No Connection could be made, target machine actively refused it

[McSniffles]

I am using the 1.7.7 uTorrent:

I downloaded uTorrent and found it a very clean client, but if I try to open any torrent from any site the tracker will not connect. I get the following message in the "Tracker Status: No Connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it"

Upon Installation I was prompted to check the port that was typed in and of course it returned "Error! Port xxxxx does not appear to be open." and it advised me to follow the steps outlined at http://www.portforward.com/english/applications/port_forwarding/Utor/Utorindex.htm which include setting up a static IP and adjusting the Port Forwarding options of my router. I completed the tutorial several times... even trying a couple different things of my own, but it still does not work.

I checked the port that BitComet used as a default and tried that and it didn't work even though BitComet downloaded the same torrent just fine.

Any sort of help would be appreciated

[jewelisheaven]

BitComet doesn't need a forwarded port to work. That's where the difference comes in. Actively refused actually sounds like a firewall/security software problem... are you running any http://utorrent.com/faq.php#Incompatible_software

For port forwarding to be clearer you need to know 1) how many devices are between you and your ISP, and 2) how many of them are/have routers built-in.

First you should check to see if you can get ANY connections to trackers using the tutorial torrents, Openoffice or slackware. http://slackware.com/torrents/ is one of them.. and if you can't even connect to the tracker then solve your software problem first. After that you can tackle the forwarding problem between you and your ISP.

Things to note: Are you sure you are a static IP outside the router's default DHCP range? (use something 200-250) Are you sure you have the right IP address (start->run->cmd /k ipconfig) and the right PORT (Ctrl-G)

[Firon]

You've likely got a firewall blocking utorrent.

[McSniffles]

I feel like killing myself. Apparently Zone Alarm was running in the background without showin up in the system tray even though I thought I un-installed it a LONG time ago. Really wish I wouldhave done that sooner.

[Switeck]

Don't blame yourself.

LOTS of commercial software really lacks the professional touch it used to have.

More and more are including phone-home, auto-update, screw-with-your-networking-while-doing-it features that send out a LOT of unnecessary information about you and your computer in the process of updating.

Some, especially games, include basically rootkits to prevent easy copying or hacking. These can REALLY foul up other system-intertwined utilities and programs running on your computer.

There's an old joke that the easiest way to make a computer unusable is just install all the latest Microsoft products at once...with default settings.