There was a time when µTorrent was the most downloaded app in the USA. However, its dominance has steadily declined in recent years, mainly because of its security and privacy issues. It’s often seen on Twitter and Reddit that people are ranting over uTorrent’s performance and suggest using more secure options.
There were numerous reports of µTorrent software getting bundled with adware or hijacking user devices to mine cryptocurrency. These vulnerabilities continued to grow with time, further making people doubt their credibility. Besides this, some people even questioned its legality and decided to explore new software and enjoy a better experience.
This article includes some reliable replacements for uTorrent that you can consider using. After choosing an alternative, ensure you use it with a trusted torrent VPN and maximize your privacy and downloading speed.
Quick Overview of The Top uTorrent Alternatives
With so many options available, picking out the best one is challenging and time-consuming. Thus, after reviewing several torrent clients, we’ve come up with the best choices. Below is the list of the top alternatives that you can use instead of uTorrent, have a look:
- BitTorrent: An open-source P2P software available in free and paid versions.
- qBitTorrent: A free, lightweight, and open-source software that’s easy to use and navigate.
- Transmission: It offers various customization options that ensure a user-friendly experience.
- Delugu: It is easy to use and offers an active community forum for users to interact with others.
- BitLord: It lets you preview and play the media files while they are downloading.
- Vuzu: It works best on the Windows OS and offers fast downloading speed.
- FrostWire: It offers an in-app search option that fetches millions of files for the desired result.
- BitComet: A lightweight and fast torrent downloading software that works only on Windows.
- Tixati: It offers security and privacy-focused features that secure your downloads.
- Bitport: It is a cloud-based uTorrent alternative available in free and paid versions.
- WebTorrent: It allows you to stream your favorite torrent file without downloading.
- BiblyBt: It is free to download and ensures that ads do not ruin your downloading experience.
- LibreTorrent: It offers a simple and easy-to-use UI that doesn’t cause navigation issues.
- KTorrent: It is a Linux-based P2P software and offers various security-boosting features.
- Halite: It allows you to download multiple torrent files without any speed issues.
- Tribler: It offers a built-in search engine that allows you easily find a torrent file without leaving the client.
You can use any torrent client you find the best. However, it is crucial to remember that these P2P clients can carry security risks. To safeguard your torrent downloading experience, it’s best to use a VPN and antivirus software with them.
An Insight Into µTorrent Features
uTorrent is a lightweight P2P client known for its simple interface and wide range of features, making it one of the most popular torrent clients. The torrent client has several features that make it stand out from other torrent clients, such as:
- You can limit bandwidth usage if limited internet resources are available and prioritize downloads according to different criteria like file size or type of content.
- It allows users to customize settings. For example, you can adjust transfer limits so only certain types of files are downloaded or set up a schedule for when downloads should occur.
- uTorrent supports RSS feeds that automatically download the latest episodes of your favorite TV series.
- The torrent client offers a built-in bandwidth management feature that allows you to set upload and download speed limits. It helps users manage their bandwidth using a limited data plan.
- It supports protocol encryption, making it difficult for the ISP to monitor or block the P2P traffic.
Overall, uTorrent is a great BitTorrent client that offers a range of impressive features, ensuring a user-friendly experience for both beginners and advanced users.
Does Using uTorrent Pose Any Security and Privacy Risks?
uTorrent is not safe to use. The application’s free version contains ads and can install malware or track users’ activity. In addition, the company has a long history of security flaws and distributing malware on the users’ devices, making it unreliable to use.
In 2010, users complained that the P2P software bundled with Conduit Engine Adware was installed without permission and, most importantly, was hard to remove. Since different applications are bundled with uTorrent, this provides a gateway to install unwanted software on the users’ devices.
Similarly, in 2018, Google Security Researcher discovered a vulnerability within uTorrent that enabled users to install malware on the users’ computers. Since uTorrent didn’t fix the vulnerability and blocked the researcher’s exploit, it further raises doubts about its security commitment.
