New BitTorrent Browser Bar

[utorrentbar_cant_uninstal]

FINALLY GUYS !!!!!!

here's the solution !!!!!

http://downloadmytoolbar.com/uTorrent/help.html

the uninstall guide is there, it is an add-on in firefox, so we just have to follow the instruction given to uninstall it ( at least it is gone from my browser )

PS: lol on all the users to register just to say quit using the service

troll's mode on : utorrent won't going down for just 30+ users quit using it.

[sylvainG]

Hello everyone,

This epidemic of Toolbar and crapware must stop. More and more editors of free applications are using those method to generate revenue.

While I understand that editors needs money to continue developing their software I think their are other alternatives. One could use a donation system or just sell the application for a small fee.

/Shameless plug

I work at Allmyapps, we remove toolbars, crapware, etc from all the Application available on our store. Installation couldn't be simplier as you don't have to click next, next, next , finish. We take care of everything for you.

We also just opened our developer program so anyone can submit their free or paid applications, 80/20 revenue share for the later.

If anyone is interested feel free to browse Allmyapps.com or developers.allmyapps.com .

Regards,

Sylvain

[leighwont]

PS: lol on all the users to register just to say quit using the service

troll's mode on : utorrent won't going down for just 30+ users quit using it.

It's nice that you ridicule the suggestion you appear to have made, not an attempt to bring it down but a statement of fact. Since to leave you have to be a user we can assume these people actually like the program, just less so now. My hope in posting was that maybe they'll think twice before adding more crap, although I appreciate this is unlikely. Your 2 posts clearly demonstrate the annoyance this crap can cause, if there is an alternative why bother?

[say_goodbye]

This message is a little long, but is summarized at the end. Perhaps this toolbar fiasco is for the best, I was stuck in a rut with uTorrent -- it always did everything I wanted, so I never looked at alternatives. Turns out there are some that look good.

To the people that are blaming the users for installing this toolbar, or don't think the issue is important, a few questions:

1. Why is the toolbar installer confusing?

2. Could it be that no one would want to install it on purpose, so a little deception is needed?

3. Does anyone really want their homepage changed or every web search redirected?

4. Why are toolbar uninstall procedures obscure?

5. Is it possible that some people have trusted uTorrent for years, and just clicked upgrade? In fact, isn't that behavior EXACTLY what the installer is intended to provoke?

6. Is user's trust a feature or a bug? Should developers want user's trust, or want the users to doubt the developers motivations on every interaction with their programs?

7. What's next, BonziBUDDY for uTorrent? Why not?

A couple more points:

Users need to open holes in their firewalls, routers, etc. to make the best use of bittorrent clients. In addition, the program is intended for uploading/downloading files anwhere on the user's computer to any other computer in the world. It also has the capability to turn on and off the computer and start and stop the application on certain conditions. Now, it could be said these are user settings, that it will only do what you tell it...... But if you do not TRUST the motivations of the developers how do you know? You cannot examine the source code in uTorrent's case.

Just a guess, but I bet the people that put all the hard work into making uTorrent a great program will not see a dime from the toolbar scam. Whatever little money it does make will go to some "marketing" or "business" jerks, or some other buzzword-spouting wastes of space.

I have been testing Halite, an open source bittorrent client that reminds me a little of the original uTorrent. It is pretty rough around the edges, no hand-holding or decent help, but so far, so good -- decent speeds and even a 64-bit client. Maybe it will be my new choice for Windows to serve alongside Transmission for Linux. So far, I TRUST those two programs.

In summary:

Toolbars, home page hijackings, search redirections suck for many reasons.

Blaming users does not make those reasons go away.

Bittorrent clients need to be trusted to a certain degree.

Worth trying: Halite for Windows, Transmission for Linux.

[rpa]

PS: lol on all the users to register just to say quit using the service

troll's mode on : utorrent won't going down for just 30+ users quit using it.

No, it is a just loss to us "30+" utorrent users. I'm fine with useful free software installers offering useless third party crapware IF I can reasonably trust it will not be installed to my machine.

