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By +Frank B.
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Grand Master

+Frank B. Subscriber²

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New version of uTorrent getting advertisements in the form of 'featured' torrents

uTorrent has long been ad-supported software ? how else would BitTorrent, Inc. pay its bills ? but until now that has been in the form of a sponsored toolbar offered during the installation process. The latest version of the free BitTorrent client is going to get advertisements that are a bit more abrasive, however: an upcoming version of the application will include a banner ad just below the main navigation toolbar. The news was revealed in an official forum post, which states that the advertisement space will be used to highlight "featured torrents" for films, games, music, software, and more.

Of course, all of the material advertised will be legal torrents that have been authorized (and paid for) by content creators. The space will also be used to highlight new offerings from BitTorrent, like updated features, new software, and other news.

An anonymous source "close to the company" informed TorrentFreak that BitTorrent, Inc. had $15 to $20 million in revenue last year ? some part of which is undoubtedly accounted for by its $24.95 uTorrent Plus software. Owners of the premium version of the client will not be subjected to the new ads. The new revenue stream will likely win the company few fans, and it admits that "we may not get it right on the first try but we will continue to improve our efforts based on your feedback."

Source: The Verge

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Veteran

jasondefaoite

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This update includes improvements and changes that we think you are going to like
Comedy gold.

utorrent is going downhill... I understand they need revenue for development... I wouldn't mind donating

Don't think it is needed.

From TorrentFreak...

However, a person close to the company told TorrentFreak that even without the uTorrent ads the company is doing very well. Current annual revenue is estimated at somewhere between $15 and $20 million and the company is backed by millions in venture capital.

With ?sponsored torrents? BitTorrent Inc could possibly bring in millions of added revenue and grow even further.

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Grand Master

+InsaneNutter MVC

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Still on version 2.0.4, the last version before the GUI went down hill, its also patched against the DLL exploit.

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Grand Master

Steven P. Administrators

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Still on version 2.0.4, the last version before the GUI went down hill, its also patched against the DLL exploit.

I'm on 2.0 (stable) what is this DLL exploit you speak of? :p

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Grand Master

Vice

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I'm on 2.0 (stable) what is this DLL exploit you speak of? :p

You're running a very very old version of uTorrent. Almost 3 years old. You can imagine that a lot of bugs have been discovered in the old version that are now fixed. Things like malformed .torrent files being able to take over your computer by having uTorrent execute arbitrary code etc

It's always risky running outdated software especially things that interface directly with the internet and continually receive files from unknown sources. I can understand your reluctance to upgrade due to the interface changes to uTorrent 3.0 and what a lot of users consider unnecessary features but really for security people should be keeping up to date or switch to a different client.

  • Glassed Silver and Steven P.
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Grand Master

articuno1au

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There as a glitch that allowed for the loading of DLLs by uTorrent that weren't originally included in the install.

It's definitely something you want to upgrade to avoid.

I stopped using uTorrent when I got sabNZBD.

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Grand Master

Copernic Reporter

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I wouldn't worry too much. Anyone remembers Kazaa Lite, Imesh Light, or Blubster Lite? I can't wait to see someone release the ''?torrent banner remover 1.0'' or ''?torrent Lite'' . If not Tixati looks and works great.

gjeRT.jpg

uTorrent DLL Hijacking Exploit

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Grand Master

Osiris

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Does 2.04 have the patch included? Im a pretty old version myself (with downloading apps once they are working I usually don't touch em).

I dislike change, I dont want to spend ages researching a good replacement. Hopefully the patched 2.x version ad free will keep me p2ping for a long while yet,

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Grand Master

rageagainstmachine

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handnt even given anyone of thie consideration in the past, but always opted to not install the toolbars etc. so im currently running 3.1.3 is it recommended that i downgrade to 2.0.4?

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Grand Master

+InsaneNutter MVC

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Does 2.04 have the patch included? Im a pretty old version myself (with downloading apps once they are working I usually don't touch em)

Yup:

There is a DLL vulnerability in all versions of Windows affecting a great deal of software applications. Subsequently attack code targeting the uTorrent client surfaced on a third-party website, and while so far no attacks have been reported to us, we have released uTorrent 2.0.4 to fix this vulnerability,? uTorrent Community Manager ?Firon? explained.

Source

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Rising Star

The King of GnG

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I'm looking forward to get my next alternative BitTorrent client.

P.S.Tixati's interface reminds me of WinMX, in a way....

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