ie8 fix

uTorrent

Download this, Mr. Jones

Numerous entertainers have had serious flirtations with digital distribution, but the band Counting Crows has taken its infatuation a step further -- straight into the BitTorrent universe. (Legally, that is.)

The Counting Crows BitTorrent bundle (download), released today, includes songs, art, and liner notes from their latest album Underwater Sunshine. It's available to torrent freaks everywhere -- with the approval of both the band and its label.

"I don't know why everybody's not doing it," said Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz during a phone conversation with CNET. He noted that even at his band'… Read more

How to remotely start torrents with your iPhone

A while back, I rounded up four killer Dropbox tips, one of which allowed you to start downloading a torrent file from any computer while you're away from home. That's useful, but not ideal if you want to start downloading something and can't access a computer right away.

With just few initial setup instructions, you can use your iPhone to start downloading torrents, no matter where you are. Here's how:

Step 1: Sign up for Dropbox and download the client for your operating system. The download links are available on the Dropbox home page. Then, download … Read more

Add-on hooks uTorrent into your browser

For people who want the shortest path from a Web site to their torrent client, the new add-on uTorrent Control (download) puts basic torrent-managing tools directly in your browser.

It lets you add, remove, and pause torrents; check download status; and monitor download speeds. You can sync it with the desktop client or with uTorrent Remote, and use it to launch the Web remote at remote.utorrent.com. The add-on installs as a toolbar on Firefox and Internet Explorer; on Chrome, it appears as a button.

It also has a sponsored search engine component, which is easy enough to ignore. … Read more

Hardware makers ally with BitTorrent for European, Asian invasions

LAS VEGAS--A phalanx of deals involving the commanding general of torrent protocols, BitTorrent, and next-generation hardware marched into CES 2012 today, the unofficial Day Zero of the show. BitTorrent also announced that more than 150 million people used sibling programs BitTorrent and uTorrent last month, making them by far the most popular torrent clients around.

Following up on the announcement from CES 2011 that it would partner with hardware manufacturers to ship their devices with torrent support built in, BitTorrent revealed four companies based in Europe, Russia, and Asia that have prepared new hardware that automatically works with the current BitTorrent program. BitTorrent-certified devices from these companies will carry the BitTorrent logo. … Read more

Extra features swarm uTorrent, for a price

Two new paid torrent-managing programs have launched today from BitTorrent, Inc., as the 100-million-user base of uTorrent also earned an update.

First announced in July, uTorrent Plus 3.1 (download) debuted with an unexpected counterpart, BitTorrent Plus 8 (download). Both mark the first time that a paid selection of features the company calls "premium" have been added to either client. Accompanying them is the version 3.1 update to uTorrent (download).

People with the free version of uTorrent will be able to play media files directly in the uTorrent interface, thanks to the newly-baked in media player. The … Read more

BitTorrent delivers a tripartite flood of updates

BitTorrent has achieved stability on the Mac with the release today of the newly stable version of its "mainline" client, an update to the stable μTorrent for Mac, and the launch of a new remote management Web interface that's been optimized for iPad users. BitTorrent for Mac (download) and μTorrent for Mac (download) transports the most popular features of those programs from Windows to Mac, including RSS feeds, a scheduler, remote access, and power user controls.

As with the Windows versions, the features are fairly robust. The RSS feeds can be set to automatically grab and start … Read more

μTorrent Plus launches in limited alpha

The company that develops μTorrent announced today that the paid upgrade version of the popular torrent client, called μTorrent Plus, was ready for limited public testing. μTorrent Plus comes with additional value-added features in an attempt to entice fans into upgrading. Originally announced earlier this year, parent company BitTorrent, which also makes the original torrent client BitTorrent, has revealed a bit more about the value-added features that will come in μTorrent Plus.

These include drag-and-drop file conversion for transcoding files and then transferring them to another device, a built-in media player, remote file transfers, and customer support. It also comes … Read more

uTorrent, possibly BitTorrent Web sites hacked

The Web site that hosts uTorrent was hacked by an unknown person or group early this morning. After initially stating that the "mainline" BitTorrent site had been hacked as well, the company now says that it doesn't think that BitTorrent.com was affected. BitTorrent, the owner of the Web sites and the torrent clients hosted there, reported in a blog post that the breach occurred around 4:20 a.m PT.

According to the blog, the proper executable files for both programs were replaced with "a fake antivirus 'scareware' program" called Security Shield. The company … Read more

uTorrent preparing paid version

A paid upgrade to the popular torrent manager uTorrent is in the works, the makers of the program announced today.

Less than a month after the release of uTorrent 3.0 (download), the program's parent company, BitTorrent Inc., revealed plans to introduce a paid upgrade called uTorrent Plus. Though it's still in development and unavailable to the public, uTorrent Plus promises to include tools that will eliminate codec problems, convert file formats, and move content between devices, according to the blog post announcing the product.

Also in that blog post, Jordy Berson, director of product management for uTorrent, promised that the free version "will receive the same level of commitment and development resources as it does now."

Around 100 million people call uTorrent their preferred torrent manager. To put that number in perspective, the security suite AVG Antivirus Free claims around 110 million active users, while Google CEO Larry Page just revealed that the Chrome browser has about 160 million users.

"uTorrent Plus is designed for people who are looking for a single solution to find, get, and play content anywhere, on any device," Berson wrote. The price point for uTorrent Plus has not been announced, The company has also created a sign-up page for people who want more information on uTorrent Plus. … Read more

uTorrent 3.0 arrives with streaming and Web UI

Release the hounds! uTorrent 3.0 was released yesterday for seeders and leechers everywhere.

Four million users tested various alpha, beta, and release candidate versions of the anticipated v3 of the popular BitTorrent software, which is a darling of the download scene owing to its simple interface and lightweight footprint (for example, the installer is only 624KB). A slew of new features are embedded in the upgraded client, including streaming video; uTorrent remote; ratings and comments; and drag and drop sending. There's also mention of an exciting new encrypted Web-based UI, dubbed uTorrent Web, which enables access to µ… Read more