Comments on: uTorrent Is Going to Make Money With a Toolbar

By: to_retards_above

to_retards_above — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:54:50 +0000

winamp has also OPTIONS with a toolbar .. is this a reason to uninstall winamp?? no u fuckheads ^^
not everything is free in life, companies need income.

utorrent + torrentflux 4 life :)

By: Coward

Coward — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:46:31 +0000

So to all those “DUMB” people who think they know better than the “SMART” people, please produce the Wireshark evidence that it’s phoning home.

By: uTorrent Adds Toolbar to Boost Revenue

uTorrent Adds Toolbar to Boost Revenue — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:25:38 +0000

[...] Morris, Vice President of product management at BitTorrent Inc. has announced that uTorrent 1.8.2. will include in download an optional toolbar from Ask.com (that is employed in [...]

By: vyvyan

vyvyan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:26:11 +0000

all those who think they are smart as they read the word ‘optional’, have they really checked what happens when they opt NOT to install toolbar? Have they checked the client itself (w/o toolbar) is NOT sending information to RIAA/MPAA.

First people use windows, (in which everything is already concealed) on top of that adware and still thing they are SMART. makes me laugh all the time.

@51 good one :)

By: Dracil

Dracil — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:59:22 +0000

I think it’s laughable that people actually think you can run a real company with actual employees through donations. Seriously, what major tech company out there is run solely via donations and isn’t operating at a loss?

By: 1337

1337 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:54:02 +0000

All apps eventually start carrying many burdens… for torrents Azureus went the Vuze way while uTorrent is looking for revenue generating toolbars.

By: iwuvu

iwuvu — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:24:56 +0000

everyone had their price, obviously ask.com made some nice deals that utorrent cant resist.

if they want it optional, the default option should be unchecked. there also should be and option to clean uninstall the toolbar. OR, this is the best option. make it downloadable only from the website.

in the end, no one can blame them for wanting some quick cash. who doesnt !!!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:23:56 +0000

everyone had their price, obviously ask.com made some nice deals that utorrent cant resist.

if they want it optional, the default option should be unchecked. there also should be and option to clean uninstall the toolbar.

in the end, no one can blame them for wanting some quick cash. who doesnt !!!

By: pligg.com

pligg.com — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:13:19 +0000

uTorrent Is Going to Make Money With a Toolbar…

New users of uTorrent may shortly have the option of something extra with their BitTorrent client. In a move to try and generate extra revenue, some of the of new installs will have the option to include the Ask.com browser toolbar in addition to the m…

By: iNdefiNite

iNdefiNite — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:46:24 +0000

Why wouldn’t they just ask for donations instead of installing simply malware?
Or better yet, ask their copyright friends for money? As far as I recall, they were bought by RIAA or MPAA.

By: wtf

wtf — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:14:01 +0000

there are a few problems with deluge too.
it doesn’t send have messages and it’s written in python, not c
and utorrent will have utp enabled by default in 1.9 which will eliminate tcp ack overhead
i don’t see anything wrong with having to uncheck a checkbox at installation. do you people just click next next next next when installing something?

By: HAHA!

HAHA! — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:28:02 +0000

QUOTE:
‘You’d probably use the toolbar if someone rared it, stuck an nfo with it and uploaded it to the pirate bay.’

LMAO this so made my day :D

I won’t judge on it yet, I’ll see how things go first.
Deluge looks interesting nevertheless. o:

By: UNF

UNF — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:34:47 +0000

uTorrent was the best for longest and continues to innovate (e.g. uTP to defeat throttling)

however, if it wants to lead, grow + survive it must now go to OSS model and find other ways to generate income which avoid the insulting stigma of noob-trap malware toolbars

e.g. include a convenient paypal button on GUI and get the app included in Distro repositories.

By: TheCareBay

TheCareBay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:11:35 +0000

Sad day for uTorrent.

+1 looking for a replacement proggy.

