Azureus

Current Version: 2.5.0.4 (January 26, 2007) / 3.0.5.2a (April 21, 2008)

Azureus is a Java application that implements the BitTorrent protocol. It comes bundled with many features for both beginners and advanced users:

• Multiple torrent downloads
• Upload and download speed limiting, both globally and per torrent
• Advanced seeding rules
• Adjustable disk cache
• Only uses one port for all the torrents
• UPnP sets the forward on your router
• Can use a proxy, for both tracker and peer communications
• Fast resume
• Can set a default download dir and move completed files
• Can import torrents automatically from a set dir
• Highly customizable interface
• IRC plugin included for quick help
• Embedded tracker: host your own torrents, automate your shares (periodic scanning of a directory)
• Distributed hash table: host on it a completely decentralised torrent and/or benefit from it when the tracker is offline

Azureus may be extended using a plugin architecture.

Version 2.5.0.4 - the latest standard version of the Azureus BitTorrent application - adds/changes the following:

• 2.5.0.4 is a maintenance release to fix up a few minor, but relatively annoying problems with 2.5.0.2.

Version 3 was significantly redesigned and enhanced for use with the new Vuze service, and adds/changes the following from version 2.5:

• Includes all 2.5 features
• High-resolution content platform
• Browse, share, search, discover content
• Rich streamlined interface

(The Azureus Wiki explains the differences more fully.)

While no information is available regarding what's new in version 3.0.5.2a (presumably, it's a bugfix release), version 3.0.5.2 made the following additional changes:

• UIv3 | Ability to rate directly from rating reminder activity entry
• UIv3 | Added progress spinner animation for the LightBox
• Core | Don't auto-UDP probe on initial announce if tracker not known to support UDP - hit on second and remember outcome
• Core | Improve startup times by taking various torrent-load operations off main thread
• Core | Add reason-messages for update check failures
• Core | Use derived password to protect private key to allow us to persist password
• Core | Get plugin update URL from version server to support potential future switch
• UI | Run explicit tracker scrapes off UI thread to prevent blocking
• UI | Allow UI initialisation to proceed before plugin init complete
• UIv3 | Always start on "Dashboard" tab (unless Advanced UI chosen), instead of sometimes starting on "On Vuze" tab
• Plug | Ensure that DHT republish events are scheduled using absolute time so recover correctly from computer suspend
• Core | Handle some badly formed torrents more gracefully (corrupt announce-lists)
• Core | Handle multiple SSL certs from same URL
• Core | URLDecode torrent filenames
• Core | Fix non-crypto fallback outgoing connections
• Core | Better (esp for Vista) detection of and setting of Azureus' .torrent file association
• UI | Fix broken per-torrent upload speed setting via options tab
• UI | Fix alternating bg color not updating after changing in config
• UIv3 | Fix resource leaks related to light box (login window)