Features of uTorrent

uTorrent includes everything you would expect from a complete, reliable torrent downloader: highly detailed stats, support for RSS feeds, automatic shutdown, download scheduler and more. There are a couple things that uTorrent is missing though: a full torrent search tool and a built-in player to preview your downloads.

uTorrent 3 lets you play media in streaming as you download, rate and comment torrent files, drag and drop files to share them, and disable the UDP tracker.

Ideal for all user levels

Since version 3 uTorrent has sported a totally redesigned interface: more usable, easier to use and a perfect match for uTorrent’s web interface.

Just like previous versions, uTorrent 3 is easy enough to use for everyone no matter what their level of computer expertise is, but it also includes dozens of configuration settings that will please the most tech-savvy users. Also, this new version includes several beginner-oriented guides to make sure everybody can make the most of it.

Light on system resources

After a quick installation process (although there are quite a few prompts to install browser add-ons etc) and a handy built-in speed test to make the initial setting much easier, uTorrent is ready. The program takes up minimal hard drive and PC resources, which enables you to have a good amount of torrents downloading and still be able to use your computer without any lag.

Conclusion

If you're searching for a reliable, fast and lightweight torrent client, look no further: uTorrent is what you need.

Download uTorrent (µTorrent) 3.3.0.29677 in Softonic

Features

Thanks to a straightforward, uncluttered interface BitTorrent appears as a user friendly torrent client that beginners will feel comfortable with. We particularly appreciated the integrated search box to look for files on the BitTorrent website. Once you’ve found the torrent you want, download it to your PC, open it up inside BitTorrent and let the client do the rest. The speed at which you download will depend on the number of seeds, that is people who have the complete file and are sharing it. The more seeds there are the quicker files will download.

You can set multiple torrent downloads and the downloading speed is fairly quick. It’s easy to configure the client and we suggest choosing the right port and setting upload and download rate limits to avoid hogging your bandwidth. It’s also good to set your downloads by priority to monitor more precisely how your torrents are doing.

Using BitTorrent

The file you want to download is cut up into small segments shared by users, creating what is called a swarm, and does not go through a central server, significantly reducing the bulk of file transfers. The BitTorrent client is actually the first P2P application to use this technology and became immensely popular when it was released. Torrents are considered by online users as a great way to download recently anything from movies to operating systems.

Competition

Compared to the exhaustive Azureus, BitTorrent is very simplistic. It doesn’t provide half as many statistics and doesn’t let you customize the interface. Integrating a search box is a great idea, but it limits searches to the BitTorrent website, not considered the most thorough source by torrent aficionados.

Conclusion

If you’re a newbie to the torrent world, BitTorrent is a good bet. It’s safe, stable and sharp. Associated with the huge database of legal torrents that is the BitTorrent website, it makes for a very rich P2P experience. Advanced users will probably frown upon its lack of options but others should give it a try.

Download BitTorrent 7.8.0.29676 in Softonic

Similar to FrostWire and LimeWire

MP3 Rocket is very similar to FrostWire and the now-defunct LimeWire, so if you are familiar with them, using the app will be a piece of cake. Even if you are not, it’s an easy-to-use application and suitable for anyone who wants to start downloading movies, music and other content – as long as there are no copyright issues, of course!

Managed Via Tabs

MP3 Rocket is based on tabs that allow you to quickly access the search engine, lists of popular files and torrents, your library of shared files and even online TV, radio, games and chat. The downloadable content is all free, but the ones suggested by MP3 Rocket are often links to pay-access web pages.

Poor quality audio and video player

MP3 Rocket can also be used as an audio and video player, but judged on these features it’s not very interesting and offers nothing that really make it stand out.

Conclusion

Ultimately MP3 Rocket is a solid app, although we’ve heard complaints in recent times that it’s no longer as reliable as it once was. Also bear in mind that as MP3 Rocket is Java based, it’s not suitable for older PCs. Overall, MP3 Rocket is a solid, if not awe-inspiring, P2P network client.

Download MP3 Rocket 6.3.4 in Softonic

With the release of Vuze, Azureus is jumping onto the legal torrent bandwagon. This application features the classic and extensive Azureus torrent client and adds to it an online platform from which you can download and submit legal audio and video content.