In 2015, a report revealed that uTorrent secretly installed the Bitcoin mining software on users’ devices. After installing the software, the torrent client earns a profit, increases the system load, and affects its efficiency. Things don’t end here, as in the mid of 2016, uTorrent again hit the headlines. It was revealed that the uTorrent forum was hacked and exposed the private details of thousands of users. Soon the torrent client issued an alert that warned the users to change their passwords immediately, but it was useless. The hackers had already had access to the user database and put it up for sale on the dark web.
uTorrent’s reputation further got damaged when it was repeatedly flagged as malicious software that could risk users’ privacy and security. In March 2021, 19 anti-virus vendors flagged it as problematic and categorized it as riskware, malware, and unwanted program that people must avoid using.
All these events made it difficult to trust uTorrent, and users started to use its alternatives.
Top Reliable Alternatives To uTorrent – Detailed Insight
Several torrent clients serve as uTorrent alternatives, but not all ensure the best user experience. The following section gives a detailed insight into these alternatives; go through their short reviews and choose one that best meets your needs:
BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a viable alternative to uTorrent, offering a range of features that are helpful to both beginners and advanced users. Unlike uTorrent, BitTorrent allows users to connect directly with each other and ensure fast downloading speeds. As a result, many users have found that using BitTorrent greatly enhances their experience when downloading large files online. Moreover, it supports more than ten different languages, which makes it widely accessible to people all around the world. On the downside, the free version is ad-supported, but you can upgrade to the pro version to enjoy ad-free downloads.
qBitTorrent
qBitTorrent is an excellent alternative to uTorrent for those looking for an open-source BitTorrent client. It has all the features you would expect from a top-tier torrenting program. Its most prominent features include support for multiple downloads, IP filtering, an encryption protocol, and an integrated search engine. Additionally, qBitTorrent is lightweight and fast compared to other programs meaning you don’t have to wait longer for your files to get downloaded. It also features a simple and intuitive user interface and an integrated search engine that gives you easy access to the torrent file you want to download. You can download this P2P client on Windows, Linux, MacOS, FreeBSD, and OS2 for free.
Transmission
Transmission is another P2P client that offers fast and reliable downloads. The user interface is simple and easy to use, making it the ideal software for beginners. It also offers bandwidth scheduling and speed-limiting features that allow you to customize their download speeds according to their needs. Compared to uTorrent, Transmission is an open-source and volunteer-based project that releases security patches when a vulnerability arises and ensures that your privacy isn’t compromised. Besides this, it supports major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, allowing you to download your favorite torrent file quickly.
Delugu
Deluge is a powerful and lightweight open-source P2P software that has existed for many years. It features a clean and simple user interface that’s easy to use and doesn’t cause any navigation issues. In addition, it includes an active forum that you can join and ask a query or share a tip regarding torrenting. Deluge also supports various plugins and ensures users enjoy a seamless downloading experience. Furthermore, the client performs well on Windows, MacOS, and Linux operating systems and is free to download and use.
BitLord
BitLord is another great option that you can use instead of uTorrent on Android, Mac, and Windows operating systems. The application provides advanced options such as automated RSS feed handling and torrent queuing so you can control their downloads more efficiently. Besides this, it even allows you to preview and play files while they are downloading and ensures a fantastic user experience. Furthermore, it features a dedicated yet powerful search engine that lets you find torrent files easily.
Vuzu
Vuzu is one of the top uTorrent alternatives that allow you to download torrents smoothly and securely. It offers an intuitive interface, fast downloads, and small file sizes. It supports many features, such as automatic torrenting, magnet links, RSS feeds, media playback, and integrated meta-search for content discovery. In addition, it also ensures an ad-free downloading experience. However, the free version is ad-supported and won’t let you play media files while downloading.
FrostWire
FrostWire allows users to download, preview and play the media files while downloading, thus having the edge over uTorrent. It offers an intuitive user interface with powerful features, such as an in-app search option that connects you to different search engines and cloud resources to find the desired torrent file. Besides this, FrostWire also features an easy-to-use, sleek design and interface that suits beginners and advanced users. You can download FrostWire on all major devices and operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, or Android, and enjoy a seamless downloading experience.