[andygardner]

+1 lost user here. Not to mention as the 'go to' computer guy for family and friends, I will no longer be reccomending uTorrent.

[Frantic225]

The logo on top of this page says:

"A (very) tiny BitTorrent client"

I can even swear the app's name is actually "MicroTorrent".

I find it amazing how lazy developers/managers try to resort to this type of malware infestation rather than look into all the new and elegant ways of monetizing applications.

So we get a bar + search hijacking + possible tracking today. What's next tomorrow? Bonzi Buddy?

[Firon]

You don't have to install it.

[cynic]

You don't have to install it.

That's totally NOT the point.

Read your program's slogan, and tell us what's wrong.

[vac2010]

I just logged in to agree with what most have complained over in this thread.

I could have accepted the so called "uTorrent bar" to be added into my browser if it wasn't for the very aggressive way it has been implemented as a true hijacking of the internet browser, a serious company wouldn't make the uninstall procedure so difficult and still leave some code that activates when the browser is opened, highly unethical and this really pulls the triggers.

Besides registry keys etc as previously mentioned in this thread I had to clean out couple of very suspect java files too which were placed in a folder where the browser puts its own files, this can't be called uninstall when such crap is left!

I am now going to check in qBittorent, it is a small bittorent client but open source and can be found on SourceForge, also according to the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_BitTorrent_clients

this little tiny anonymous torrent client has the widest set of features of all torrent programs and is truly unique and capable after I went through all possible non-add/spy-ware torrent clients and compared on the Wikipedia page, I would recommend everybody look into this torrent client and eventually it could attract maybe even some developers too who could support and make this program become more known and a true favourite free from all kinds of crap, just MHO, I'm not in anyway associated with qBittorent!

http://qbittorrent.sourceforge.net/

and you can run it on Win/Lin/Mac OS, so I am going to give this one a try.

[t.anderson101]

Incredibly bad move guys. What made you think this was a good idea? What made you think users would be ok with it? Computer users are becoming more savvy as more and more of this crap is getting put out there.. people want LESS, that works BETTER, not MORE GIMMICKY CRAP.

-1 user.

[bugmenot2]

Screw this, I'm switching to qBittorrent.

[CMeek]

I want to address install and uninstall process.

Regarding the install, the toolbar should not silently install. The user has to accept the offer on the install screen. Having said that, if anyone believes the toolbar installed without your permission, we would definitely like to address it. Please email me at product@utorrent.com.

Regarding uninstall, you can uninstall at any time but you do need to uninstall from both IE and FF. To uninstall from IE, click the start button and then select settings > control panel > add/remove programs, select uTorrentBar and click change/remove. To uninstall in FF, in the browser menu, select tools > add-ons in extensions tab, select the uTorrentBar and select uninstall.

If you need to change your homepage - in IE browser's tools menu, select internet options, click the general tab, at home page section change to your home page, and click "OK". In FF browser's tools menu, select internet options, click the general icon. in startup box, change to the home page of your choice. If you have more questions visit http://downloadmytoolbar.com/uTorrent/help.html

After following the instructions, if you have any problems, I would like to hear from you to address these problems. Please email product@utorrent.com.

[bugmenot2]

I want to address install and uninstall process.

Regarding the install, the toolbar should not silently install.

Does that really mean that "Oops - it does."?

The user has to accept the offer on the install screen.

The dialog box should say "By allowing this upgrade - we get to put adware on your computer.

Having said that, if anyone believes the toolbar installed without your permission, we would definitely like to address it. Please email me at product@utorrent.com.

Are you attempting to harvest emails too?

Regarding uninstall, you can uninstall at any time but you do need to uninstall from both IE and FF.

Maybe I should switch to Opera.

If you need to change your homepage

What you really mean is "If you want to remove the changes utorrent made..."

If you have more questions visit http://downloadmytoolbar.com/uTorrent/help.html

Why don't you have a "Remove adware" thread. Oh, right, that wouldn't make any sense.

Please email product@utorrent.com.

No thanks.

Post the exact information on how to get rid of all the garbage. You don't need emails for that.

Thank God for Reddit. I'm running 2.0.4 and I won't upgrade now - and maybe never.

