Vuze

Vuze (previously Azureus) is a BitTorrent client used to transfer files via the BitTorrent protocol. Vuze is written in Java, and uses the Azureus Engine. In addition to downloading data linked to .torrent files, Azureus allows users to view, publish and share original DVD and HD quality video content.[6] Content is presented through channels and categories containing TV shows, music videos, movies, video games, series and others. Additionally, if users prefer to publish their original content, they may earn money from it.

Vuze
Developer(s)Azureus Software
Initial releaseJune 2003 (2003-06)
Final release
5.7.6.0 Edit this on Wikidata[1] / 2 November 2017 (2 November 2017)
Preview release5.7.6.1 Beta 1 (November 2, 2017 (2017-11-02)) [±][2]
Repository
Written inJava[3]
PlatformJava (software platform)
Size
  • Source code: 9.7 MB
  • Linux: 18.9 MB
  • Windows (x86): 9.1 MB
  • Windows (x64): 9.0 MB
  • Android: 5.4 MB
  • OS X: 10.1 MB
[4]
Available in38 languages[5]
List of languages
English, German, French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Polish, Finnish, Danish, Italian, Russian, Norwegian, Bulgarian, Brazilian-Portuguese, Czech, Lithuanian, Slovenian, Turkish, Catalan, Galician, Greek, Hebrew, Serbian, Serbian (latin), Malay, Japanese, Hungarian, Romanian, Thai, Korean, Slovak, Bosnian, Frisian, Macedonian, Georgian
TypeBitTorrent client
LicenseGNU General Public License v2
Websitewww.vuze.com

Azureus was first released in June 2003 at SourceForge.net, mostly to experiment with the Standard Widget Toolkit from Eclipse. It later became one of the most popular BitTorrent clients.[7] The Azureus software was released under the GNU General Public License, and remains as a free software application. It was among the most popular BitTorrent clients. However, the Vuze software added in more recent versions is proprietary and users are required to accept these more restrictive license terms.

Features
Vuze (classic UI) statistics page

Bridging between I2P and the clearnet

Vuze is the only client that makes clearnet torrents available on I2P and vice versa. It has a plugin that connects to the I2P network. If the user adds a torrent from I2P, it will be seeded on both I2P and the clearnet, and if a user adds a torrent from the clearnet, it will be seeded on both the clearnet and I2P. For this reason, torrents previously published only on I2P are made available to the entire Internet, and users of I2P can download any torrent on the Internet while maintaining the anonymity of I2P.[8][9]

History

Azureus
Azureus

Azureus was first released in June 2003 at SourceForge.net. The blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates azureus) was chosen as the logo and name of the brand by co-creator Tyler Pitchford. This choice was due to Latin names of poison dart frogs being used as codenames for his development projects.

Vuze

In 2006 Vuze was released as an attempt to transform the client into a "social" client by a group of the original developers forming Azureus Inc., shortly to be renamed Vuze, Inc. A Vuze-free version of Azureus was released along with Vuze during the beta period. The releases used version numbers 3.0, while the Vuze-free versions continued with the 2.5 release numbers.[10] In addition, some developers voiced opposition to the idea of completely transforming the client. Starting with an unknown version, Vuze was coupled with Azureus. Soon after, "NoVuze" modified versions were released on The Pirate Bay, and as of September 15, 2008, are available for versions up to 3.1.1.0. On June 16, 2008, the developers of Azureus/Vuze decided to stop releasing versions named Azureus, and complete the name change with the release of version 3.1. The client engine however, remains unchanged as Azureus.

License change

Up to version 2.5.0.4, Azureus was distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL); beginning with the version 3 distribution, the license presented upon installation changed. While it still states that the "Azureus Application" is available under the GPL, completing installation requires the user to agree to the terms of the "Vuze Platform," which include restrictions on use, reverse-engineering,[11] and sublicensing.[12] As with many similar licenses, the Azureus licence includes a prohibition on use of the software by people "under the age of 18."[13] Allegedly, the TOS only applies to the website, vuze.com, and not the software,[14] however the actual TOS include the application as part of the platforms.[15]

Acquisition by Spigot Inc

Vuze was acquired by Spigot Inc in December 2010.

Development hiatus

The pace of development slowed in early 2017.[16] As of July 2021, the latest entry in the development blog is dated April 2017[17] and the latest code change is dated February 2018.[18]

Criticism

Vuze is categorized as adware by Softpedia,[19] due to its inclusion of a Vuze Toolbar for web browsers. Vuze changes or offers to change home page and search and to install a promotional component not necessary for the program to function.[20] However, all adware can be declined by using a custom installation. In February 2010, What.CD and Waffles.fm, two large music sharing sites at the time, decided to ban the use of Vuze.[21]

However, Vuze cites its Softpedia Editor's pick award, having received an editor score of 4 out of 5 from two reviews: One on 23 November 2005[22] and another on 7 February 2012.[20]

Vuze includes built-in support for Tor, an anonymity network. The onion routers are run by volunteers using their own bandwidth at their own cost. Due to the high bandwidth usage caused by the BitTorrent protocol, it is considered impolite and inappropriate by Tor community members to use the Tor network for BitTorrent transfers.[23][24] By default, the Tor exit policy blocks the standard BitTorrent ports.[25]

It also includes I2P support via an official plugin. In contrast to Tor, I2P is built for P2P traffic and encourages its use.

See also

References
  1. "Changelog". Vuze Community. Archived from the original on 2022-05-17. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  2. "Vuze - Dev Home". Vuze Development. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  3. Lextrait, Vincent (January 2010). "The Programming Languages Beacon, v10.0". Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  4. "Azureus/Vuze.com - Browse /vuze at SourceForge.net". Azureus.Sourceforge.net. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  5. "Vuze FAQ". Vuze.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  6. Azureus' HD Vids Trump YouTube Archived 2013-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, Calore, Michael (Wired News): (2006-12-04)
  7. "SourceForge Top Projects". Sourceforge.net. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  8. "Vuze Speeds Up Torrent Downloads Through "Swarm Merging" - TorrentFreak". torrentfreak.com. 20 March 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. "I2PHelper HowTo - VuzeWiki". wiki.vuze.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. "Confusion about name change". Apcmag.com. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  11. "Section 8.12". Vuze.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  12. "Section 8.2". Vuze.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  13. "Section 1 and Section 8.10". Vuze.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  14. "Azureus 2 / 3 and Vuze". AzureusWiki. 2008-06-27. Archived from the original on 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  15. "Section 0". Vuze.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  16. Andy (2017-08-03). "Tumbleweed at Vuze as Torrent Client Development Grinds to a Halt". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
  17. "Vuze Dev Blog". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
  18. "Vuze - Azureus / List azureus-commitlog Archives". Archived from the original on 2020-02-12.
  19. "Download Vuze (formerly Azureus) 4.2.0.5 Beta 03 / 4.2.0.4 Stable Free Trial – A freeware Java based BitTorrent client". Softpedia. Archived from the original on 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  20. "Download Vuze". Softpedia. SoftNews. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  21. "Vuze and Deluge to be banned". FILEnetworks Blog. 2010-02-20. Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
  22. "The Torrent Master Is Back". Softpedia. SoftNews. 23 November 2005. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  23. "doc/TorifyHOWTO/BitTorrent – Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki". Wiki.torproject.org. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  24. "Why Tor is slow and what we're going to do about it | The Tor Blog". Blog.torproject.org. 2009-03-13. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  25. "doc/TorFAQ – Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki". Wiki.torproject.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
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