is qbittorrent better than utorrent

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Published date: 6 December 2022
9 December 2022 on 7:35 pm
According to our tests, qBittorrent is entirely secure, free of malware, and allowed for usage. It is completely free and open-source, unlike uTorrent, and it doesn’t contain bloatware or advertisements. It’s the most secure torrent client we’ve tried overall, especially when coupled with a VPN.
A crucial element of P2P file sharing software is a torrent client. It organizes your P2P traffic and facilitates communication between users, which can either make torrenting extremely secure or extremely risky.
Along with uTorrent, qBittorrent is one of the two most widely used torrent clients. However, it is fully ad-free and free open-source software, unlike uTorrent. Additionally, we recommend using it to evaluate torrent VPNs. However, is qBittorrent secure?
According to our research, qBittorrent is an extremely secure torrent client, especially when combined with a reliable VPN.
Expert counsel: Always use a private VPN to mask your online activities and torrenting IP address. ExpressVPN is a top P2P VPN that you can try risk-free for 30 days.
However, torrenting is always risky, so before downloading anything, make sure you understand how to torrent safely.
WARNING: Some websites include adware or bloatware in the installers for their torrent clients, and there are risky Bittorrent download URLs floating around the internet. Always download the official qBittorrent software from the qBittorrent fosshub page to avoid unpleasant surprises.
The qBittorrent app: Is it secure? (Tests & Findings)
Our study has supported qBittorrent’s reputation as a secure and trustworthy program. In actuality, qBittorrent is currently the safest torrent client on the market.
However, this does not imply that it is without flaws. Here is a list of the client’s advantages and disadvantages:
PROS

1. Open-source applications
2. Absence of associated malware or bloatware
3. There are none
4. Built-in proxy support
5. Extra security features
6. A lively neighborhood

CONS
7. When torrenting, your IP address may be made public.
8. Malware can be found in torrents.

More information on what makes qBittorrent risk-free to use is provided below:
1. Open-source applications
Since qBittorrent is open-source, anyone can check its source code for errors or dangerous material. As such a well-liked client, it is actually frequently examined by programmers all around the world.
When flaws do occur, they are rapidly addressed, and if there were any major security holes or malicious code, they would have been found.
2. Absence of associated malware or bloatware
qBittorrent doesn’t include any other software as long as you download it from the official source.
This is a terrific way to establish trust in the software because it means you won’t have to worry about unintentionally downloading irritating or even hazardous programs.
Unfortunately, several competing torrenting clients don’t work like this.

Three. No Ads
Since there are no adverts on the client, users will undoubtedly have a positive experience. With no closed-source third-party code or ad trackers, it also implies that it is more private and safe.
A client with fewer components also reduces the possibility of vulnerabilities or security problems.
4. Built-in proxy support
qBittorrent provides in-client support for SOCKS5 proxies, which are a well-liked method of preventing IP addresses from leaking while torrenting, even if we prefer VPNs. In order to reroute your traffic and hide your real IP address from other users, a SOCKS5 proxy functions similarly to a VPN.
HTTP proxies are also supported by the client, but as they are unreliable and insecure, we do not advise using them.
5. Extra security features
With the use of a VPN or proxy, powerful technologies like qBittorrent can prevent the disclosure of your real IP address. Network interface filtering, which enables you to choose a specific network adapter to torrent over, is the first option. A single IP address can be chosen for the client to torrent from with the second option, IP binding.
These functions will stop the client from torrenting in the case that your proxy or VPN connection stops. We tested both capabilities and discovered that they both work well to prevent your IP address from being revealed when using a proxy or VPN.
6. A vibrant neighborhood
An international team of volunteer developers, headed by a contributor by the name of Sledgehammer999, provides strong support and regular updates for qBittorrent. This implies that any bugs can be immediately found and addressed. In addition, the program is not known to include any significant vulnerabilities or exploits.
This also means that if you ever run into performance or security problems, it is incredibly simple to receive assistance from other users on the qBittorrent forums.

