
windows	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
pro	O
"	O
version	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
available	O
in	O
3	O
bundles	O
(	O
available	O
for	O
both	O
classic	O
&	O
web	B-Application
client	I-Application
for	O
windows	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
2010	O
,	O
some	O
controversy	O
arose	O
with	O
a	O
release	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
which	O
included	O
adware	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
Conduit	B-Application
Engine	I-Application
,	O
which	O
installed	O
a	O
toolbar	O
,	O
and	O
made	O
homepage	O
and	O
default	O
search	O
engine	O
changes	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
bundled	O
the	O
Bing	O
Toolbar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
15	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
announced	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
offer	O
a	O
paid	O
version	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
called	O
"	O
μTorrent	B-Application
Plus	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
6	O
October	O
2011	O
,	O
the	O
Pre-alpha	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
Plus	O
was	O
released	O
to	O
an	O
invitation	O
only	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2012	O
,	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
announced	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
advertising	O
in	O
the	O
free	O
version	O
of	O
µTorrent	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
individually	O
dismissed	O
by	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user-created	O
tool	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Pimp	O
My	O
µTorrent	O
"	O
was	O
also	O
created	O
to	O
simplify	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
disabling	O
ads	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
µTorrent	O
version	O
3.2.2	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
also	O
contains	O
in-content	O
advertisements	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
Featured	O
Torrent	B-Protocol
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2015	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
alleged	O
that	O
μTorrent	B-Application
had	O
automatically	O
installed	O
a	O
program	O
known	O
as	O
Epic	O
Scale	O
:	O
a	O
program	O
classified	O
as	O
"	O
riskware	B-Application
"	O
by	O
some	O
security	O
programs	O
,	O
which	O
mines	O
the	O
cryptocurrency	O
Litecoin	B-Protocol
in	O
the	O
background	O
for	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
(	O
allegedly	O
giving	O
a	O
portion	O
to	O
charity	O
)	O
,	O
utilizing	O
CPU	B-Device
and	O
GPU	B-Architecture
power	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
μTorrent	B-Application
developer	O
disputed	O
the	O
claim	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
automatically	O
installed	O
,	O
and	O
claimed	O
that	O
as	O
with	O
all	O
other	O
"	O
partner	O
"	O
programs	O
bundled	O
with	O
the	O
software	O
,	O
users	O
could	O
decline	O
the	O
installation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Russian	O
and	O
Ukrainian	O
users	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
are	O
being	O
tricked	O
into	O
installing	O
Yandex	B-Language
Browser	I-Language
and	O
other	O
Yandex-produced	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
admin	O
on	O
the	O
μTorrent	B-Application
forums	O
wrote	O
in	O
2005	O
,	O
"	O
I	O
do	O
n't	O
really	O
know	O
how	O
it	O
's	O
pronounced	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
I	O
...	O
usually	O
say	O
'	O
you	B-Application
torrent	I-Application
 '	O
because	O
it	O
looks	O
like	O
a	O
u	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
stating	O
they	O
were	O
not	O
sure	O
,	O
they	O
also	O
mentioned	O
the	O
correct	O
pronunciations	O
for	O
"	O
μTorrent	B-Application
"	O
"	O
microtorrent	B-Application
"	O
,	O
"	O
mytorrent	O
"	O
(	O
as	O
"	O
my	O
"	O
is	O
the	O
Swedish	O
pronunciation	O
of	O
the	O
Greek	O
letter	O
μ	O
)	O
and	O
"	O
mutorrent	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
used	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
called	O
'	O
me	O
torrent	B-Protocol
 '	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
letter	O
μ	O
of	O
the	O
Greek	O
Alphabet	O
is	O
pronounced	O
 [ mi ] 	O
in	O
modern	O
Greek	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Original	O
development	O
was	O
performed	O
by	O
Ludvig	O
Strigeus	O
(	O
"	O
ludde	O
"	O
,	O
from	O
Sweden	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
creator	O
of	O
μTorrent	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Serge	O
Paquet	O
(	O
"	O
vurlix	O
"	O
,	O
from	O
Canada	O
)	O
acted	O
as	O
release	O
coordinator	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
intended	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
macOS	B-Application
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
maintained	O
the	O
μTorrent	B-Application
website	O
and	O
forum	O
up	O
until	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2005	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
affiliated	O
with	O
μTorrent	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
purchase	O
in	O
2006	O
,	O
development	O
has	O
been	O
performed	O
by	O
various	O
employees	O
of	O
Bittorrent	B-Protocol
Inc	O
.	O
Strigeus	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
affiliated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
μTorrent	B-Application
has	O
been	O
praised	O
for	O
its	O
small	O
size	O
and	O
minimal	O
computer	O
resources	O
used	O
,	O
which	O
set	O
it	O
apart	O
from	O
other	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
website	O
TorrentFreak.com	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
feature	O
rich	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
available	O
,	O
later	O
summarizing	O
a	O
2009	O
University	O
of	O
California	O
,	O
Riverside	O
study	O
which	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
μTorrent	B-Application
Download	O
Speeds	O
Beat	O
Vuze	B-Application
By	O
16%	O
"	O
on	O
average	O
and	O
"	O
on	O
10%	O
of	O
[	O
the	O
30	O
most	O
used ]	O
ISPs	O
,	O
μTorrent	B-Application
users	O
were	O
downloading	O
30%	O
faster	O
than	O
Vuze	B-Application
users	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
About.com	O
said	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
best	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
available	O
,	O
citing	O
its	O
small	O
size	O
and	O
"	O
minimal	O
impact	O
to	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
your	O
computer	O
's	O
speed.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Lifehacker.com	O
rated	O
it	O
the	O
best	O
BitTorrent	B-Protocol
client	I-Protocol
available	O
(	O
Windows	O
)	O
in	O
2008	O
,	O
2011	O
(	O
Windows	O
and	O
Mac	O
)	O
and	O
a	O
follow-up	O
user	O
poll	O
rated	O
it	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
torrent	B-Protocol
client	O
in	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
study	O
by	O
Arbor	O
Networks	O
,	O
the	O
2008	O
adoption	O
of	O
IPv6	B-Protocol
by	O
μTorrent	B-Application
caused	O
a	O
15-fold	O
increase	O
in	O
IPv6	B-Protocol
traffic	O
across	O
the	O
Internet	O
over	O
a	O
ten-month	O
period	O
.	O
</s>
