Top 5 uTorrent Tips From BitTorrent Inc.

enigmax
September 29, 2012
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When it comes to BitTorrent clients, uTorrent is the most popular one around. Tips and tricks are always welcome and today we have a selection straight from the guys at BitTorrent Inc., including an exclusive peek at a new money saving feature set to appear in uTorrent Android.

With around 150 million active users each month, uTorrent is by far the most used BitTorrent client in the West. But, despite finding the client incredibly useful, millions of users only use uTorrent’s most basic features.

To remedy this situation somewhat, today we hand you over for a short session with the guys at BitTorrent Inc. who have put together five interesting tips for better torrenting.

Bandwidth Cap

This hidden gem automatically stops µTorrent once it has used a specified amount of bandwidth. This feature is popular with users whose ISPs severely limit bandwidth. Used with the Scheduler function, users can customize µTorrent to operate within the metering and peak/off-peak constraints of their ISP.

Send to Friend

This little-known feature in µTorrent allows you to share files directly from your desktop to your friends. Simply drag and drop a file or folder into the client, you will receive a link to the file which your friends can use to download it from you.
Drag and Drop the file/folder to uTorrent > Get the link > Send link to friend > Friend downloads the file.

Boss Mode

A quick key that instantly hides all visible traces of the client from anyone peeking over your shoulder. As a bonus feature, it can be set with a password so that nosy siblings or coworkers can’t reveal the client on their own.

Labels

Labels are an easy way to organize your torrents, much like folders. It’s a simple tag name that you can give a torrent, which then puts the label in the sidebar for easy access. Multiple torrents can all share the same label, so you can sort things into say, “music”, “books”, “featured content”.

To use them, right click on the torrent and mouse over “Labels”. The rest is self-explanatory. You can even drag and drop torrents into labels once they’re created.

µTorrent Android: WiFi only mode (Coming soon)

You guys asked for it, so in the coming weeks we’re releasing it. With the new WiFi mode in µTorrent Android you will now be able to opt to download and seed only while on WiFi, which means you never have to worry about data limitations on your phone again.

Do you have a good uTorrent tip that you want to share? Please do so in the comments below.

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yello

HERES my own TIP to Utorrent:

1) loose the bloated crap and go back to the stable versions like 2.0 and 2.2.1

that is all….
- Eu
  
  uTorrent is downhill
  version 2.21 is the most stable so far
  - http://twitter.com/MarkKaKa1 MarkKaKa
    
    Debbie implied I didn’t know that anyone able to profit $9195 in a few weeks on the network. did you look at this(Click on menu Home)
  - http://twitter.com/MarkKaKa1 MarkKaKa
    
    like…@673148f984107238fd0ce322b7224f93:disqus ,
    goo.gl/7XWdR
  - JordanKratz
    
    That is a good Version.Used it for years.I am using the newest Version now with Bloat turned off so it Works good for me.New Version is not Crashing or Buggy on my Machine.
    Using 3.2 now
- 45King
  
  Donwload here: http://www.oldapps.com/utorrent.php?old_utorrent=8134
- djnforce9
  
  Fortunately you can still hide most of the bloat including their ad for uTorrent Plus. However, if they take this a step further and start displaying banners/ads on the top unless you buy their plus version, then they’ve REALLY crossed the line. For now, I just go in the options and trim out the bloat to get the clean looking client we know and love.
  - http://profiles.google.com/zerianis10 Christopher Kidwell
    
    Why would they have ‘crossed the line’? Many times, these people’s entire job is making the uTorrent or X program. Why shouldn’t they put ads in the free version so that they can get some much needed dollars?
    