By: RoestVrijStaal

RoestVrijStaal — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:35:37 +0000

I guess tomorrow or the day after tomorrow Bittorrent Inc. / MAFFIA release a new version of uTorrent without the Toolbar.

They can’t stand so much critique on their decision.

Luckly enough I use :hail: Deluge :hail:, the only good Windows torrent cliënt who’s left :P

By: Misa

Misa — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:35:17 +0000

@32

Totally agree with you. People here need to quit bitching about it. If you don’t want it, DON’T SELECT IT AS AN OPTION.

Of course, it would be better if the box was unchecked. Now, if they start bundling it in with the install, I’ll jump ship but as long as this toolbar remains optional, I’m staying with it.

By: mu57i11

mu57i11 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:41:14 +0000

Come on guys; its a lovely client, quite a few of you ^ probably use it, if your so annoyed about it, paypal them some money and in the note, voice your feelings.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:49:23 +0000

@12

Nice Babylon 5 reference there! (or at least I think it was) Kosh would not approve of utorrent’s behavior!

Ya I use utorrent almost exclusively but lately I’ve been a little disappointed with them. Does anyone know any good alternatives?

By: JAT

JAT — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:35:35 +0000

There are plenty of legit apps which add opt-out piggybackers into their installers to generate revenue. CCleaner and Adobe Flash being popular examples. I don’t feel as if uTorrent should be looked any less upon just because of an optional toolbar; however, it makes its loyal users a bit more watchful of changes going forward.

By: Phletch

Phletch — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:05:37 +0000

Ha my computer picked the right day to crash! now i can use a better client

By: Rekrul

Rekrul — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:52:20 +0000

I won’t be upgrading uTorrent anymore. One of the reasons I liked it was because it was a single EXE that I could place anywhere I wanted. It didn’t make any changes to my system. Now it comes as a standard installer that makes you go through all the usual crap Windows insist on and who knows what it’s actually putting on your system. No thanks…

By: Hmm...

Hmm... — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:49:43 +0000

I never install uTorrent, I just run the binary from my deskop. So this would be a non-issue for me.

By: Xe

Xe — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:35:17 +0000

I have to say I was concerned initially when I heard u-torrent was bought out by bitorrent inc but have carried on regardless and not had a single warning [ever] so am [for now?] not that concerned about it.

everything else I have tried [Vuze specifically] seems more likely to sell me out ¬_¬

By: Vince

Vince — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:04:09 +0000

Bye bye uT, it was fun while it lasted :)

*installs Deluge

Oh, and for all you guys saying “oh its okayyyyyy” lets see how long you guys will stick with uT if it has more nasty tricks like this up its sleeve. You seem to be in love with this client. With the immense ammount of clients out there its stupid not to pick the best one out. You are the same people that complain about Firefox becoming slow and STILL stick with it.

GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR ASSES.

By: Peter Griffin

Peter Griffin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:36:21 +0000

Nobody uses ask jeeves!!!!

By: DOOOMKULTUS

DOOOMKULTUS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:19:05 +0000

Someone make a new client will ya guys.This is outrageous.Why do they need to monetize,make a app and leave it at that.If a single guy can do it,why can’t an org.

By: speedo

speedo — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:03:39 +0000

come on guys really.
How is it you can bit torrent and figure out how to install hacked up programs yet, a simple check box defeats you and turns you away from a good program
Hows this just update and it won’t even ask. next time read the story not just the head line

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:27:49 +0000

let’s face it, torrent is prety a fragile protocol, yeah someone can say it is “descentralized” but how if it become useless without trackers and fragile websites to download the “content”, and with MAIN client becoming adware/untrusted/sold to **AA there is no place to run…

By: Y2kPirate

Y2kPirate — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:37:41 +0000

This is what makes pirates look like ignorant fucktards…
UTorrent is an awesome lighweight client who will be adding an ” Optional ” search bar to the client..u may install with the client, you may not install it..or u may first install it and later disable it !!!
So whats the problem????
Haven’t u ever seen a browser with google toolbar…and don’t u also see a uninstallation option of such a toolbar in ur Add Remove programs !!
Any toolbar is of no harm unless it gets installed forcefully like a spyware without users consent and without the software makers approval !!!!

