Topic: Which Torrent client for Windows?

[Gutbucket]

Searched for an existing thread but found nothing current or appropriate, so I'm making a new one.

Haven't had a Torrent client installed in a while but wish to grab a few recordings this weekend that other TS'ers have pointed me to.  Don't need anything fancy, just something simple and bug/spyware free to grab a couple file sets.

Will be used on a Win10 machine.

I see that on the bt.etree.org homepage there is a link to Transmissionbt, but the bt.etree.org page for the torrent I'm interested in has instead has a link to Utorrent. Have used Utorrent in the past.

Thanks in advance

[rocksuitcase]

kindms and I use Deluge these days. Can't recall why utorrent isn't the one, as I used to use it as well.

https://dev.deluge-torrent.org/wiki/Download

https://dev.deluge-torrent.org/

[audBall]

Still on uTorrent v2.2.1 after all these years. Apparently that was the "last" non-malware version or something. The GUI looks kinda funny, but it still works when I need it.

[robgronotte]

Still on uTorrent v2.2.1 after all these years. Apparently that was the "last" non-malware version or something. The GUI looks kinda funny, but it still works when I need it.

Same here. It is recommended by and works great on DIME, which I use more than any other torrent site.

[Gordon]

https://www.qbittorrent.org

[unidentified]

uTorrent v2.2.1

[voltronic]

kindms and I use Deluge these days. Can't recall why utorrent isn't the one, as I used to use it as well.

https://dev.deluge-torrent.org/wiki/Download

https://dev.deluge-torrent.org/

+1 on Deluge. Support open-source software.

I advise people NOT to use uTorrent. They have had a string of serious vulnerabilities that could put you at risk.

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?form_type=Basic&results_type=overview&query=utorrent&queryType=phrase&search_type=all&isCpeNameSearch=false

[jefflester]

Still on uTorrent v2.2.1 after all these years. Apparently that was the "last" non-malware version or something. The GUI looks kinda funny, but it still works when I need it.

Same here. It is recommended by and works great on DIME, which I use more than any other torrent site.

Another 2.2.1 user here.

[vanark]

Some trackers are planning to ban 2.2.1 in the coming months due to it's lack of support for end to end encryption. 2.2.1 is a bit long in the tooth at this point and I would suggest if you are starting out that you select a more modern client. Deluge or qbitorrent probably. I don't use a client any longer as I have a seed box.

[Gordon]

uTorrent v2.2.1 is closed source and 12 years old!!  From a security standpoint there is no way in hell I would use that!  qBittorrent is open source and regularly updated.....

[capnhook]

qBittorrent

I quit uTorrent v2.2.1 years ago

I only use it now to serve my completed shows to my stereo

[audBall]

All good points and great recs! I'll likely move along to something else. I rarely torrent much at all these days so that's probably kept me from the push.

[voltronic]

uTorrent v2.2.1 is closed source and 12 years old!!  From a security standpoint there is no way in hell I would use that!  qBittorrent is open source and regularly updated.....

I feel like a couple people above skipped right past this link. I'm posting it again because I feel it's important.

uTorrent should be considered unsafe to use.

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?form_type=Basic&results_type=overview&query=utorrent&queryType=phrase&search_type=all&isCpeNameSearch=false

[robgronotte]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

[admkrk]

Those are all related to v2.0 and v3.1. Unless I am missing something.

[Dan33185]

Using 2.2.1 here and have never had a issue in 10+ years.

[voltronic]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

It's very clear if you follow the link.

[vanark]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

It's very clear if you follow the link.

To be fair, that content is a bit technical. That said, you can all bury your heads in the sand and say it is working fine for you, but it simply is a security issue for you. Will you be/have you been impacted? No idea, but do you want to take that chance when there are alternatives that have been recommended by others in the community? Use some logic here. You are using a version that is 12 years old, a product that exposes you and your computer to the internet. Why do you want to take that chance?

[voltronic]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

It's very clear if you follow the link.

