IPT | PSA: uTorrent 3.4.2 & Epic Scale BitCoin Miner

[Atreides]

Dear friends,

The popular torrent client uTorrent has been under fire today under accusation of silently installing a BitCoin miner known as "Epic Scale" without user's consent.

A BitCoin miner runs in the background of your computer and uses CPU and sometimes GPU processor power to solve a series of complicated math problems to generate electronic currency.

The bundled software, Epic Scale, appears in the latest version of uTorrent - uTorrent 3.4.2 Build 38913.

However, upon further inspection, Epic Scale does not "silently" install itself, but it is presented in such a way that the majority of users will opt-in to install it without noticing.

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PREVENTING INSTALLATION
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You can infact install the latest build of uTorrent without installing Epic Scale.

If upgrading from and older version of uTorrent or installing a fresh version of uTorrent 3.4.2, you may be presented with a screen like this during installation:



To prevent the installation of Epic Scale you must click "Decline Offer" (this will not end the setup).

It is also recommended that you decline any other bundled software that comes with uTorrent. Please read each page carefully. Normally, uTorrent will show three offers of bundled software.

It should also be noted that seemingly not all users get the option to install Epic Scale, but rather an option to install "Spigot's Search Protection".

If you should get this prompt, Epic Scale will not be installed, however it's recommended that you also decline this offer.

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REMOVING EPIC SCALE
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If you're not sure if you've accidentally installed Epic Share, luckily you can check and remove it fairly simply.

In Windows, it should show up under Add/Remove programs.

You can also check to see if it's in your startup using MSConfig or CCleaner. The .exe is "EpicScale.exe"

If you don't see it under Add/Remove Programs, then navigate to C:\ProgramData\ (You will have to enable Hidden Files & Folders under your explorer options to see the ProgramData folder)

If Epic Scale was indeed installed, there would be an folder called "Epic Scale" in your Program Data.

If you don't have one, then your system is clean. If you do, then you can simply uninstall Epic Scale and delete this folder to remove the miner.

You can find more detailed removal instructions here if you need them: http://www.epicscale.com/how-to-uninstall-epic-scale

PLEASE NOTE: Using uTorrent 3.4.2 on IPT is currently not recommended and therefore not supported. Using this version may result in unexpected issues with regards to your account stats being tracked properly.

Recommended: uTorrent 2.2.0 Build 23071

 

[amazinghorse]

See also :