    As long as the ads are not obtrusive, I don’t have a problem with them.
    - tired of trolls
      
      have u tried the newest releases?go d/l the new one and see how intrusive it is.why are u commenting if you haven t even tried it and don t fucking know?
    - http://profiles.google.com/orfetheo Orfeas Theofanis
      
      @7e0f36393ec6460cf05265a126773b7b:disqus I have the latest release and I’m happy with it, no problems at all.
      Why are you commenting if you don’t have a fucking clue?
    - TheOiulkj
      
      Orfeas Theofanis How are you posting from within your sheep stable?
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CH76QIKXYIFA2FZ2DXC6NUZ24A Andrei
      
      @TheOiulkj … who’s the sheep? OMFG uTorrent is so bloated!!! There’s an entire little square in the bottom-left corner with a link to uTorrent Plus, OMFG, how dare they! I’m too lazy to deactivate the add or the icons on tabs … why the hell don’t these people give me a client I don’t have have to configure (and chew my food while they’re at it?)
  - Indignation2013
    
    And how is the weather today up on your pink and fluffy heartshaped “sharing is caring” cloud ?
    
    “Somebody stop those EVIL people who try to cross the line in order to make a living”.
    
    LOL :D
    - Audiotone
      
      Lol I didn’t even realize that ad was there till you pointed it out.
- http://torrentfreak.com/ Rob8urcakes
  
  Yep v2.2.1 rocks and I’ve tried later versions much to my chagrin :(
  
  After that it’s as if the dev’s went on a mix of coke, speed, hash and booze ffs – without any sex to level them out!!!
  - http://profiles.google.com/zerianis10 Christopher Kidwell
    
    I doubt that. I’m using uTorrent’s latest version right now, and it works better than those older versions and is JUST AS FAST, if not faster, than those older versions.
    - Davecrawford606
      
      wrong
- No1_2_u
  
  & I would add: Start listening to our concerns about privacy & do somethnig about it.
  
  If you are online absolute privacy is impossible; but, utorrent could make it really damn expensive for anybody to track us; if it becomes insanely expensive & overly complicated to track us, then the MAFIAA, & the US Gov, will have to give up.
  
  VPNs & Seedboxes will gladly hand over your info, once they have a gun to their heads; anybody who thinks otherwise is delusional.
  - Paul Barwick
    
    Use a VPN provider who doesn’t keep logs. The folks here on TorrentFreak did a great article a while back which listed which ones do and which ones don’t keep logs. The provider that I had been using didn’t bother to respond to TF’s inquiry so I changed to a provider which didn’t keep in logs at all in their servers located outside the USA. The law requires all servers inside the country keep logs.
    - EricPost
      
      What companies say, and what they do, don’t often jive
- Guest
  
  I’m still using 1.8.5
  
  …what?
  - ginger
    
    yep 1.8. was my first use of utorrent. i now like 2.0 and 2.2.1. they say the oldies are full of holes and buggy. i say they are full of sh8t
  - Leo Salat
    
    1.8.2 here. No reason to upgrade for me
- ScrewEwe2
  
  I’m still using µTorrent 2.0.1. build 19078 after having tried later versions. New isn’t always better. Having tried MS Office 2010 for a while, I went back to MS Office 2007.
  - gingernuts
    
    agreed….but you must be really old to know 2007 office? and i am not trolling, it was just an observation
    - ScrewEwe2
      
      I remember way back in ancient times we used to use Office ’95 and walked uphill 10 miles to school in the snow with bare feet, and that’s the way we liked it. Office 2007 takes a millisecond to do a registry hack to pass Microsofts Genuine Advantage software bullshit, whereas Office 2010 is a pain in the ass to crack with any exploits I’ve run across.
    - Qjo
      
      @ScrewEwe2:disqus
      You win on the Office ’95 front. I started out with Office XP (2001), but I got ya’ beat on the barefoot school walk. We had to do it uphill in both directions!
    - PHEONIX747180
      
      im running office 2010 institutional copy no problem
- me
  
  soooooo true. 2.2.1 forever.
- SeaSky
  
  2.2.1 is the best !
- Jambi
  
  Loose????
- Bolt473
  
  Deluge or Transmission.
  
