Torrents have completely changed the way people share information online while taking full advantage of their network speed. In matter of BitTorrent clients, μTorrent is probably the most popular one.
Built as a free-for-all application for creating and downloading torrents, μTorrent packs plenty of useful other features under the hood, while preserving a simplistic interface which can be navigated even by reluctant users.
Installation is done in no time. However, it downloads and installs third-party apps that it does not need to function within normal parameters, unless the offers are declined. In addition, the installer may add an exception to Windows Firewall, as well as set the utility to automatically run at system startup.
Once installed, μTorrent automatically makes file associations (.torrent format). Torrents can be added from file or URL into the main frame.
The program also offers support for RSS feeds with custom aliases that can be automatically downloaded. Enabling “smart episode filter” fetches only the first version of a particular episode.
Furthermore, the program integrates an option for moving torrents to remote devices, after turning them into playable media. It supports Android, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple TV, PS3, Xbox 360 and other BitTorrent Certified devices.
An initial configuration can be made when adding a new torrent to the downloading queue, such as file name and saving location. If the torrent contains multiple files, these can be handpicked for downloading.
By default, the tool verifies a torrent's integrity by checking its hash, in order to retry downloading if issues exist; this option can be skipped. Additionally, the torrent can be placed at the top of the queue as well as postponed for downloading.
As for advanced settings concerning a torrent's properties, it is possible to edit the list of trackers leading to the same torrent to attempt at increasing downloading speed, limit the maximum upload and download rate, as well as specify the number of upload slots, all while keeping in mind that higher values will most likely put a strain on HDD usage.
Default settings may be overridden in case of minimum ratio, seeding time (in minutes) and number of available seeds. Other options focus on enabling initial seeding, DHT, peer exchange, and local peer discovery. Web seeds can be easily added by writing the HTTP, HTTPS or FTP links, while external application may be scheduled for immediate execution after downloading finishes. These parameters can be later configured.
Those who want to create new torrents have to fill out a simple form which addresses the source files or directories, trackers, web seeds, comment, piece size, website, RSS, similar torrents, privacy, encryption, and file order.
The main window shows detailed torrent information, starting with file name, size, status, health, download and upload speed, estimated remaining time, rating, playback, seeds and peers ratio, label, date of addition and completion. The bottom half of the frame shows data on each file: path, size, acquired size, completion percentage, total pieces, priority rate, resolution, duration, streaming availability, header status, and codecs.
More data is collected on the transfer (e.g. elapsed time, wasted size), general details (e.g. date of creation and addition, hash), peers (e.g. IP addresses, client, requests), ratings, trackers (e.g. name, status, update time) and speed concerning upload, download, both, disk statistics, transfer cap and history, streaming, network overhead, uTP delay, and disk timing. Three extra tabs can be introduced for pieces, log details and related torrents, respectively.
Opening the context menu of a selected torrent brings forth new options. For example, torrents can be directly transferred to a paired device, opened in Explorer, paused, started (with or without force), rearranged in the queue, re-checked (hash), as well as removed (torrent and data, only torrent or only data).
Further tweaks can be made to the download and upload limit, along with bandwidth allocation priority. It is also possible to prioritize torrent files by their order, and relocate each of them to a different location. Additional options are discoverable in the context menu of each tab.
Less experienced users may resort to a setup guide which triggers μTorrent to run bandwidth and network tests that reveal the PC's maximum upload and download speed, port details, and bandwidth statistics, in order to configure itself for optimized performance.
As far as program preferences are concerned, μTorrent can minimize to the system tray on close, start minimized, automatically install updates (including or excluding beta versions), as well as use a “boss key” to protect itself from other users. The UI can be personalized in terms of displayed dialogs, system tray and action when adding torrents.
Meanwhile, locations can be pointed out for new downloads, completed ones, torrents, torrents of finished jobs, and for automatically loading torrents from. It is also possible to enable a scheduler for limiting the upload and download rates, as well as to allow remote access (e.g. use an Android app to find torrents and send them to μTorrent for downloading).
Advanced users may edit additional options (e.g. disable comments, remove torrent files with private data), enable μTorrent WebUI to control the program remotely, and so on.
The Good
μTorrent is cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android), multilingual (language packs can be downloaded from the developer's website for free), and includes extensive help documentation. It leaves a small RAM footprint compared to other torrent clients.
In order to skip the installer, users may run its portable version instead, Portable μTorrent.
The simplified interface makes downloading torrents an easy job. At the same time, power users may configure μTorrent's entire behavior.
Automatic PC shutdown, hibernation, standby, reboot, or program exit can be scheduled on task completion (downloads or everything).
The Bad
As with most ad-supported applications, the advertisements cannot be hidden from plain sight.
The Truth
To conclude, μTorrent remains a highly configurable and user-friendly BitTorrent client. Those looking for a little extra may upgrade to μTorrent Plus.
UPDATE: It was brought to our attention that advertisements can be hidden indeed, from the "Advanced" tab in the "Preferences" panel. However, figuring out the code names is not an easy task for the casual user.
14 DAY TRIAL // 
