BitTorrent apologizes for Epic Scale Bitcoin mining software that users say was shadily installed ?Torrent torrent client, offers an uninstall guide
BitTorrent the maker of widely popular ?Torrent torrent client came under severe fire from all quarters for bundling the popular with cryptocurrency mining software with the ?Torrent torrent client.
BitTorrent was not only criticised on different websites but also on its own ?Torrent forum with users blasting it for installing the Epic Scale cryptocurrency miner without asking users for permission or warning them about it.
Under the unrelenting barrage of criticism, BitTorrent today apologized to its ?Torrent torrent client users. Writing on the ?Torrent forum, a member of BitTorrent staff said that they had paused the installation of Epic Scale software with ?Torrent client.
We understand the concerns that have been raised about our partner offer with Epic Scale. Amid user feedback, on Friday, mid-day we paused the offer to allow time for us to do an evaluation.
For users who already installed the Epic Scale software with ?Torrent client and want to remove it conventionally, you are requested to visit the uninstall guide site here. BitTorrent also clarified that the Epic Scale software was shipped only with the Windows client and therefore Linux and Mac machines are not affected by this cryptomining software.
BitTorrent however tried to muzzle the claims that the software itself was bad and went on to give a detailed reasoning for shadow installing the Epic Scale software.
“There have been a lot of claims over the past few days, some of them fair and some pretty wild. We have always invited an open and constructive dialogue, particularly through our forums, and want that to continue.”
“As we’ve discussed in the past, partner offers are one of the ways we generate revenue. Many of you already understand that this is a common model for software companies that provide products and technology for free. 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 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.”
“That being said – from the feedback we’ve received, it is clear that we misjudged how users would react to this offer; this software is truly different from our previous offers and therefore deserves special attention. For this, we unequivocally apologize to our affected users.”
The ?Torrent client were however not happy with the apology. A poster on the forum demanded the BitTorrent should permanently stop such installations while another asked BitTorrent to consider the damage it may have cost,
“I may ask that for the next set of offers that full testing be done to ensure that zero threats of malware/adware/spyware is given free reign over the client’s system. Meaning, a system set up that a normal person would use with a normal AV program. Once the package is installed, an array of mal/spy/adware cleaners are put to work to see how deep these packages go and how they are treated by the cleaners.
This situation would pale in comparision if a genuine threat was unleashed by accident.”