  That is all.
- jthenerd
  
  That is why you use the mac version, no bloat ware:)
Nemo

Cool. Didn’t know about send to friend.
Beth

The bandwidth cap is a fantastic idea :D
http://twitter.com/K1rkpad Dylan Kirkpatrick

Boss key and labels are both things I had no idea about! Very nice.
Ankur

you can play tetris game by following the instructions:
Open uTorrent client –> Go to Help Section –> About uTorrent –> Press t
Enjoy!
- Guest
  
  Bloat
  - Niko Bellic
    
    I think your head is full of bloat, too.
Qjo

Boss key?!?

I don’t understand. Who on Earth would want to hide their torrenting activity?
- Guest
  
  People who do not want to let others know that they are downloading
  - Qjo
    
    It’s cool to watch the jokes just bead up and roll off of some people. Kind of like water off a duck.
    
    Tell me, is that a standard built-in feature of yours, or did you have to pay extra for it?
- Johnsmith100
  
  the porn
problem

Send to Friend ? that don’t work on my utorrent 1.7.6 ? load of bull
lattari

Here’s my tip:

- Uninstall uTorrent to avoid dealing with annoying bugs that multiply with every update.

- Choose another client, like qBittorrent or Deluge, and enjoy filesharing.
- http://profiles.google.com/orfetheo Orfeas Theofanis
  
  Freaking hipsters…
  I don’t get people who keep flaming utorrent, others keep flaming the pirate bay, say it’s crap etc.
  
  I’m exclusively using TPB/Utorrent, and I find everything I want and I have no problems at all.
  
  Stop confusing people with your crap!
  - lattari
    
    LOL, are you being sarcastic? I like tpb too, but utorrent is the one who’s being confusing.
  - Davecrawford606
    
    hipsters?maybe yr a hipster if yr mainstream music taste allows u find everything on pirate bay. that is not reality for some of us who don t enjoy rhianna or dubstep.tpb is a good general tracker but that s it.
    - Roman Bellic
      
      ur hav a fckin nce accen boi.
      
      So, can you write proper English or what?
  - Indignation2013
    
    HELP, I AM BEING CONFUSED !!!
    
    Oh noes D:
- Guest
  
  You say to avoid bugs by using qB or Deluge?
  
  Hahaha.
  
  Deluge broke 1/4 of everything I downloaded. Showed up as 100% finished but they weren’t.
  
  qB wouldn’t even load many of mine torrents throughout multiple version. In the end it’s just a uTorrent knockoff.
  
  No matter how many people say uTorrent is “bloated”, it’s still faster (download speed and operating wise) than the other clients I’ve tried.
http://www.facebook.com/ken.smithers.524 Ken Smithers

send to friend is super cool. Thanks!
Shogunreaper

That bosskey thing is useless when you can just kill the process and restart it without it lol.
- Davecrawford606
  
  so u can kill the app so it s not downloading and turn it back on while the boss isn t looking?it is useful cuz it continues to run and d/l the file without the icon on the screen.what if yr boss walks up behind u and sees utorrent running?explain that, genius.
  - Shogunreaper
    
    wouldn’t minimizing it do the exact same thing?
    - Techanon
      
      boss key basically does just that (minimizing to tray), it’s for people who’re faster hitting a key in the keyboard than minimizing the app with the mouse.
    - Mlongbsa
      
      I am going to point out the most obvious that very few people have touched on as I’ve scanned through the comments. I tried boss key feature. First, once the key/key’ is/are depressed it removes all traces of the program running except in task manager. Second, additional security may be added such as a password just to see exactly what was being downloaded on that account once you unlock boss mode with your key/s design. Kinda cool but not needed.
ayman

If you are talking about deluge i would share ton of USEFUL tips, not crummy ones that only kids are interested in!
Pingback: In the News.. | TorGuard.net Blog - Anonymous VPN Services
Dawwg