BitComet
BitComet is another excellent alternative available that you can use. It integrates seamlessly with HTTP and FTP downloads and automatically searches other clients for data. This enables users to download their files faster than ever before. All this process doesn’t take up extra bandwidth either and makes it an ideal choice for those looking for fast downloads. BitComet offers all the vital features for managing torrent files efficiently. In addition, it resolves the seeding issues by using long-term seeding technology. It helps find more seeds and improves the overall speeds, thus making it a better choice than uTorrent. However, on the downside, BitComet functionality is only limited to the Windows platform, disappointing many users.
Tixati
Tixati is among the most secure alternatives to uTorrent. It provides various strong features to protect the users’ privacy and security. For instance, it supports SOCKS5 proxy and RC4 encryption, making downloads secure, untrackable, and safe. You can even use a built-in IP scanner to block malicious IPs and a virus scanner that will scan each file before downloading to ensure its safety. This way, you can reduce the chances of downloading any bogus or tampered file. Besides this, Tixati has a simple, sleek, easy-to-use UI that causes no issues while downloading torrent files.
Bitport
Bitport is a cloud-based torrent client that ensures a more secure and anonymous downloading experience than uTorrent. Its clean design and interface allow you to manage and access torrent files from anywhere. Additionally, Bitport uses HTTPS encryption to protect your downloads and runs an antivirus scanner to ensure they are free from malicious software. The P2P software offers free and paid versions. However, if you use the free version, you won’t be able to access the advanced features like RSS feed support and Google Drive syncing.
WebTorrent
WebTorrent is an open-source P2P file-sharing protocol allowing you to stream torrent files without downloading. Its sleek interface and design make it easy to use, even for novice users. But what sets this client apart from uTorrent are its remarkable features that make downloading torrents easier than ever before. You can easily add and download torrent files of your choosing using the drag-and-drop tool, and the WebTorrent capability ensures fast downloads by extracting file fragments from the network. You can download this software for free on Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu and enjoy a fantastic downloading experience.
BiblyBt
Unlike uTorrent, BiblyBt is an open-source client that is free to use and has no ads. It also has a built-in search engine that allows users to search for torrents without leaving the client and ensures quick downloading across all major operating systems. It’s one of the few uTorrent alternatives that offer the swarm merging feature, which allows multiple torrents to download the same file simultaneously. Another advantage of BiblyBt is that it is less resource-intensive than uTorrent, meaning it uses less CPU and memory. This results in faster download speeds and a smoother user experience.
LibreTorrent
LibreTorrent is a free and open-source BitTorrent client for Android devices. The main advantage of using LibreTorrent over uTorrent is that it is free and open-source, meaning anyone can view and modify the source code to improve its security and functionalities. Besides this, LibreTorrent is lightweight and has a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for beginner and advanced users to use. It also supports many features in other popular BitTorrent clients, such as controlling upload and download speeds, prioritizing torrents, and searching for torrents within the client. Hence, for all these reasons, users prefer to use it instead of uTorrent.
KTorrent
Suppose you are using a Linux operating system. In that case, KTorrent may be a better alternative to uTorrent because it is specifically designed for the Linux operating system and is free to download. KTorrent offers various security and privacy-focused features, such as encryption protocol, IP blocking plugin, and port forwarding. All these features ensure that the ISP or other prying eyes can’t monitor or track your downloads, and your activities remain private. Besides, it has a clean and intuitive interface and integrates well with KDE, a popular Linux desktop environment that ensures a smooth downloading process.
Halite BitTorrent Client
Halite is another lightweight alternative to uTorrent that provides fast downloading speeds. The torrent software allows you to download multiple torrent files simultaneously and even lets you preview them. This way, you can get an idea about the file quality and later enjoy watching it on big screens. Besides, it offers a simple design and interface that won’t trouble the users. However, as this software must be downloaded from GitHub, novice users might find installing it challenging.