Bitcoin Security Flaws
But we’ve also discovered that qBittorrent has some security flaws. Risks associated with torrenting are constant, and qBittorrent doesn’t make them go away:
1. Torrenting can reveal your IP address.
Your IP address is visible to other users in the swarm when you torrent. Copyright trolls may target this and raise legal concerns. QBittorrent doesn’t stop your identify from being revealed while torrenting on its own.
It is crucial that you always utilize a VPN or proxy when using qBittorrent because of this.
2. Malware can be found in torrents.
One of the major dangers of torrenting is the potential for malware downloads. Nothing in the qBittorrent program can stop you from downloading or disseminating a virus.
Installing antivirus software and downloading torrents exclusively from reputable sites are two things we advise doing to reduce the chance of obtaining malware.
Results of the Advanced Features test
The two most important advanced features of qBittorrent are network interface filtering and ip binding, both of which significantly increase the security of your IP address while torrenting.
Both of these features have undergone testing to ensure that they perform as promised and stop the client from torrenting (and disclosing your real IP) in the case that your VPN connection drops.
Filtering of network interfaces
We first put network interface filtering to the test using the next procedure:
9. We linked up with a nearby VPN server.
2. In the network interface configuration, we choose to use the TAP adapter for our VPN.
10. We started using qBittorrent to torrent our test file.
11.As soon as the torrent started, we terminated the VPN.
12.After a little while, we connected the VPN again.

Successful test conclusion!
The download paused when we disconnected from our VPN, but it restarted after we connected. This demonstrates that the feature, which forbade connections from outside the VPN, was used as planned.

binding IP
Next, we examined IP binding using the following procedure:
13. We linked up with a nearby VPN server.
2. From the “Optional IP address to bind to” selection, we chose our VPN’s IP address.
14. We began torrenting our sample file.
15.As soon as the torrent started, we terminated the VPN.
16.After a little while, we connected the VPN again.

Mixed test results.
The torrent was interrupted when we disconnected from the VPN, but it didn’t resume after we connected because the VPN had changed our IP address. Consequently, while this feature might function better with a proxy or stationary IP, most VPNs find it inconvenient.

Results of a malware test
We ran a Malwarebytes scan on qBittorrent to confirm that it is safe to download and use.
The outcomes were positive: the antivirus program found no malware or indications of potentially harmful activities.
This is not shocking. Since qBittorrent is a well-known application, any malware it might have would be discovered. The riskier possibility is that torrent files you download can be infected with malware.
To ensure that no torrent files you download are hazardous or contain hazardous material, we advise you to run antivirus software when torrenting.

Why Has qBittorrent Been Blocked by My Antivirus?
Your antivirus program can indicate that qBittorrent itself is a potential problem. When this happens, your client most likely linked to servers known to host harmful content.
As P2P file sharing involves establishing connections between your client and numerous other peers, this is possible. However, since the tracker coordinates the download between numerous peers, it shouldn’t be a real risk as long as the torrent file or magnet link you are utilizing is reliable.
Therefore, these warnings are frequently unfounded, but they should serve as a reminder to only download torrents from reliable sources.
It is a good idea to use an IP blacklist along with the IP filter feature (located under Tools > Options > Connection) to reduce the chance of downloading harmful or unwanted files and avoid getting these kinds of alerts.

QBittorrent vs. uTorrent: Which is safer?
One of the most popular torrent clients, along with qBittorrent, is uTorrent. However, we do not advise using it.
qBittorrent is, by nearly all measures, a more secure torrent client than uTorrent.
Here is a comparison of the security features of qBittorrent vs uTorrent:
Despite the fact that both clients have a ton of valuable advanced capabilities for maintaining your anonymity, uTorrent lags behind BitTorrent in three crucial areas.
To determine if BitTorrent is secure, we conducted a number of tests.
Sadly, uTorrent on Windows, Mac, and Android is flooded with third-party advertisements. These are bothersome and annoying, and they also pose a possible privacy concern. qBittorrent, in contrast, is completely ad-free.
Bloatware is another component of uTorrent that must be manually removed after downloading. When we evaluated uTorrent, it secretly installed a number of programs on our test laptop.
Although it’s not the case as of the time of writing, some of the bundled software has in the past been regarded as harmful malware.
Finally, unlike qBittorrent, uTorrent is not an open-source program. This indicates that it lacks transparency, isn’t put to the test as fully by users, and is operated with a business motive at the expense of its people.
Due to the fact that qBittorrent is not accessible on Android, mobile users may wish to think about switching to uTorrent.
uTorrent was previously a very good piece of software, but closed-source development, adware, and flaws have caused it to fall short.
The main advantage of using uTorrent is that you don’t have to download it from a third-party website, but if you download qBittorrent from a trustworthy source, this is not a problem.
Some holdouts will continue to use previous versions of uTorrent (2.2.1 and earlier), prior to the addition of advertising. We advise using the most recent version of qBittorrent instead because doing otherwise presents security risks.

