Question About uTorrent

I noticed a lot of open-source software and Linux distros use torrents for downloading the file and seem to prefer that to downloading the file from a server. I am considering downloading uTorrent specifically for these kinds of files, nothing illegal.

1. Can I keep uTorrent from running in the background and letting people download torrent files from my PC? I'm not sure if it does this but I know LimeWire did.

2. Can what I download be tracked? Even though I only intend to download non-copywrited stuff, I still like to keep my privacy.

3. I believe, but I'm not positive, that torrents download pieces of the file, not the whole file, from lots of different people to improve efficiency. If this is true, how can you get malware from torrents, because wouldn't you only be getting a piece of the infected file?

Thanks!

 

1. Yes you can have utorrent run in the background and seed to other users.
2. If you go to options in utorrent and prefferences, bittorrent, protocol encryption outgoing enabled you should be OK.

 

Torrenting has inherent risks as well as legal issues
Some P2P clients breach the Windows firewall and can cause Network (ISP) throttling

 

1. I can't comment on uTorrent as never used it, but you have to allow uploading (others downloading off you) as you download (part of how torrents work) and its good etiquette to leave the torrent seeding after your download has completed to allow others to download a complete copy themselves.

2. The download itself can be tracked from other users you download off. Anyone else connected to the same tracker as you (trackers are servers used to provide information about other users to download torrents off) or participating in the same swarm (term used for the group of people downloading/sharing the same torrent) with or without a tracker can tell you were connected (but not if you actually have down/uploaded anything).

3. The malware would have to part of the original file. Torrent files are checksummed, so it is easy to detect manipulation by others -if you have the hash. To be safe verify each download with the hash key, don't download a torrent that does not - which all linux distros I know of provide.

siljaline has some good links worth reading (though the legal issues one may not apply in this context).
All P2P clients need open ports in your firewall to work most efficiently (though nowadays SOME can function fully behind firewalls using NAT traversal, just not as efficiently or as reliable).

Additionally - only download torrent files from sites you trust, just as you should only download any file only from sites you trust.

Cheers, Nick

 

The only problem I have had with µTorrent is that occasionally, when the program is uploading at the maximum speed it has "recommended", the web browsers become unresponsive or too slow.

I haven´t checked recently, I don´t know if this still happens with the latest versions of µTorrent and the browsers I am using now (FF beta, IE9).