Tribler
If you are looking for an alternative with a decentralized network, Tribler is worth checking out. It has a built-in search engine that allows users to search for torrents without leaving the client. The search engine is decentralized and operates using a database of trusted peers. It ensures that users can find the torrents they seek without relying on centralized search engines that may be monitored or censored. Though the interface is easy to use and navigate, users won’t find it much attractive. Furthermore, the software is available to download on Windows, Linux, and MacOS and even allows you to play files while they are in the downloading stage.
Is uTorrent Legal To Use?
uTorrent is legal for downloading your favorite torrent file in most countries, including the UK, Canada, and other European countries. However, if you use uTorrent to download copyrighted material, then it’s illegal. You may be threatened with legal action that results in hefty fines and imprisonment.
For example, according to the Canada Copyright Modernization Act, people caught illegally downloading movies and making money from them are liable to pay a fine of up to $20,000.
Therefore, it’s essential that you use uTorrent to download files that are legal and are not protected by any copyright laws. In addition, it’s also advisable to use a VPN to protect your online privacy and prevent legal and security issues when downloading torrents.
How To Stay Safe While Using a Torrent Client
Safety measures must be taken to protect yourself when using a torrent client. Some of the most effective tips and tricks you need to follow include:
- Use a VPN because it hides your IP address and prevents ISP from monitoring your downloads. Also, it encrypts the data and ensures copyright trolls can’t identify you in the P2P swarm.
- Install reliable anti-virus/malware software on your device. It scans the files and minimizes the risk of downloading malware or virus via the torrent file you download.
- Make sure you are downloading files only from trusted sources. This can help avoid downloading malware or viruses that harm your computer or personal data.
- Look for reviews and ratings of any given file before downloading, and if the public opinion on a specific file is not good, then avoid downloading it.
- Before downloading any file, check the torrent file format. ZIP, PDF, Microsoft Office Files, .exe, and .bat files are risky to download and can exploit the systems’ vulnerabilities.
- Check the seed count, file size, and uploader before downloading the file. This will help you download safe and reliable torrents.
- Be aware of copyright infringement laws since many countries enforce these laws and can impose penalties on those who violate regulations by sharing copyrighted material.
Downloading torrents is easy as a few clicks, but to ensure you’re downloading safely, it’s crucial that you practice the above-mentioned tips.
Final Thoughts
uTorrent has enjoyed a great reputation for many years. However, the torrent client has become populated with security flaws, vulnerabilities, and malicious software. As a result, people are now looking for other backup options. There are more reliable alternatives available that offer better privacy, security, and control. By trying out some of the uTorrent alternatives highlighted in this article, you can find an option that fits your requirements and offers a more enjoyable and secure downloading experience. Ensure you always connect to a reliable VPN and install antivirus software on your device to strengthen your privacy and security during torrenting further.
FAQs
Despite all the controversies and security flaws, uTorrent is still working, allowing users to download large files online. However, since it is known to have security issues, it is best to use a torrent VPN.
uTorrent might seem safe to use, but it isn’t. Various instances in the past have highlighted uTorrent vulnerabilities and made them unsafe to use. For instance, in 2015, it was distributing Bitcoin mining software on users’ devices to earn a profit. Besides this, its forum was hacked, and the users’ data was put on sale on the darknet. Also, uTorrent has been named and flagged as malicious software by antivirus companies.
BitTorrent, qBitTorrent, Vuzu, and Delugu are all better options that you can consider using instead of uTorrent.
There is nothing wrong or illegal about using uTorrent. It’s a great P2P client that lets the users download their favorite TV show, movie, music, ebook, game, or software quickly over the web. However, downloading any file protected by copyright laws is illegal and against the law, and results in hefty fines.
qBitTorrent has some great advantages over uTorrent. Like, it’s an open-source software whose code is regularly monitored and checked; hence the security flaws are soon fixed. In addition, qBitTorrent is IPv6 compliant and offers various customization features that allow you to control your downloads and enhance the torrenting experience.
qBitTorrent is safer than uTorrent. It’s an open-source platform that offers various security-centric features like IPv6 compliance, IP filtering, and encryption protocol that keep your identity secure and make your downloading activities untrackable.
