Did uTorrent’s Mining Ware Blunder Give Bitcoin a 3000% Publicity Boost?

Published at: March 10, 2015

<<<<<<<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/10-tips-to-create-your-own-cryptocurrency">a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/is-cointellect-a-scam">a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tags/united-kingdom">a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-raspberry-pi-runs-full-bitcoin-node-for-35">a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-future-of-bitcoin-litecoin-dogecoin">a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/4-surprising-ways-to-get-bitcoins-anonymously">p>Surreptitious mining ware planted on user PCs by torrent site uTorrent has created a backlash and could even be behind this week’s 3000% increase in Bitcoin Wikipedia requests.

 

uTorrent’s Epic Scale software, until recently installed on client machines to mine bitcoin as part of what uTorrent calls “a common model for software companies that provide products and technology for free,” has come under fire with users experiencing slow running and a lack of transparency.

In a blog post released Sunday, uTorrent attempted to calm the situation by issuing a form of apology, while maintaining its intentions were honorable.

“We understand the concerns that have been raised about our partner offer with Epic Scale,” the post reads. “Amid user feedback, on Friday mid-day we paused the offer to allow time for us to do an evaluation.”

uTorrent has a user base of around 150 million, of whom around 6% were involved in the Epic Scale issue, the service claims. The bulk of criticism has been leveled at the unobvious manner in which the supposedly optional client was put out for download, but uTorrent claims its methods were suitable.

“Our policy is that these offers are strictly optional and we have never done a silent install; in fact, we built our installer technology to make silent installs impossible,” the post continues. “The offers we choose and how we present them are something we strive to get right, and we think we’ve been mostly successful over the last four years.”

The incident could well be a contributing factor to a strange phenomenon to occur this week, where the Bitcoin Wikipedia page received a roughly 3000% increase in visits over comparable periods. According to Wikitrends the exact increase has been around 2742%, ranking fourth highest for the week.

The link to the uTorrent problems has been keenly noted on Reddit. While Bitcoin’s public image is unlikely to be adversely affected by another dubious promotional campaign, uTorrent’s high profile has ignited a debate over the extent to which it is acceptable to incorporate intensive software in an unassuming manner.

uTorrent has meanwhile promised to take up the issue with Epic Scale, as well as addressing individual user complaints voiced on its forums. 

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