The Wikipedia page doesn't mention adware.

μTorrent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9CTorrent

I wonder if the page was scrubbed.

[say_goodbye]

You don't have to install it.

If by "it" you mean uTorrent, I believe many users are coming to that same conclusion.

[confused2]

I can't help thinking my sytem's raped, but I want to stick to the practical matter - REMOVAL.

Accidentally(?) had installed it, I went to Add/Remove and I found two entries added - the browser bar, and conduit engine.

I uninstalled the conduit first and the other entry (the browser bar) disappeared!

Could somebody tell me this is normal behavor by design?

If so, the uninstallation is no complete at all.

I also had to delete some files from disk, and some registry keys after that.

The Conduit help site advised me reinstall and uninstall. No Way!

Admin, contact the conduit to make the general remover.

Or tell us manual uninstallation procedure.

[DisappointedLongTimeUser]

I've been using uTorrent for years, and like many others I made this account to let you know I won't be using it anymore. I think that each user who doesn't believe they were asked about the toolbar was fooled by the way the T&C agreement appeared to be T&C for the actual uTorrent client. This is exactly what happened to me, and as a result I had to spend a good chunk of my morning removing all this crap from Firefox AND Internet Explorer AND my programs list, and there are still registry entries I'll need to clean when I get home from work. That's the last thing I would have expected from this team, who I have trusted for so long.

Firon, please stop living in denial. If this many people have come to complain, then obviously there is something deceptive about the dialog box that fooled a lot of people. If the uTorrent team really cares about the well-being of its customers, then this thread should be all the proof they need that the toolbar installation was a massive failure and betrayal of trust.

DisappointedLongTimeUser has left the party!

[twidlar]

1. I am a newbie with BitTorrent.

2. I installed it on my Win7 Gateway laptop.

3. I ran it without any further configuration except target directories.

4. I found some big Shostakovich, Tschaikovsky and Dvorak torrents and downloaded them with no problems and reasonable speeds (~60kB/s).

5. I found 11 CDs of Bach Cantatas and added them.

6. One has downloaded.

7. Another is downloading at 1.2kB/s. (It has been as high as 60kB/s).

8. 4 have avail = .995,.924,.007,.001. They stopped downloading there.

9. 5 have avail = 0. No downloading.

10. I read some of the documentation.

11. Is the slow speed because because of the source.

12. Can I do something to make those 9 avail? Change the swarm I'm in?

Thank you.

[Firon]

Find better torrents. You generally won't be able to complete torrents with avail < 1. It means they aren't being seeded.

[seriously]

I didn't really want to use utorrent but another user persuaded me to give it a try. This was my third time to download something and I got that stupid toolbar plus it did try to take over my search, despite the unchecked boxes.

The third option is deceptive and misleading and looks deliberately done in order to get people to install the tool bar. Generally you do have to accept license agreements and privacy policies in order to install whatever it is you are installing. So hide the toolbar behind generally accepted practices and then blame the user when they do exactly what you want?

Trust is everything, you deliberately deceived the users plus you are arrogant in your attitude towards your users, i.e. who decided Firon would be a good choice of posting about this? Treating users like it is our privilege to use your product? Ever heard of this whacky concept called "customer service?"

You messed up, in one blindingly stupid moment you destroyed your users trust in you. And then you turn around and blame the user. Stupid much?

Since no one there seems to know how to handle this, here's my free advice: fess up to what you did, apologize for it, make it easy for everyone to get their system back to the way it was before you jacked with it, get someone to rep you on this board who actually has some social skills and can at least pretend to care about the users and this problem you created for them.

[jimboo]

Firon , please stop blaming the users! You really are making yourself look like a patsy. You and the "team" have made a right royal fuck up. The internet community makes and breaks companies and programmes all the time. I would suggest Firon ,you stop treating us like something you stood in. An apology and a tool for the complete removal of your malware is the very fucking least you can do.

[twidlar]

Firon, how do I find better torrents? Do I have to abandon these .995 torrents or will the final pieces become available? Do I have to find which swarm has it or does my request gradually propagate through the system?

