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μTorrent (often referred to as uTorrent or MTorrent by people too lazy to look up how to type in a "μ" character) is reportedly silently shipping a bitcoin miner with its default install. While you can opt out during the installation process, the mining software, called "EpicScale", is apparently installed automatically and silently when updating an existing μTorrent install.
It seems that the developers are aware of this, but the only official response that was given by an administrator on the forum is that " it's easy to uninstall the software via Add/Remove Programs".
From the experience of several users, the installation process still leaves .dll's and executables behind once completed.
More detail can be found on this thread on the official forums.
Are any SoylentNews user affected by this? What alternative torrent clients do you use?
[Editor's Note: The official forums are down at time of editing. The topic has also been discussed on Reddit which includes an Imgur link with the forum thread.]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday March 07 2015, @08:57AM
It's bloat?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 07 2015, @09:13AM
macrotorrent
(Score: 4, Informative) by mtrycz on Saturday March 07 2015, @10:32AM
In the beggining it's been a very good client, parts written in assembler, with a very light footprint (hence the mu). When it got critical mass, it gold sold to someone in the ad industry (I think), and now it's bloated with ads and "features". I myself still use it on my win laptop, out of habit and laziness to install a new one.
Can't really blame the original author. But that's the nature of closed source.
In capitalist America, ads view YOU!
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Saturday March 07 2015, @02:00PM
I still use it on my Windows box also. I'm on a pretty old version of it though. It still has some ads in it, but it certainly doesn't have what the article is talking about. That they would go that far kind of pisses me off.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!