To be fair, that content is a bit technical. That said, you can all bury your heads in the sand and say it is working fine for you, but it simply is a security issue for you. Will you be/have you been impacted? No idea, but do you want to take that chance when there are alternatives that have been recommended by others in the community? Use some logic here. You are using a version that is 12 years old, a product that exposes you and your computer to the internet. Why do you want to take that chance?

Well said. I'm really frustrated with the people in this thread burying their heads in the sand.

Yes, the link I posted is technical, but I was trying to show the accumulation of CVEs reported over the years rather than post a few isolated articles. If people want the non-technical descriptions, just search for "utorrent vulnerability" and read the dozens of articles that pop up. Most of those articles are a few years old now, but you raise an excellent point that people are advocating use of a 12-year old version of software, which is highly dangerous even if there weren't these serious reported vulnerabilities. And torrenting is somewhat risky to start with. You need to open a special port on your computer, allow a firewall exception, and trust that your torrent software isn't going to let anything stray outside of the boundaries that have been set.

Well, older versions of uTorrent have been proven to not be safe. I don't know what more you need to hear in order to stop using it.

Anyone that responds to this with "yeah, but I'm really careful" - You may actually just be lucky. Don't complain here when you get infected with something nasty.  Use up-to-date, and preferably open-source software.

[robgronotte]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

It's very clear if you follow the link.

To be fair, that content is a bit technical. That said, you can all bury your heads in the sand and say it is working fine for you, but it simply is a security issue for you. Will you be/have you been impacted? No idea, but do you want to take that chance when there are alternatives that have been recommended by others in the community? Use some logic here. You are using a version that is 12 years old, a product that exposes you and your computer to the internet. Why do you want to take that chance?

Well said. I'm really frustrated with the people in this thread burying their heads in the sand.

Yes, the link I posted is technical, but I was trying to show the accumulation of CVEs reported over the years rather than post a few isolated articles. If people want the non-technical descriptions, just search for "utorrent vulnerability" and read the dozens of articles that pop up. Most of those articles are a few years old now, but you raise an excellent point that people are advocating use of a 12-year old version of software, which is highly dangerous even if there weren't these serious reported vulnerabilities. And torrenting is somewhat risky to start with. You need to open a special port on your computer, allow a firewall exception, and trust that your torrent software isn't going to let anything stray outside of the boundaries that have been set.

Well, older versions of uTorrent have been proven to not be safe. I don't know what more you need to hear in order to stop using it.

Anyone that responds to this with "yeah, but I'm really careful" - You may actually just be lucky. Don't complain here when you get infected with something nasty.  Use up-to-date, and preferably open-source software.

As someone else pointed out, the page you linked says absolutely nothing about utorrent 2.2.1, so either the page was too technical for you to understand as well, or you're privy to some information you're not providing to us.

[Dan33185]

Some trackers don't allow versions newer than 2.2.1, and for good reason.

[Gordon]

Some trackers don't allow versions newer than 2.2.1, and for good reason.

again!!

https://www.qbittorrent.org

[voltronic]

It would be more helpful if you told us exactly what the security problems amount to. I have used it for 15 years and have never had any issues.

It's very clear if you follow the link.

To be fair, that content is a bit technical. That said, you can all bury your heads in the sand and say it is working fine for you, but it simply is a security issue for you. Will you be/have you been impacted? No idea, but do you want to take that chance when there are alternatives that have been recommended by others in the community? Use some logic here. You are using a version that is 12 years old, a product that exposes you and your computer to the internet. Why do you want to take that chance?

Well said. I'm really frustrated with the people in this thread burying their heads in the sand.

Yes, the link I posted is technical, but I was trying to show the accumulation of CVEs reported over the years rather than post a few isolated articles. If people want the non-technical descriptions, just search for "utorrent vulnerability" and read the dozens of articles that pop up. Most of those articles are a few years old now, but you raise an excellent point that people are advocating use of a 12-year old version of software, which is highly dangerous even if there weren't these serious reported vulnerabilities. And torrenting is somewhat risky to start with. You need to open a special port on your computer, allow a firewall exception, and trust that your torrent software isn't going to let anything stray outside of the boundaries that have been set.

Well, older versions of uTorrent have been proven to not be safe. I don't know what more you need to hear in order to stop using it.