Worst 5 uTorrent Tips ever … EVER !
- http://twitter.com/laibacute laibacute
  
  yes ! you right ..
http://twitter.com/krozareq krozareq

They forgot the features that allow you to LIKE your torrent files on Facebook and the 1200 emoticons you can append next to your peer IP. Mine has a skateboarder with a =/ face!

uTorrent is totally mine and totally AWESOME!
- Heisenberg7
  
  Use a torrent program to download another torrent program? That’s like typing Google INTO Google. The results could be catastrophic.
  - http://twitter.com/krozareq krozareq
    
    It’s TORRENCEPTION! The Universe will collapse and n will divide by zero. =O
Michael Greenberg

Meh, I like qBittorent.
http://bit.ly/bEIxXs
No ads at all, cross platform.
Give it a try!
- Gular
  
  Totally agreed, been using qBittorrent for the last 2 months, and it is rock solid, and almost the same feature set as uTorrent, some being implemented much better.
  - 7th_Guest
    
    Hey guys, if it’s not too much trouble, could you quickly go over the (more important) feature differences between the latest qBt vers vs., say, some 2.x.x version of uT for those of us wondering if it’s worth switching over? TIA.
Utorrentsucks

Top 5 uTorrent Tips ??
What misleading title ! i thought it would be about privacy or how to hide torrent activity from ISP or something like that !
USA many ISP have started monitoring and these BitTorrent noobs are advertising thier bloatware .
- Heisenberg7
  
  Tip #1: Get a VPN/Proxy.
Euler Souza

One interesting tip for utorrent is the “Hidden” label, you make a label called Hidden and when you apply it to a torrent, it gets hidden from the main list =) rly cool to keep seeding torrents without having to see it on the main list
Roswell1701

NEXT ARTICLE:

Kim Dotcom’s 5 Easy Steps To Dropping Those Unwanted Pounds
- ;)
  
  Like he’d know fuck-all about that…
  - Roswell1701
    
    It’s a joke, comedy, satire, based on Dotcom’s obesity and slovenly appearance; not to mention that an article is posted every time the guy so much as farts. It’s funny, get it? It’s called having a sense of humor. Maybe you should learn “fuck-all” about that…
    - Qjo
      
      I thought it was hilarious, but I’ve been known to be wrong before, so…
    - ;|
      
      Obviously you’re in need of a dose of your own advice there, buddy. I’d have thought the “;)” would’ve given it away, but you know… some people are just not that astute.
      
      I’ll make a note to mark it as humour wrapped in blink tags next time, just for you…
    - Roswell1701
      
      Sorry, Dude… So many spammers and wise asses out here that I get a little uptight sometimes. I’m very confrontation by nature. I apologize. :)
Guest

qBittorrent or Transmission
Guest

1) Uninstall Windows
2) Install Linux distro
3) Buy VPN
4) Download Bittorrent client
5) Download
- mc007
  
  I don’t get it ? what has the issue to do with lin or win ?
  
  also funny to hear here over and over again : vpn. you can have a root server or usenext for the same money and share it with friends, and its extrem fast and far more secure than any vpn ever could be
  
  how old are you anyway ?
  - Guest
    
    You can’t browse websites with a Usenet server. Using encrypted Usenet doesn’t anonymise your real IP address. Who would be the admin of the “root server” (in Windows?!)?
RasseH

send-to-friend does not work on latest version for Mac 1.7.7. Probably a Win-feature-only.
User

share with a friend has been around for ages but in a differant form
First download and install torrent client. utorrent.
Now, you have to know your current IP address.
you can use www(dot)whatismyip(dot)com.
now, note down your ip address..
Now, open utorrent go to options>prefences and here you will find a connection tab, now you will find a number there i.e. your port number, note it too…
Options > Preferences > Advanced and set bt.enable_tracker change it to true…

Now, its the time to create a tracker…
This way
http://yourip:portnumber/announce
it is your private tracker…
fill ip and port number as it respective place…
now, start seeding, and send the torrent file to your friend and tell him to download…
Your ip should not change between transfer…
All done, enjoy…
pcGnome

Are there any in-depth discussions on how P2P networks perform and report?