Vuze’s interface is a complete shake-up to what Azureus users are used to. The BitTorrent developer has decided to focus on online multimedia content and introduce user participation. The first thing the user sees is a "Find, Download, Play" screen to introduce you to Vuze. You can browse files by using the left side menu, divided in time, main channels and tags. The menu at the top also links to hot and new content. Vuze takes the web 2.0 road and you'll see that most of the files have tags. You can write out a comment and leave a rating. The program also makes it a no brainer to send a video by email and link to content directly from your blog or website. Additionally, there are social bookmarking links for each file.

Downloading torrents is as simple as using the search bar, which the gives you options to search the Vuze site and results from the major bittorent sites such as Btjunkie. You can also easily add more sites to that list if you wish.

We won’t expand on the qualities of the Azureus client, for which you can read a review here. Vuze tries to innovate by adding social tools to the program and providing legal content in the Vuze HD Network. There are numerous channels to choose from, yet we were disappointed with the content in general. On some channels there's very little to watch and on others you don't necessarily find what you were hoping for. Much of the content feels cheap and throwaway, even if it is in glorious HD.

On the downside Vuze does nothing to atone for Azureus's principal drawback: the overuse of your RAM and DSL connection. Yes, Vuze is still a resource and bandwidth hog, and there's nothing you can do about it.

The whole interface is really simple, though the program is so heavy you will get some slow down, and the amount of legal content is still limited, Vuze is a promising application for sharing and enjoying legal content.

If you're already hooked on the original Azureus bittorrent client, take a leap into the future with Vuze.

Download Vuze 4.9.0 in Softonic

A few years ago these managers were a basic need for all download junkies. Internet connections were not as fast and reliable as they are now, so you needed a tool that could not only improve your speed but also allow you to pause, restart and resume downloads.

FlashGet does all of that, and even more. It takes care of all your downloads and automates the process from beginning to end. It lets you download multiple files simultaneously and organize them into categories - movies, music, software and even customizable categories. Plus, now it also works with BitTorrent and eMule files.

FlashGet can be set to monitor both the clipboard and your web browser in search of downloadable content. Bear in mind though that if you use Firefox you'll have to download a separate plug-in. The great thing about this monitoring feature is that you can specify the file types FlashGet should be looking for. And those who prefer not to use the download monitor can use the floating window instead – a transparent icon where you can start your downloads by dragging and dropping links onto it.

During our tests FlashGet reached excellent download speeds. Although having a broadband connection – like the one we use in Softonic – surely helps, I'm sure FlashGet will improve the download speed of any domestic broadband network connection.

FlashGet is a feature-rich manager for download addicts that automates the whole downloading process and makes it faster and easier.

Download FlashGet 3.7.0.1203 in Softonic

Similar to VLC media player, ALLPlayer is ideal for playing stubborn video files that won't play in your usual video player. It supports subtitles and plays just about anything and if it can't play a file, it will try to download the appropriate codec from the ALLPlayer website. If you need subtitles for a film, it will even try and download those as well although this function is very hit and miss. An unusual subtitle feature is an automatic voice recognition system that actually reads the subtitles for those who are visually impaired although again, it's not very accurate.

However, one thing to be aware of is that ALLPlayer is based on DirectX which is notorious for being a backdoor for trojans and other malware. DirectX has been much improved and tightened-up since the bad old days though and this shouldn't be an overriding concern if you're thinking of using ALLPlayer.

There are tons of other features in ALLPlayer including an attractive iTunes style Coverflow browser, support for Dolby, and it even previews incomplete AVI files such as those that are downloading. The interface isn't as polished as VLC media player's version 2 release but this is a relatively minor drawback to a solid media player.

ALLPlayer is an excellent multi-format media player that's packed with features.

Download ALLPlayer 5.2 in Softonic

As a member of the community of Ares, you can search for and download files shared by 30 million users, chat with them, surfing the web in search of "torrents" and "hashlinks" download links, or preview the movie you are downloading.

In addition, Ares Plus is very easy to use: just install it, search what you want, click on what you want to download and you got it!

Download Ares Plus 2.7.1.3 in Softonic

The Sothink DVD Movie Maker interface is simple, but attractive. Add the video, modify the settings on the right and preview the video in the resizable preview window. There's even a trimming feature, so you can get rid of bits you don't need. Then just hit Burn, and your movie will be DVD-ready.

Although Sothink DVD Movie Maker's configuration options aren't very advanced, they cover the basics. You can choose PAL or NTSC encoding and the size of the target DVD disc, but you won't find much more under Options. Even so, the conversion/burning is quick and efficient, and Sothink DVD Movie Maker lets you know how long the process will take.

Sothink DVD Movie Maker is a great free DVD burner that looks just like some of its pay-for cousins, even if it is a bit light on options.