Anyone that responds to this with "yeah, but I'm really careful" - You may actually just be lucky. Don't complain here when you get infected with something nasty.  Use up-to-date, and preferably open-source software.

As someone else pointed out, the page you linked says absolutely nothing about utorrent 2.2.1, so either the page was too technical for you to understand as well, or you're privy to some information you're not providing to us.

Ah, I think I understand your confusion. You saw Version 3.x and Version 2.0 and thought those were talking about uTorrent versions. Not the case: Those are two different versions of the Common Vulnerability Scoring System as detailed on this page under Severity.

The CVE pages actually do not specifically mention any uTorrent version, but these articles referencing some of the CVEs are all recommending updating to the latest version, which at the time of their publication was 3.5. So I think it's safe to assume 2.2.1 is NOT SAFE, and I can't believe I still need to convince people that running software of this type that is so out of date is a big risk.

https://www.techradar.com/news/utorrent-vulnerabilities-leave-users-at-risk-of-hacking-and-snooping
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/utorrent-client-affected-by-some-pretty-severe-security-flaws/
https://threatpost.com/utorrent-users-warned-of-remote-code-execution-vulnerability/130030/
https://hothardware.com/news/utorrent-exploit-allows-hackers-remotely-control-your-pc

[Scooter123]

My head is deeply buried in the sand, and for the 2-3x a year I use 2.2.1 here and have never had a issue in 10+ years. 

[Dan33185]

Some trackers don't allow versions newer than 2.2.1, and for good reason.

again!!

https://www.qbittorrent.org

I've tried it, just couldn't get used to it. Like I said, I've never had an issue with 2.2.1, it does what I need and nothing more, and I've never had any security issues in 10+ years.

[rigpimp]

Some trackers don't allow versions newer than 2.2.1, and for good reason.

again!!

https://www.qbittorrent.org

I have been using QB for years now and the past couple of versions have done weird stuff to my RAM resources where my PC virtually stops responding.

[Gordon]

Zero issues with ram here...

[Dan33185]

So I guess what we've discovered in this thread is people use different clients for different reasons, and there's really no wrong answer.

[voltronic]

 

I was trying to help, but it's clear my help isn't being well received so I'm going to back away here. Peace, everyone.

[vanark]

I was trying to help, but it's clear my help isn't being well received so I'm going to back away here. Peace, everyone.

Yep, I started to write a response earlier today and decided that I had already conveyed reasonable information on the topic and for some reason it was being ignored. Oh well, I tried to help out.

[Gordon]

I was trying to help, but it's clear my help isn't being well received so I'm going to back away here. Peace, everyone.

Yep, I started to write a response earlier today and decided that I had already conveyed reasonable information on the topic and for some reason it was being ignored. Oh well, I tried to help out.

Same!! 

[Gordon]

The "it works with no issue" crowd....

Would you still use an internet facing XP, Vista, 7 or 8 machine? 

[Dan33185]

The "it works with no issue" crowd....

Would you still use an internet facing XP, Vista, 7 or 8 machine?

Sure, if I was pleased with the way it works and I had no issues. I use Open Shell on Windows 10 to replace the Windows 7 UI, I just like to use what I feel comfortable with and what works for me.

[admkrk]

The "it works with no issue" crowd....

Would you still use an internet facing XP, Vista, 7 or 8 machine?

Win 7, yep.

Do I expect someone to write a new bug targeted at my machine now? Hell no, why would they? It is not worth the effort when they can target all the newer machines that most people are using.

[Gordon]

Wow!

[capnhook]

So I guess what we've discovered in this thread is people use different clients for different reasons, and there's really no wrong answer.

  wrong answer guy

[Scooter123]

As an analogy, I use a commercial grade table saw for woodworking that is pre-war (the big one, WWII) that is 240v and nearly 4hp, which by today's standards might be considered unsafe by some people.  However, I know its limitations, take precautions, and am super comfortable with it.  I don't begrudge those fellow woodworkers that like to use saws with built in sensors and all sorts of whistles and bells for safety.  I get it.  But I'm comfortable with my saw and it has worked just fine for about 75 years. 