For instance, how come torrent sites figures NEVER match up with what the client says? They are usually wildly different. Sometimes TPB reports many seeders when (a good friend of mine) knows (they’re) still the only one?

Why do peers stack up and never get resolved? I’ve got a 0/79 and never connect with any of them. Seems a waste – there should be a way to say “connect or go away”. Also some method of control over potential bad users – like “try once an hour to see if they’re still misbehaving”. And some way to know what’s going on and why.

Why isn’t it easier to control who gets what? We know leeching, but arbitrary built in limits seem non-P2P-like to me. Trackers should be traffic cops, not the client software.

How about some communication between peers / seeders? You already tell us their IP, how about some voluntary interaction? The network could be so much more than file distribution. Chat would sometimes be helpful – like “what’s the holdup” and “we know your IP is RIAA – so go away!” and then be able to selectively make people go away.

What are the pros and cons of multiple seeds – the whole lot will take a given amount of time for any given bandwidth – should they all get equal treatment so all have to wait the whole time? Of should a sliding scale of the most peers gets a proportionately higher share of the bandwidth?

“Super Seed” or “initial seeding” seems like a good idea, but it slows down bandwidth while keeping the same initial completion times (it seems to me with limited testing).

Oh, and I’m still using 1.6.1 – I don’t like you people at all. Please sell your company to nice people soonest.

pcG
pcGnome

Oh, one more thing – blocks of IP addresses are assigned by country / location. How about we get to know what parts of the world we’re connected to? And maybe what ISP they’re using?

pcG
Conservative

I cannot find any “Send to Friend” option anywhere in my utorrent v3.1.3
- Carolina
  
  Just drag a file from a folder and drop it in the µtorrent list. A pop-up …ehm…pops up with “Send File”, press the “get link” button…. :)
  I’m on 3.1.3 too.
  
  P.S. Be careful with the first tip; bandwdth control…it got me in trouble. It didn’t stop at the limit of 200 GB and ISP cut me off and set me on a v…e…r…..y s…l…o……..w connection (10 minutes to load a page) :(
  - GeorgeDWarren
    
    stop being cheap and upgrde to unlimited.
daoufsns

http://tinyurl.com/98tl9j6
Bryce

All i want is to be able to sort torrents in order of when they were downloaded! :(
- Qjo
  
  Simple.
  
  Right click on any column header in your torrent list.
  In the popup, place a check next to “Added On” or “Completed on” as you prefer.
  Now just click on that column header to sort by your selected criteria.
  
  That’s how it’s done in 1.8.3 anyways. I presume it works in newer models too.
Wolfie

And the Beat goes on… Free Bit Torrents, Free Torrent Clients and the whiners still complain.. Why don’t you idiots just go back to buying DVD’s and CD’s when they hit the Retail market? Leave the Pirating to those of us that appreciate FREE
- chronoss chiron
  
  why dont you fuck off lamer
  didnt need utorrent then and dont use it now
  and still not buying your stupid shit
Pingback: Top 5 uTorrent Tips From BitTorrent Inc. – TorrentFreak | Torrent Download
Cake

All you people complaining about ads… go get BitTorrent 7.2.1. Problem solved… made by the same people as well.
chronoss chiron

warn a brother says what again?
chronoss chiron

tip # 6 FUCKING DONT USE WARNER BROTHER SOFTWARE
gingernuts

there’s not many seeders on u torrent 2.2.1 and earlier? most seeders are 3. and newr,could it be they are a tight bunch who don’t share, or are all their torrents like stuff for old people? just an observation
- Qjo
  
  No, we share as much as others (I seed 24/7), it’s just that percentage-wise we are a minority as most people have either upgraded, or have just started their BT habit more recently when newer versions were available.
  
