File sharing, A.K.A. peer-to-peer (P2P), has taken the Internet by storm. It's been made notorious by the RIAA and MPAA, who have legitimate concerns about free and easy access to their commercial products. Without discussing semantics, everyone can agree that the BitTorrent protocol has changed the Internet as we know it.
Torrents are a very reliable and effective method of transferring data, and especially large amounts of data, between many users. By their nature, torrents are community-driven - their existence relies on one or more "seeders" - users who allow their computers to act as file servers for a particular file once it has been partially or fully downloaded. The more seeders, the faster the download for other users, and if all users stop seeding the file, the torrent is dead. "Leechers" - users who download and immediately stop seeding - are detrimental to this system.
In fact, the only real problem with the BitTorrent protocol is the lack of anonymity (but there are works-in-progress to address this issue).
µTorrent - pronounced "micro-torrent" - is the best kind of software: it does its job extremely well, and with a miniscule footprint. It is highly customizable and efficient, frequently updated, and supported by a strong user community.
Download latest version:
µTorrent v1.8.4
µTorrent v2.1 beta
Mac (Intel) version: µTorrent v0.9.2 beta / v0.9.3 alpha
| Homepage: | http://www.utorrent.com/ |
| Supported OS: |   |
| Portable version: |  (Here's how) |
| 64-bit version: |  |
| Active project: | |
| No strings attached **: | Ask.com toolbar (not present in beta) |
** No spyware, ads, nags, registration reminders, etc.
Other File Sharing freeware to keep an eye on:
- Arctic Torrent
- Deluge
- OpenSwarm
- FireTorrent (Firefox extension)