The problem with any downloading program is downloading executable files.  Two ways to get around this. 

First, all downloads ought to go into a designated folder, or even better, a separate drive on your computer, and even better is what I do, I have a small expendable laptop which does all the dirty work for downloads.  Look at the files you've downloaded before installing them to your made hard drive or your main desktop.  Obviously if its anything other than a flac, wave, mp4 or mp3, delete it and don't click on it. 

Second, use an anti-virus (the one installed on Windows is a good one and updates about monthly) and scan those downloaded files before installing or loading them onto your main drive or your main computer.  About once every couple years, I seem to get a virus on the laptop, which the Microsoft Virus program tells me, and it is usually fairly benign, like a pop-up.  I haven't been stupid enough to download an executable, since somebody hacked my friends email and sent me naked pictures of Anna Kornakova in the 1990s which of course weren't naked pictures of her, but a virus. 

I do sometimes download a bootleg audio program off some sketchy web sites and some of those have nasty viruses and some are perfectly workable.  Again, use some common sense protocols when downloading anything.  My laptop is expendable, but so far has not had to go into service for re-formatting for a very long time.    Once it functions in my laptop, I move the files or programs over to my desktop. 

What torrent program one uses and how one downloads is a matter of personal preference based on your tolerance for risk and one's protocols for addressing those risks. 

[Gordon]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

[Dan33185]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

That's every torrent software, so I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether. It's the internet, you are taking a risk of being hacked, malware being injected on to your computer, etc., every time you log on. Just use common sense and for the most part trouble can be avoided. Using an older version of a torrent program isn't anywhere near the riskiest thing you can do on a computer.

[Dan33185]

So I guess what we've discovered in this thread is people use different clients for different reasons, and there's really no wrong answer.

  wrong answer guy

With a convincing argument like that, I guess I have no choice but to change my mind.

[Gordon]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

That's every torrent software, so I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether. It's the internet, you are taking a risk of being hacked, malware being injected on to your computer, etc., every time you log on.

Which is even more reason to use an up to date open source client!

[vanark]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

That's every torrent software, so I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether. It's the internet, you are taking a risk of being hacked, malware being injected on to your computer, etc., every time you log on.

Which is even more reason to use an up to date open source client!

Give it up, G. 10 years ago, it was the best torrent client so it must still be!

[vanark]

What torrent program one uses and how one downloads is a matter of personal preference based on your tolerance for risk and one's protocols for addressing those risks.

That is a perfectly reasonable approach, but to ignore the risk because you simply don't want to change the program you are using, or to tell another user that you recommend a specific client because you deem the risk to be so esoteric it can be ignored, I don't find that reasonable. The thread was recommendations for a torrent client. Some recommended utorrent 2.2.1 without any caveat to the risk. When the risk was pointed out, others disregarded it. Which is fine for you personally, but not sure it is appropriate to not disclose the risk to someone else and not let them make their own risk assessment.

[Gutbucket]

Thanks for the recommendations and the discussion surrounding them. 

Will look into qbitorrent and deluge.

[Dan33185]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

That's every torrent software, so I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether. It's the internet, you are taking a risk of being hacked, malware being injected on to your computer, etc., every time you log on.

Which is even more reason to use an up to date open source client!

Give it up, G. 10 years ago, it was the best torrent client so it must still be!

Please don't put words in my mouth. I gave my opinion on what works for me and why, I never said it was the best for everyone. I appreciate you looking out for my internet security, but I guess I must be doing something right at this point to have not had a problem. I only use private trackers, so it lessens my risk, and always keep my anti virus up to date. I'm not alone in using 2.2.1 and not having any problems, so not sure why you're so dead set on convincing people to switch.

[capnhook]

Except with torrent software you are literally creating an open door to your machine and exposing your IP to everyone in the swarm!!  Huge difference....

That's every torrent software, so I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether. It's the internet, you are taking a risk of being hacked, malware being injected on to your computer, etc., every time you log on.

Which is even more reason to use an up to date open source client!

Give it up, G. 10 years ago, it was the best torrent client so it must still be!