How to Safely Use qBittorrent
qBittorrent is generally safe, however it has two major risks, according to our tests:
• Sharing your IP address while downloading torrents
• By accident downloading malicious software or undesirable files
Using a reliable VPN like ExpressVPN and using anti-virus software are the two most crucial things you can do to make qBittorrent safer. Correctly configuring your qBittorrent client is also crucial.

qBittorrent Safe Torrenting Configuration Guide
The simplest thing you can do to make qBittorrent safer is to configure it. A few minor adjustments can make a difference in whether your IP address is mistakenly disclosed or not.
Activate “Check for software updates” in step 1. This may be found by going to Tools > Options > Behavior. You won’t miss any important client security updates thanks to this.
2. Select “Activate anonymous mode.” Under Tools > Options > BitTorrent > Privacy, you may find this setting. To ensure more anonymity, it hides meta-data about your client from other peers.
3. In the Desktop section of Tools > Options > Behaviour, uncheck “Start qBittorrent on Windows start up.” This enables you to correctly launch your VPN before the torrent client does.
4. Check that “Allow encryption” or “Require encryption” is chosen under Tools > Options > qBitTorrent > Privacy if you’re using a VPN.
5. Network interface filtering is a fantastic technique for VPN users to support their kill switch. Select the TAP adapter connected to your VPN by going to Tools > Options > Advanced > Network interface. In the event that the VPN disconnects, this will limit torrenting traffic to your VPN network adaptor and prohibit torrents.
6. You can also turn on IP binding if you are using a proxy or VPN. Locate Tools > Options > Advanced > Optional IP address to bind to, and then choose the IP address that your VPN provider has given you. Similar to network interface filtering, this will operate as a protection but activate unnecessarily if your VPN switches between IP addresses.

Antivirus software use
One of the dangers of using qBittorrent (or any other torrent client) is the possibility of unintentionally downloading viruses.
Getting a trustworthy antivirus tool to detect malware before you download a file is the greatest approach to lower the danger of doing so.
Thankfully, a good antivirus may be obtained without cost.
• For Windows, we advise using Malwarebytes, Avira Free Antivirus, or Microsoft Defender.
• We advise Malwarebytes for Mac users, and Sophos Intercept X or Malwarebytes for Android users.
It’s similarly crucial that you avoid opening files that aren’t what you expected because they can contain malware.
For instance, if you download an.exe file while torrenting a movie and discover it isn’t what you expected, delete it immediately. Most likely, the file is malicious.

Utilize a private and secure VPN
Utilizing a secure torrenting VPN is the best approach to maintain your privacy while downloading torrents.
You must have a reliable VPN that, at the very least, complies with the following requirements:
• Runs quick, log-free, and P2P-friendly servers
The aforementioned functions are available in both cheap and expensive VPNs.
Premium VPNs, however, are quicker and don’t impose the restrictive data restrictions that the majority of free VPNs do.
Our testing of ExpressVPN show that it is now the most dependable torrenting VPN on the market.
On servers with no logs and no disks, ExpressVPN offers quick torrent speeds. The VPN doesn’t have IP leaks, and the kill switch protects against IP exposes when the VPN connection fails without a hitch.
Private Internet Access is another another excellent P2P VPN. Although ExpressVPN’s torrent speeds are faster, the service is no-logs, has an integrated IP leak protection system, and a functional kill switch.
These specifications are crucial for a VPN for torrenting. For instance, because to the company’s history of tracking browsing habits and violating consumer privacy, we do not advise utilizing Avast SecureLine for torrenting.

Is qBittorrent Safe to Use Without a VPN?
Although it’s not the only option, utilizing a VPN is the safest way to protect your real IP address when using qBittorrent.
You can use a proxy service as an alternative to a VPN if you don’t want to use one, but you should never torrent without either.
While proxies lack a kill switch, qBittorrent offers two functions called network interface filtering and IP binding that perform a similar task.
These two capabilities, which make it possible to only pirate using a single network adapter or IP address, guard against IP leaks.
The fact that proxies do not encrypt internet traffic is their largest security drawback when compared to VPNs.
Because of this, proxies are less secure than VPNs and provide your ISP and network administrator access to the fact that you’re torrenting. However, they won’t be aware of what you’re torrenting.
You can use qBittorrent’s built-in SOCKS5 proxy functionality when using some VPNs. For instance, Windscribe allows you to directly configure a SOCKS5 proxy for torrenting. However, it doesn’t offer much additional security and may cause your speeds to go down even more.

qBittorrent is it legal?
Free and open-source software distributed under a GNU General Public License, qBittorrent is entirely legal. This implies that you can legally own, use, distribute, and even modify the software. Selling it is the only thing you cannot do.
Using qBittorrent for legitimate purposes is entirely legal, but doing so is not. For instance, it is prohibited to use qBittorrent to download or distribute illicit or copyrighted content.
Torrenting generally counts as spreading copyrighted information rather than just downloading it because it necessitates both seeding (uploading) and leeching (downloading). You may be subject to significant fines if you are found torrenting protected content.

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