By: El instalador de uTorrent incorporará una barra de herramientas | Bitelia

El instalador de uTorrent incorporará una barra de herramientas | Bitelia — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:51:12 +0000

[...] TorrentFreak Algunas anotaciones relacionadas: uTorrent, proximamente para Mac y Linux, uTorrent llega a 28 [...]

By: El instalador de uTorrent incorporará una barra de herramientas : Blogografia

El instalador de uTorrent incorporará una barra de herramientas : Blogografia — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:42:29 +0000

[...] Vía: TorrentFreak [...]

By: uTorrent Is Going to Make Money With a Toolbar - Torrent Invites! Get your free private torrent tracker invites !

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:29:58 +0000

[...] uTorrent Is Going to Make Money With a Toolbar New users of uTorrent may shortly have the option of something extra with their BitTorrent client. In a move to try and generate extra revenue, some of the of new installs will have the option to include the Ask.com browser toolbar in addition to the most popular torrent client in use today. The current economic situation is affecting everyone, and high technology companies are no exception. We?ve previously reported how BitTorrent Inc. had made layoffs and closed their Torrent Entertainment Network in recent months, in an attempt to cut costs and stay in business. This February, the company went on to Google powered torrent search to the uTorrent website to make a few extra bucks, and they?re still looking for additional sources of revenue. This is where Ask.com comes in with their browser toolbar that is used to monetize other P2P clients as well. Simon Morris, Vice President of product management at BitTorrent Inc. said that the toolbar will be included in new downloads of uTorrent 1.8.2. He assured people that it would be optional though, and that the executable will not have any size increase beyond the download option page. Also, we were told that those doing an upgrade will not be prompted about the bar. Of course, this new ?feature? will fuel speculation by some that it carries on with the ?MPAA spying? which some have accused BitTorrent of doing since it bought the uTorrent client, and leads a small groups of people to continue using old versions. To date, we?ve yet to observe any ?callhomes? or similar that match any of those accusations. Simon addressed these concerns telling TorrentFreak: ?We are NOT on a path to do anything evil with the user community to make a quick profit. I know you only have our word on this, but it?s not hard to see that we have no chance of achieving our objectives if we alienate the very people on who the popularity of our software depends.? While browser toolbars have sometimes gained a reputation as being a malware vector, this is usually due to 3rd party advertising. The toolbars generally make money though the search traffic that is generated by its users, and that is also the reason why most torrents sites – The Pirate Bay and Mininova included – now offer their own toolbars. What BitTorrent inc. is aiming for is simply an extra influx of cash. What it is not looking to do is annoy their users, a point Simon is firm on. ?To be very clear – uTorrent is very popular free BitTorrent software – the only thing we hope to change here is to make it even more popular. We hope the community will continue to support us in our efforts,? he told TorrentFreak. If clients are to continue to develop, then with a growing shortage of venture capital there needs to be other ways to generate income. If the addition of one simple installer option about a browser toolbar means that uTP can be funded to completion (obsoleting many traditional throttling methods) is that really such a bad thing? Source: uTorrent Ask.com Toolbar [...]

By: meh

meh — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:09:26 +0000

hey if its optional, you gotta do what you gotta do..

Let the noobs installed it, anybody who knows what there doing just uncheck it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:02:07 +0000

Soundwave, yes, it has few more options than utorrent, its encryption capability are awesome, i remember that utorrent analised deluge in the past to try figure how deluge bypassed all kinds of traffic shapping around the world, and it still does.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:48:24 +0000

That sucks BUT it’s better than the alternative; close the development of uTorrent. THAT would suck. Also, I’m sure we can choose not to install the toolbar.