Please don't put words in my mouth. I gave my opinion on what works for me and why, I never said it was the best for everyone. I appreciate you looking out for my internet security, but I guess I must be doing something right at this point to have not had a problem. I only use private trackers, so it lessens my risk, and always keep my anti virus up to date. I'm not alone in using 2.2.1 and not having any problems, so not sure why you're so dead set on convincing people to switch.

Dan33185  you've convinced me to switch back, thanks.  Glad you did not block me last year like you said you would.  I learned something today, glad I got up.

[Gutbucket]

Discussion about mitigating threat potential is exactly what I was looking for and is most definitely welcome in this thread.  Thanks everyone.

I don't wish to get involved in the dispute, but will try and shed some light on where I think the misunderstanding lies.  Dan33185, I believe the statements below are the key parts against which you are getting push back from the others:

"I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether"
^
Phrasing this as an all or nothing statement assumes a subcontext that all torrent clients pose an equivalent risk, which is counter to the point the others are trying to make.  I would phrase it as: All torrent clients pose some degree of risk due to requiring an open port, etc, etc., yet some pose more risk than others.  The follow up is then about the significance of the risk and ways to reduce it, such as by choosing to use actively patched open-source software, etc..

"I must be doing something right at this point to have not had a problem."
^
You may have never had a problem, and hopefully never will, but this falsely equates future potential outcomes with past outcomes.  It is a false equivalence because although nothing has changed on your end, things are constantly changing at the other end.  That the threat is constantly evolving and how best to deal with that is the point others are trying to make.  Its all about addressing the threat before it is able to be acted upon and causes harm.   

By definition things are historically all good with no problems right up until the point that they are not, then once it happens its too late to be avoided.  If one wishes to continue the streak of good luck in perpetuity, not having had a problem previously is weak assurance that such good luck will continue. Consider this logically equivalent hypothetical statement: I've never had a bad car accident before, so there is no need for me to start wearing a seatbelt.

[Dan33185]

Discussion about mitigating threat potential is exactly what I was looking for and is most definitely welcome in this thread.  Thanks everyone.

I don't wish to get involved in the dispute, but will try and shed some light on where I think the misunderstanding lies.  Dan33185, I believe the statements below are the key parts against which you are getting push back from the others:

"I guess if you don't want to run that risk, avoid torrents altogether"
^
Phrasing this as an all or nothing statement assumes a subcontext that all torrent clients pose an equivalent risk, which is counter to the point the others are trying to make.  I would phrase it as: All torrent clients pose some degree of risk due to requiring an open port, etc, etc., yet some pose more risk than others.  The follow up is then about the significance of the risk and ways to reduce it, such as by choosing to use actively patched open-source software, etc..

"I must be doing something right at this point to have not had a problem."
^
You may have never had a problem, and hopefully never will, but this falsely equates future potential outcomes with past outcomes.  It is a false equivalence because although nothing has changed on your end, things are constantly changing at the other end.  That the threat is constantly evolving and how best to deal with that is the point others are trying to make.  Its all about addressing the threat before it is able to be acted upon and causes harm.   

By definition things are historically all good with no problems right up until the point that they are not, then once it happens its too late to be avoided.  If one wishes to continue the streak of good luck in perpetuity, not having had a problem previously is weak assurance that such good luck will continue. Consider this logically equivalent hypothetical statement: I've never had a bad car accident before, so there is no need for me to start wearing a seatbelt.

I was giving my experience with the software I use, I wasn't necessarily trying to convince anyone to use what I use. Everyone should use what works best for them, and getting opinions from multiple people will help in choosing anything in life. Torrents, by nature, can be risky, is what I meant by if you want to guarantee you won't be breached or hacked by them, don't use them at all. You are literally opening your network and IP to a stranger, there's always risk. But, if you're smart about what your sharing and receiving (avoiding public trackers for example), and have up to date anti-virus/anti-malware software, chances are you'll be alright. If you find qBittorrent works for what you need, that's great, I won't try to convince you otherwise, because everyone's needs are different. Ultimately, you have to like what you are using, and feel safe using it.

