Can I use µTorrent at Work

[Tiock]

First, excuse me for my bad english (I'm french also...)

Here my question : Can I use µtorrent for my job (I'm working in a computer store) for downloading demo and patch for customers (all things who's downloading with µtorrent are legal) on a computer at my store.

The same computer is also use by my collegue for their own's jobs and for this reason I must use µtorrent. (patch for game are growing all time)

[Switeck]

Whether your ISP would allow it probably depends on their terms-of-service agreement.

Whether your employer will allow it depends on how tech-savvy and paranoid they are.

Whether there's any conditions that prevent it may be entirely unrelated to whether the above 2 have any objections.

Some ISPs claim to allow, but block all the same. Some employers might object...but not have anything to block it. There's also the numerous ISPs which throttle it but don't completely block it...leaving you to wonder what the best settings are. (Often only found through LOTS of trial-and-error, as even time-of-day/week can have a huge effect.)

And lastly, everything else may allow...but a router or (hidden?) firewall leaves µTorrent firewalled, which may be hopelessly so if you don't know where/what is blocking. Even regular firewall conditions will still allow µTorrent to run and connect to unfirewalled peers and seeds, but connectivity is often 1/3 of being unfirewalled AT BEST! (Less than 40% are typically not firewalled, and those may not be the fastest!)

There is little reason to state that µTorrent is anything other than an internet tool to acquire files the same as a download resumer/accelerator. It was made by a professional software writer, and sold to a corporation. Don't trust your operating system, it has a dirtier history!

As a flexible tool, it can be misused. But the same can be said for any portable storage device taken into work (such as a USB flash memory keychain card) -- such is used to steal more corporate secrets than all the file-sharing in the world combined!

Few businesses would object to you downloading files using Internet Explorer, yet the security record for it is hopelessly dismal compared to µTorrent! EVERY additional line of code is an opportunity for a security weakness! I know of nothing with such compact coding as µTorrent, leaving little room for hidden surprises -- it was almost entirely written by 1 person, which means less chances of misunderstanding of purpose of sections of code...which is a major reason for security flaws and outright bugs.

If your employer cannot trust you to use a program wisely (AFTER you learn about how to limit it to prevent network+internet+computer overloads), then perhaps you should be brushing up on your resume...because they're probably already looking for an excuse to fire you!

µTorrent is secure, robust, and powerful. It is also easily removable. It should not be used on a system that needs to run 24/7 without testing first on a similar system that isn't mission-critical. Such testing is true even of the latest Microsoft updates, which HAS crippled computers.