By: Soundwave

Soundwave — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:52:13 +0000

Does deluge support uTP or even Encryption?

By: HTML

HTML — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:20:09 +0000

Can torrentfreak please do a comparison between ktorrent, utorrent, Delufe and Halite.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:48:20 +0000

Personally, I’ve been using Deluge since utorrent was acquired by BitTorrent Inc. I had my reservations about it in the first place anyway, considering the closed source nature of the program. This adware toolbar addition should be enough to stop using it on principal. utorrent is no longer any better than the pen source clients available…get your fanboy heads out of 2006.

I recommend that all of the utorrent users out there switch to Ktorrent or Deluge which are both open source and support almost every feature that utorrent does. As for Halite, it isn’t a mature enough client to be employed for mainstream use.

By: derp

derp — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:20:45 +0000

Like most people, I ditched utorrent a while ago. Try Deluge or Halite, they’re both equally great clients and the best part? They’re completely free, unlike this ad-ridden crap.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:59:13 +0000

No not the Ask Toolbar!!! I got tricked into installing that crap and I can’t proberly get rid of it :(

Seriously make sure you don’t install it!

Boycott uTorrent!

By: Troll

Troll — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:15:31 +0000

Boycott uTorrent! They’re slowly selling out! Use Deluge instead!

By: WingedEelFingerling

WingedEelFingerling — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:13:32 +0000

“Software developers also have to eat, and that’s hard to do without money.”

Hey, Kenneth, if all developers want is to eat then why don’t we pay them in food and cut out the middle man, yeah?

Also I’ll let you into a little secret. In our countries, you know, Europe and US etc. you won’t die if you have no money for food because civilization now takes care of those people through various means. Nobody dies of starvation anymore in those countries.

So please stfu pretending people are going to die because they never sold their software because only a dickhead believes that bs.

By: hot sex gary

hot sex gary — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:00:31 +0000

So… are the open source torrent client authors going to try and squeeze money out of users too? I think not!

By: Kenneth

Kenneth — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:19:52 +0000

Doesn’t really matter about the toolbar imo. You find similar “add-ons” in IrfanView, Daemon Tools and a bunch of other applications. Software developers also have to eat, and that’s hard to do without money.

People were also very suspicious when bittorrent.com purchased utorrent. Client versions above 1.6.something was banned from many private trackers. Now at build 15xxx most trackers are still allowing the new client versions.

Imo ut is the best client there is. I’ve tried Deluge, Ktorrent, Azureus (that was a bad experience), Tomato, rTorrent, and many more. The only thing about utorrent i don’t like is that it doesn’t run on linux (natively without wine), and i don’t like the mac client either. Hopefully it’s will only be a matter of time before it’s up to date with the windows version.

By: IP101

IP101 — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:14:09 +0000

DELUGE is the way to go today and in the future and it is just like a sister to utorrent. Enjoy !!

By: ...

... — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:44:31 +0000

On pure principal matters this will encourage me to find alternatives for the future. bundling borderline malware toolsbars is not the way to go, but hey, when utorrent sold out to bittorrent we kinda knew which way the donkey was headed. shame on them

By: NoOne

NoOne — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:40:56 +0000

The toolbar is not a problem (FrostWire also has it and give the user the choice to install it or not) bug µTorrent has a very big flaw: it’s not open source. Why would I use it when there are plenty of free software alternatives?

By: Loyd

Loyd — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:26:03 +0000

Hi Ben, my post (something around first 10 post) was deleted. Just want to know if their was an justified reason?

By: Loyd

Loyd — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:25:41 +0000

Hi Ben, me post (something around first 10 post) was deleted. Just want to know if their was an justified reason?

By: my 2 cent car crash.

my 2 cent car crash. — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:01:18 +0000

Ask.com is their pimp.
But google is their whore.