[moondust.and.solitude]

This was actually a very informative read for me ... I had been using the same client for a while (several years) and I took the advice of finding something better & a little more up-to-date. I am now using qBittorrent v4.6.2 and I am really liking it. Lots of features. Thanks for the heads up and advice.

[moondust.and.solitude]

UPDATE:  I've been running qBit for about a week now. Downloaded a little over a dozen shows and this is a very feature rich, steady as heck program. I know that there was some debate as to " why " and " what if ", but I am tickled to be using this one. As a side note, I have not had one Windows Defender or Malwarebytes notification of a potential security issue ... and the old uTorrent program I was using constantly gave false warnings. Sometimes change is good

[breakonthru]

i feel like this thread misses the forest for the trees.

your #1 risk in torrenting isnt malware thru clients, its copyright BS from content owners and ISPs. client selection is wayyy down the list and is essentially a non-issue if you are using private trackers (as you should)

im moving away from windows (as its garbage and keeps getting worse) but for windows the latest qbittorrent is as good as anything else, security-wise
utorrent 2.2.1 was the standard for many years and was operationally superior to qbit (and if you ever dropped an external usb disk and had qbit thrash your disk while attempting to hash check hundreds or thousands of torrents simultaneously you know what im talking about). now it is long in the tooth and scheduled for deprication by the major torrent sites

hands down the best alternative for operation, security, and stability is rtorrent with an rutorrent frontend. my homelab (nothing special - a $200 desktop with a fat ass 3.5" drive in it) runs rtorrent on a basic linux install and has been seeding well over 10000 torrents without a hiccup or a crash for well over a year.

if youre really paranoid about copyright, etc, (im not as i dont use public trackers and rarely DL movies and TV shows) just rent an application slot in the netherlands for less than $10 a month. its way faster than your home internet and you can securely transfer files  to home via FTP, resilio, rsync, and numerous other methods. having rutorrent/rtorrent on both ends makes migration a breeze as you can easily move as many torrents as you like to a single folder, then highlight and right-click the list of torrents and download every .torrent file in a zip to checksum/resume seeding at home.

you could also torrent movies to there and watch them at home over plex or emby. you can also move back and forth between gdrive and mega to your slot to torrent or mirror filesets. well worth the cost imo.

at the end of the day, i dont think theres a single fileset i cant find on the private trackers like red, ops, ipt, concertos, anonymouse, LL. Etree kinda sucks these days and LL is a better alternative imo. i cant recall any user having a single security issue with any of the lsit of sites above, i certainly havent. whether you are downloading cracked software and running keygen .exes on your computer, i cant help that, nor would downloading that file witha different torrent client or platform make any difference whatsoever.

happy torrenting

[moondust.and.solitude]

i feel like this thread misses the forest for the trees.

your #1 risk in torrenting isnt malware thru clients, its copyright BS from content owners and ISPs. client selection is wayyy down the list and is essentially a non-issue if you are using private trackers (as you should)

im moving away from windows (as its garbage and keeps getting worse) but for windows the latest qbittorrent is as good as anything else, security-wise
utorrent 2.2.1 was the standard for many years and was operationally superior to qbit (and if you ever dropped an external usb disk and had qbit thrash your disk while attempting to hash check hundreds or thousands of torrents simultaneously you know what im talking about). now it is long in the tooth and scheduled for deprication by the major torrent sites

hands down the best alternative for operation, security, and stability is rtorrent with an rutorrent frontend. my homelab (nothing special - a $200 desktop with a fat ass 3.5" drive in it) runs rtorrent on a basic linux install and has been seeding well over 10000 torrents without a hiccup or a crash for well over a year.

if youre really paranoid about copyright, etc, (im not as i dont use public trackers and rarely DL movies and TV shows) just rent an application slot in the netherlands for less than $10 a month. its way faster than your home internet and you can securely transfer files  to home via FTP, resilio, rsync, and numerous other methods. having rutorrent/rtorrent on both ends makes migration a breeze as you can easily move as many torrents as you like to a single folder, then highlight and right-click the list of torrents and download every .torrent file in a zip to checksum/resume seeding at home.

you could also torrent movies to there and watch them at home over plex or emby. you can also move back and forth between gdrive and mega to your slot to torrent or mirror filesets. well worth the cost imo.

