BitTorrent

1.0 stars

"You get what you pay for..."

January 27, 2009  |   By dsilvia

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

In the early days, it was a godsend to the bandwidth impoverished

Cons

If you go into downtown Beirut, Baghdad, Kabul, or L.A., you'd best be well armed! So, too, in the land of Torrent.

Summary

When the concept of bittorrent first came about, it was the savior of the low internet bandwidth user. It gave them the ability to get software via a background, sharing process which they could not otherwise have gotten.

Now, it's the haven of the internet terrorist. More often than not, you're likely to infect your system with all manner of evil internet beasties! And the purveyors of the system disclaim all fault for this while still offering the user sites that they well know are out to get the user and invade their privacy and maliciously assault their systems.

But, you get what you pay for. If it costs you nothing, well, what exactly are you expecting to ger, The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine? With the amount of software one needs to have on hand to protect against the ill-conceived torrent providers, one might as well have just paid the price one thinks they are saving!

Caveat Emptor! Let the buyer beware! Or, better stated, let the one who seeks to attain without buying beware. There are lots of people in the world who are glad to feed your fantasy as they pick your pocket!

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4.0 stars

"Good for everything !"

January 22, 2009  |   By kris3b

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

Easy to use, even as a beginner !

Cons

i'm still learning but, to be able to download the sample seperatly to the main file.

Summary

Fantastic !

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5.0 stars

"Pretty good, not complicated to use."

January 18, 2009  |   By LaiPt

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

Excellent, fast and easy to use.

Cons

Slow at times.

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4.0 stars

"Excellent torrent client; but that DNA concerns me"

January 17, 2009  |   By ultimately_myself

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

Full of features: lots of info about torrent activity and controls to tweak the download & uploading processes.
Nice layout.
Easy on system resources (running Vista SP1, 2 GB of RAM).
Minimal impact on internet throughput for other activities.

Cons

The DNA exe and process is active all the time; even when BitTorrent is not running; more about this in the summary.

Summary

Though I've read and re-read the 'explanation' on the BT website of the DNA process, I find it vague and unsettling; like listening to a software solution presentation from a marketing guy. The fact that DNA runs all the time, even when BitTorrent is not, is troubling. I handled that by just preventing it from running at startup using Sysinternals' Autoruns (but there are many similar pgms out there). And DNA can be uninstalled separately from BT.

I'm always mystified by the alarmists (easily recognized; they usually type in CAPS), who spew dire warnings that the install exe is "a virus", "a trojan", "a BigMac with cheese, as identified by their AV software. Good-god, if 10,000 people have downloaded software and only a handful of you received warnings of something nefarious, wouldn't it be reasonable to consider that your AV is giving a fall-positive? You can always cross-check with another AV product and you don't even need to install it, since there are many, many online virus scans. If the virus flag your AV software throws up is sufficient to discourage you from using the download, fine, that's reasonable. But can you get some control over the need to do a public parade with sandwich boards warning that 'the end is nigh'. Balance, my friends! Sheeesh.

Several posters have complained that the client, and in fact the entire process of 'bit-torrenting' is confusing and requires a steep learning curve. If you're new to the bit-torrent world, yes, the process requires some effort. But there are many resources out there to guide you; be patient; take a deep breath; and learn.

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3.0 stars

"Good, but not great"

January 16, 2009  |   By scoee

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

Lots of files available and reasonably easy to configure. I like the IP masking and the cool screens. A small initial download gets this working in a flash. I also like not having to configure the router and/or firewall like you do with BitComet.

Cons

I compared identical downloads with BitComet and sadly BitTorrent fell way behind using identical PC's and servers at the same time. It was about 50% slower. It also did not have some of the goodies like BitComet. Still, far better than most others.

Summary

I would rate BitTorrent highly in comparison to the majority of P2P's simply for the ease of use, consistent speeds and fast start-up. As stated before, It is not as fast as BitComet (once you get past that painful NAT config), but well ahead of most others. If I was to download sensitive info, I would definitely use BitTorrent due to it's IP privacy, something that IP srvers etc monitor from time to time.

I expected BitTorrent to be a bit of a bandwidth hog, like all others, and it seems it is no different in this respect. As for resources, it is extremely light (about 9meg+ RAM average and 1% CPU on dual 2.4 processor)compared to BitComet/EMule (100meg+ RAM and 1% CPU). It means you can still use demanding programs while downloading. I recommend BitTorrent especially for older and slower machines rather than BitComet due to this resource issue. However, I will prefer BitComet on my machines due to the extra download speed. Both have similar search engines and torrents so really the choice is speed-hog vs not-so-fast and light on resources.

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3.0 stars

"Very quick in getting me where I want to go."

January 2, 2009  |   By johnlyndsey

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

I like how many options there are to be able to find what I am looking for.

Cons

I sometimes need help to figure out how to properly download then burn movies.

Summary

I feel that there should be a quick button to press that will lead you through each step to get you where you need to be.

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1.0 stars

"My Kaspersky said that this file is TROJAN."

January 2, 2009  |   By adeliinad

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

well maybe this software is good but my kaspersky showed that it is a Trojan.

Cons

well maybe this software is good but my kaspersky showed that it is a Trojan.

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5.0 stars

"The update helped big time"

December 20, 2008  |   By thesoaked

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

1) fast
2) many options (bandwidth alocation, force start, priority settings, pause, stop, delete)
3) looks cool

Cons

i really can't think of anything

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4.0 stars

"Sufficiently Good"

December 20, 2008  |   By shivammax

Version: BitTorrent 6.0.2 build 8388

Pros

Can do most torrents effectively.

Cons

None in particular

Summary

Must Try

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