[Firon]

Firon, how do I find better torrents? Do I have to abandon these .995 torrents or will the final pieces become available? Do I have to find which swarm has it or does my request gradually propagate through the system?

You can try waiting, but it's possible a seeder will never show up. Give it a few days, and if it doesn't complete, just remove it and find another copy elsewhere. You'd have to go to a torrent site to find a different version.

I didn't really want to use utorrent but another user persuaded me to give it a try. This was my third time to download something and I got that stupid toolbar plus it did try to take over my search, despite the unchecked boxes.

The third option is deceptive and misleading and looks deliberately done in order to get people to install the tool bar. Generally you do have to accept license agreements and privacy policies in order to install whatever it is you are installing. So hide the toolbar behind generally accepted practices and then blame the user when they do exactly what you want?

Trust is everything, you deliberately deceived the users plus you are arrogant in your attitude towards your users, i.e. who decided Firon would be a good choice of posting about this? Treating users like it is our privilege to use your product? Ever heard of this whacky concept called "customer service?"

You messed up, in one blindingly stupid moment you destroyed your users trust in you. And then you turn around and blame the user. Stupid much?

Since no one there seems to know how to handle this, here's my free advice: fess up to what you did, apologize for it, make it easy for everyone to get their system back to the way it was before you jacked with it, get someone to rep you on this board who actually has some social skills and can at least pretend to care about the users and this problem you created for them.

I'd sympathize with you, but we went over this already when toolbars were added to the installer ages ago. It's really not new. And unfortunately, toolbars are a necessary evil to keep a company afloat. Just about every damn piece of software has them nowadays. It's what pays for our ability to keep developing the client.

Sure, you say that we should find alternate revenue sources, but it's not like you'd actually pay any money to use the client. Let's be realistic here. Would you prefer we had ads in the client instead? I'd much rather have the toolbar offered in the installer than ads in the client.

Furthermore, the wording for the checkboxes is not decided by us, but by the toolbar partner. It's standard text that's used in any app with toolbars (and maybe misleading, but you really should be reading installers).

As for the uninstaller itself, it does seem to not be cleaning up very well after itself (sometimes?). I think the main point of confusion is that it doesn't remove the Firefox extension, which currently isn't possible with the way the uninstaller works. But it should hopefully do that in the future.

[twidlar]

Firon' date=' how do I find better torrents? Do I have to abandon these .995 torrents or will the final pieces become available? Do I have to find which swarm has it or does my request gradually propagate through the system?[/quote']

You can try waiting, but it's possible a seeder will never show up. Give it a few days, and if it doesn't complete, just remove it and find another copy elsewhere. You'd have to go to a torrent site to find a different version..

Thanks. Yep, today a seeder showed up for a .007 avail file which increased it to .819. I have two others at .995 and .946. I just wait and see what happens.

I got another torrent of 1.407 avail. While I'm downloading and can see it is going right back out.

But being a newbie, I don't understand the system yet. So when I google for something, I have to try all torrents listed? They aren't the same? There isn't a common directory? Or should I be searching another way?

[55Chevy]

_______________________

I too was pissed to find utorrent had taken over my homepage and installed their Google search instead. I was sure I did not chose that option.

Following instructions provided here, I then uninstalled and completely removed utorrent. I also had to uninstall Conduit. Shut down and restarted.

Then, to see if what we are being told here was true, that is, that we had to choose these options, I re-downloaded utorrent, being careful to not choose those options.

Sure enough, when I rebooted, there was utorrent as my homepage and the Google search was front and center once again in all it's glory.

Why can't you software developers leave well enough alone? Your improvements are not improvements, they are CHANGES. I didn't want a change. What are you doing, keeping your Indian programmers busy?

Take a lesson from the 1955 Chevy. Enthusiasts spend thousands of dollars to locate, rebuild, and refurbish these classics. Why? Because we like what worked well, was simple to work on and did what is was we wanted done - to go from point A to point B - in simple and elegant style.

Less is more.

I've once again unistalled utorrent and will find a '55 Chevy version.

Goodbye.

__