at the end of the day, i dont think theres a single fileset i cant find on the private trackers like red, ops, ipt, concertos, anonymouse, LL. Etree kinda sucks these days and LL is a better alternative imo. i cant recall any user having a single security issue with any of the lsit of sites above, i certainly havent. whether you are downloading cracked software and running keygen .exes on your computer, i cant help that, nor would downloading that file witha different torrent client or platform make any difference whatsoever.

happy torrenting

Actually your comment looks to be geared more towards downloading copyrighted movies and TV shows than what the majority of the people on here use torrents for, which is sharing live performances of taper friendly bands. I don't think it's a paranoid thing as much as it's just time to upgrade to something more stable.

[breakonthru]

no, as i mentioned, i rarely download TV and movies, unless my wife asks me, only one of the half dozen sites i listed even have those (IPT). i use the app slot for the speed mostly, can seed up to 10TB a month, at megabit speeds. just some general info which i hope can help  others. 

theres at least one other person in this thread who mentioned using a seedbox so i know im not alone.

the major motivation for building my home box was organizational actually. i got tired of having unknown stuff scattered out over dozens of externals collected over 25 years of downloading and rtorrent was the key to having a large library that i could checksum and move from machine to machine. its extremely powerful which is why most seedboxes use it. It does things that other clients simply cannot do, and its open-source and regularly updated, the common rec in this thread regardless of client choice.

i like building computers, modern ones with dual nvmes make editing my recordings go way faster. win-win

[moondust.and.solitude]

no, as i mentioned, i rarely download TV and movies, unless my wife asks me, only one of the half dozen sites i listed even have those (IPT). i use the app slot for the speed mostly, can seed up to 10TB a month, at megabit speeds. just some general info which i hope can help  others. 

theres at least one other person in this thread who mentioned using a seedbox so i know im not alone.

It's all good. I'm not pointing fingers. I just saw the "TV shows and movies" and the mention of using plex and/or emby (for watching said movies and shows) and then the Netherlands comment ... which is usually used to skirt copyright materials. Those type of torrents do carry a risk of sorts, but not everyone uses torrents in that manner. I use P2P torrent to share studio tracks with other musicians when recording sessions for people. So all the re-routing to Netherlands and all that jazz is overkill.

I liked the feature of being able to select just certain files in qTorrent instead of having to download everything ... I usually prefer to play along with drum and keyboard tracks so I don't have to download the others unless I am mixing a final product. The old torrent program I was using didn't have as nice features that was beneficial to me. So I was please to try something not as antiquated as the old uTorrent 2.1.somethinganother

[breakonthru]

It's all good. I'm not pointing fingers. I just saw the "TV shows and movies" and the mention of using plex and/or emby (for watching said movies and shows) and then the Netherlands comment ... which is usually used to skirt copyright materials. Those type of torrents do carry a risk of sorts, but not everyone uses torrents in that manner. I use P2P torrent to share studio tracks with other musicians when recording sessions for people. So all the re-routing to Netherlands and all that jazz is overkill.

theyre pretty much all over there as a matter of course, to cover their ass and not be responsible for their customers content. i didnt seek them out for that, i sought them out for the price and support. for example none of these slots (which are essentially multiple users on a single machine) offer root access but ive been able to ask them to install flac and lame and other packages for me. so i can DL a a 24-bit flac to the seedbox and via SSH, derive 16 bit, 320, and V0 and make torrents for all of them with a single bash script. and theyre all out there on a Gbit connection. would take me all day to download, derive it all and reupload. its done in minutes.

other times ill wrap up whole tours in a folder and make a large torrent to share with others. again, all remote. if someone posts a 25GB 4K stream rip on gdrive or mega i can bounce it direct to the seedbox in minutes and then mirror/share via torrent or direct link. its powerful and allows me to share far more than i ever could from home. 8TB of storage and 25TB upload allotment per month on a gbit connection for less than $15 is an incredible value to me. you cant touch that with a mega or gdrive plan and those platforms dont offer any of the features i mentioned above. I always bounce my recordings there when im out on the road for a safety backup