Download Sothink DVD Movie Maker 3.6 in Softonic

uTorrent Turbo Booster is specifically designed to help improve uTorrent's functionality by increasing the download speeds of multimedia like ebooks, music, games, movies and documents, to name just a few. Even better? uTorrent Turbo Booster does this without increasing your resource consumption, meaning your other PC programs shouldn't get sluggish during download time.

uTorrent Turbo Booster comes with a nice menu feature to let users customize the settings of their specific download preferences. Every time you make changes, they're automatically saved for the next time you use uTorrent. In addition, uTorrent Turbo Booster can resume paused and broken downloads automatically or, in the event it's unable to complete the download, will remove failed download entries, as well as downloads that have been completed.

Initially, it might take some time to learn all of this helpful little add-on's features and get used to how it works with uTorrent.

Once you get the hang of it, uTorrent Turbo Booster is an incredibly useful plug-in for uTorrent.

Download uTorrent Turbo Booster 4.0.1 in Softonic

The hoo-hah surrounding the closure of Napster all those years ago now seems like a distant memory. At the time, users were literally crying that they would no longer be able to share files for nothing over the Internet. As it turned out, they needn't have worried because since then we've seen countless P2P clients come and go. Aside from being the world's first radio-enabled peer-to-peer software, FileCroc doesn't bring anything new to the table, however, it does combine a wealth of useful features with a smart GUI.

With shades of Ares about it, FileCroc works through a decentralised network with more than 50 million users, meaning that you invariably find what you're looking for and transfer times are pretty quick. It can even be used to download Torrent files, giving it extra bonus points in my book. Thanks to its drag-and-drop control method, it's dead easy to start sharing files with the program from the get-go.

Besides just giving you a platform to share files, FileCroc also includes a smart chat facility, with the ability to create your own rooms and host files within them. You also get a neat built-in player that lets you preview and play songs before they download. I've heard some grumblings before about an adware toolbar called 'Navelex,' which installs automatically with the client, but I found no sign of it in this version.

If you want a fully-featured P2P client with a fast search facility then FileCroc could be just the thing you're looking for.

Download FileCroc 1.0.1.3006 in Softonic

BitTorrent Turbo Accelerator is an innovative plug-in for BitTorrent. The architecture of the program is designed to let you download MP3s, movies and other desired files at the highest possible speed. Bandwidth of your Internet connection is managed as efficiently as possible and BitTorrent Turbo Accelerator will help you find more sources to download from. It is free and does not include ads, adware, spyware or Trojans.

Features:

• Automatically resumes paused downloads
• Configuration from last run is saved and auto loads on start-up
• Clean and free, without any adware or spyware
• Finished and wrong files are cleaned automatically
• Finds more sources at user-specified intervals

Download BitTorrent Turbo Accelerator 4.0.0 in Softonic

PimpFish is as you may, or may not know, the coolest thing to hit the internet since fiber optics. Or whatever. So check it out...

Grab, download, share and organize Flash, Quicktime or any other video, pictures or files you find on websites in a single click. Use this Download Manager, IE or Firefox toolbar and FloatBar to grab movies, zoom pics in your browser and share stuff. Use PimpFish to create, download and share SLAPfiles which let you share downloads lists with just a single file. SLAPfiles come with online tools such as a Google Video downloader and storage.

The PimpFish toolbar integrates in your browser (IE or Firefox) and enables you to save large amounts of pictures or movies or mp3 files or zip files or pink cows from any website in a single click for easy download in the background. This means that the PimpFish toolbar is where all the fun begins - most of the time. Furthermore the Toolbar is the main control part of PimpFish, meaning that through the Toolbar you access updates, settings and other neat little tools. And of course the PimpFish toolbar has the same gallery and playlist shortcuts n' handy features we all need when surfing the big 'ol WWW.

The PimpFish Download Manager is where all the final action is. This is the thing that is responsible for neatly downloading your grabbed stuff in the background, and at the same time keep everything a few clicks away so you don't have to go hunting for your stuff later. The Download Manager sports several sweet features such as a cool mini thumbnail viewer, live statistics, gallery shortcuts, extended download speed/error information, SLAPfiles integration and more. The Downloader is also mainly responsible for handling SLAPfiles - a neat download list share format.

SLAPfiles is in essence a collection of URL's pointing to any content on the web. All gathered in one place with your comment in it. Try to think of it as a hybrid between RSS and torrent files (except, it's not a P2P kinda thing).

Download PimpFish 2006.3 in Softonic