Not getting a green circle.

[crazyo5026]

I don't know what that thing is called, but I know it's supposed to be green. Anyways, it's yellow for the most part and I have forwarded my listening port tcp/udp. I've seen it green before but for the most part it never is. I'm wondering if this could be why my download speeds struggle. The port checker says I'm not forwarded although I find no error in how I forwarded the port. I have a 5mbit service, verizon, not known to throttle, and I get dl speeds of usually 50-100 kB/s even on torrents with many seeds and peers, but no ul speed problems, usually maxes out fast.

Also, another question. When I look at my peer list, there are many peers that I am neither downloading nor uploading to. If I'm not interacting with them then why am I connected? Just something I've been wondering, I don't think it's a problem.

Some information:

# What the port checker from the Speed Guide writes: closed, but I forwarded it, and I don't know what could be wrong.

# What you have net.max_halfopen set to: haven't messed with this, whatever the default is, (8?).

# Operating system installed: Windows XP

# Security software installed: Norton

# Router: Actiontec MI424WR

# ISP Verizon

# Connection type: Fiber Optics, 5mbit download, 1mbit upload.

#Utorrent 1.8

Thank you for any help and feel free to ask for more information if I've forgotten anything..

[Switeck]

Did you port forward your modem (if it acts as a router or firewall)?

Are you using speed settings in uTorrent NO higher than xx/1mbit in Speed Guide (CTRL+G)?

Have you tried completely uninstalling Norton products, as most are known to severely disrupt a computer's performance.

[crazyo5026]

1. I don't believe that I am able to access my modem like that.

2. I am set to xx/1mbit

3. I haven't tried uninstalling Norton, but I'm not very willing to for the security of my computer. I've tried Avast and AVG and they both turned out to be worse than Norton (constantly getting pop-ups asking me to allow processes, same ones over and over even if I selected permit always). I really don't know what else there is to try. Is it possible that if I just disable Norton for a bit, as in completely exit it out, that it will have the same effect as it not being installed?

[Switeck]

If you have a router AND windows firewall activated (but allowing uTorrent), then you are reasonably secure. This is assuming you are only port forwarding uTorrent's incoming port and not a whole horde of other things...and that uTorrent's incoming port is not one used by other processes. (Forwarding port 445 could be bad for instance.)

Norton hooks so much into the deepest parts of the operating system that nothing short of a FULL uninstall can remove its influence. And there will probably even be registry entries or worse left over if you're only using Norton's uninstaller/s.