BitTorrent

What you need to know about the KeRanger ransomware found in the Transmission app

Users of the popular open-source Transmission BitTorrent client for OS X were in for quite a surprise this weekend when it was discovered that certain installers for version 2.90 of the application were found to bundle unwanted ransomware with the installation, which is a type of malware that restricts file access across the system to cause trouble for the user.

Dubbed KeRanger by security research firm Palo Alto Networks, the malicious software will try to encrypt the user's system files in such a way as to tamper with the user's access to their Mac and then force the user to pay money to get their access back.

The makers of the Transmission app are now pushing immediate mandatory app updates to remove the ransomware and fix the problem for those that may have been affected, and it's recommended for all users, but how do you know if you're affected?

Transmission for Mac gets its first major update in nearly two years

The popular open-source, cross-platform BitTorrent client, Transmission, today received its first major update in more than a year and a half. As first noted by Softpedia, the surprise update makes the free of charge app fully compatible with the user interface on Macs running OS X 10.9 Mavericks and later.

Transmission can now trim potential URIs from clipboard and supports downloading from HTTP servers on OS X El Capitan. Transmission's daemon, web client, Qt client and GTK+ client have also received various fixes. All told, there are over 50 changes in this release of Transmission.

BitTorrent Sync update brings a major productivity element to peer-to-peer file syncing

BitTorrent Sync made its App Store debut back in August 2013, its major appeal being the underlying distributed technology that facilitates secure file syncing between devices but without a roundtrip to the cloud, thus appealing to privacy-minded customers.

The mobile component to BitTorrent’s peer-to-peer file syncing product, BitTorrent Sync for iOS is receiving a major update later today with an important productivity element added to the app: you can now save various types of files created in other apps right into a Sync folder to share with connected devices via a new Share sheet action.

BitTorrent Shoot moves batches of large media files between iOS, Android and Windows Phone

In this age of government-sponsored attacks on our privacy and eavesdropping of our digital exchanges, incredibly weak security in most sharing apps frustrates me. Unless you use iMessage or select few services, the spooks can pretty easily intercept those nude shots as they're being uploaded.

So why take the risk and not opt for the device-to-device sharing method, whenever possible?

While iOS's AirDrop feature is great, it leaves a lot to be desired. AirDrop isn't very reliable, doesn't cope well with large media files and is unavailable on other platforms, making direct photo sharing with an Android friend mostly a pipe dream.

Enter BitTorrent, one of the most common protocols for transferring large files. Based on peer-to-peer technology, their new mobile app called Shoot can help you share batches of photos and video directly between multiple devices, no matter what device you use or what network you’re on.

As it bypasses the cloud, utilizes encryption and was built from the ground up on top of the proven BitTorrent Sync engine, Shoot can move gigabytes of files easily and securely so your data remains completely private.

BitTorrent launches Bleep, secure peer-to-peer messaging app for iPhone and Mac

With ephemeral messaging growing in popularity, and given ongoing fear of government-sponsored snooping, small wonder that BitTorrent has now entered the market for secure chat apps — and in a pretty big way, too.

Bleep, their new Mac and iOS secure messaging and VoIP software, strives to ensure the privacy of your conversations by never saving them on your device or the servers. In a nutshell, Bleep uses encryption and peer-to-peer networking to establish a private, secure connection between devices.

With Bleep, you can whisper with friends on your Mac or iPhone and the messages will disappear after they are read.

BitTorrent Sync gets iOS 7 makeover, now supports iPads natively

BitTorrent's free Sync iOS app launched on the App Store in August, offering privacy freaks and NSA haters a way to securely share and sync files between devices. The software uses end-to-end encryption of everything transferred between your devices and bypasses the cloud altogether: your stuff is being moved directly between devices, using BitTorrent’s efficient P2P distribution architecture.

If you're concerned about NSA snooping, industrial espionage or good ol' eavesdropping, BitTorrent Sync is as robust a solution as these things get. And now, the teams has  posted a long expected update to bring the app in line with the general iOS 7 design...

BitTorrent Sync iOS app launches on App Store

Back in April, BitTorrent introduced an Alpha version of BitTorrent Sync, a free cross-platform file syncing service that automatically moves data between devices via distributed technology, appealing to privacy advocates by totally bypassing the cloud.

The service entered Beta last month, which also saw the release of an Android client, a free download from Google's Play store. No, BitTorrent hasn't forgotten about iOS users: today saw the release of BitTorrent Sync for iOS.

Just like its Android counterpart, the iPhone and iPad app lets mobile users sync up work folders to their tablet or smartphone, back up their precious photos, share files directly to friends and collaborators and more...