  I may update one day, as soon as 1.8.3 stops doing what I need it to do. Ha!
- GeorgeDWarren
  
  those using private trackers, you wont find anyone on anything above 2.2.1
  those using public trackers are mostly 3++
  private trackrs banned the use of any UT client above 2.2.1 , there are some reasons for it, it seems the newer clients are less stable and may also be sending info about your downloading habits, servers u connect to, tracker info etc back to the headquarters.
  people who use private trackers generally do not use public trackers, thats why you’re seeing so few of them if any. it could also be a coincidence.
http://dptlc.blogspot.com/ DmpstrBaby

Not one useful comment. Just dumb ppl trying to prove who’s the dumbest of them all.
- Qjo
  
  …and YOU WIN!!!
BattleRifleLegend

is it odd that im using version 3.2 O.o
Torspo

The best thing about labels is the “Append the torrent’s label” in “Directories” -settings. When the torrent completes, it is moved into a folder like p:completemusic or p:completetv if the base dir is p:complete. This way you can organize your downloads and avoid having a cluttered directory full of all kinds of downloads.
http://twitter.com/Aranjedeath Jacob Taylor

It’s funny to watch piles of people complain about bloat. I guess people aren’t interested in the smallest bittorrent client in existence adding features. Something seems off about that.

There are very legitimate issues with uTorrent and its development, but none of them have to do with “bloat”. Contrary to (apparently) everyone here, I like the new versions. It’s fucking impossible to run >1500 torrents simultaneously on uTorrent 2.2.1. I moved to 3.x for exactly that reason.

And soon (3.3!) the whole file handling and transfer undercarriage of uTorrent will be rewritten from scratch. It’ll be nice. I’m sure there are several things I’ll absolutely hate about it, but I’m not paying for it so I won’t complain much.

Be thankful there are people writing (mostly) good torrent clients for you, because it means you don’t have to.
- GeorgeDWarren
  
  i manage 1200 torrents, totaling 6.5 TB on 2.2.1 with a 1Gbps pipe.
  you just have to be smart, not a sheep.
Hulivar

Just a little fyi for everyone raving about 2.2.1, the newest release is fine. I used 2.2..1 up until a month ago for a long time. I was basically forced to because I would always get that finishing to cache error crap or the torrent would be done and the percentage would crawl and takes hours to get to 0. With this newest version of utorrent I haven’t had any of those problems.

I must admit though I’ve had a few new problems that are kinda weird lol. They aren’t major but they were kind of annoying. Not annoying enough to go back to 2.2.1 though. I wont argue, 2.2.1 is the best for straight up downloading. It seems though with this newer version my modem doesn’t disc as much as with 2.2.1.

Anywho give the newest version a try for a few weeks it’s not that bad :)
- GeorgeDWarren
  
  your problem is not with utorrent, you have some issues with your modem / router hardware or settings. since you also have some problems with the newer version of utorrent, its better you trace the root of the problem and go back to 2.2.1
GeorgeDWarren

rtorrent and deluge all the way….
Guest

They just want to make money fuck them there are better clients this is a piece of shit.
Miami Sunset

The bandwidth control is useful if you don’t want a fast torrent from hogging all the bandwidth and keeping webpages from loading.
Anon

People still use UTorrent?
Guest

here’s a tip for private ratio trackers:
once your file starts downloading, click on trackers, and remove all the trackers. your file will finish downloading and it won’t count towards your download (or upload) stats
Ty Mitty

I use uTorrent v3.2 and have no ads, and no bloat, nothing. Works fine. I even have real-time network scanning software running in the background and it doesn’t connect with any fishy servers or anything in the background. I have no fear using it. There’s no reason to use an old crappy & slow version for me.

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Top 5 uTorrent Tips From BitTorrent Inc.

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