According to Motherboard, a package has been discovered that is linked to the popular Torrent download client µTorrent, that seemingly could destroy your computer. Not with a virus, but physically destroy it. This package, an app called ‘Epic Scale’, seemingly uses the processing power of your machine to mine Bitcoin for both Epic Scale and µTorrent.
A clause in the terms of Epic Scale raised eyebrows when someone noticed it and posted it on the µTorrent forums.
“You release Epic Scale and its agents … from and against all claims … arising from or related to (i) the use of the Application on your computer, including without limitation any blowouts or other damage to your computer from overheating due to intensive use of graphics cards or chips, or any slowing of your processing speed.”
What that effectively means, is that you’re giving the developers of this software the right to physically destroy your PC. Superfish is one thing, but a piece of software that you unknowingly give permission to destroy your computer is another; their profit at your expense.
Source: Motherboard
But isn’t it something you can choose to install yourself? I normally always decline all the offers when installing utorrent
But this is an offer, not uTorrent. You can just decline the offer?
Looks like it’s installed automatically if you update from a previous version, without giving you any notice… at least that’s what I’ve heard, I’m still staying on version 2.0.4 and not planning on updating/changing clients any time soon.
In the screenshot posted in the article, there’s a button that says “Decline Offer”. I would guess that you could just click that.
I guess I have to repeat myself: if you update from a previous version. The screenshot shows the installation procedure, if you install it fresh from the setup .exe file. I guess it doesn’t show up when you update.
Wow, someone actually read the license agreement?
But what this story fails to mention is that Epic Scale is only included in the 32 bit version 3.4.2 (build 28913) as stated in the article from Overclock3d.net http://www.overclock3d.net/articles/software/utorrent_silently_installing_bundled_bitcoin_mining_software/1
Sorry but there is no way mining for bitcoin can destroy your PC, sensationalist headline at it’s best, CPU’s have thermal protection and will kill power of they get too hot and if your GPU can’t cool itself at 100% load then you have bigger problems than this software being on your PC
Nice to see a fellow GTriber here.
Unless it’s an unprotected south bridge with no heatsink.
Ice age computer, is it?
Not all recent motherboards have a heatsink on the south bridge chipset. Most of the cheaper budget boards don’t, or have inadequate heatsinks.
Spending a nice amount of money gets you boards with decent heatsinks.
Man if you get or build a PC you don’t get cheap on the motherboard that’s dumb, anyone with a brain can understand that the CPU,MB and PSU are the things you can’t go cheap with….And the ones that don’t have heat sink now dont need them because of their “less then capable” capabilities :), i had one i tested it to the max(mainly trough overclock in a closed cage with only 1 fan, the little ones from 2008) so i can tell you that for sure, and it was on an older system a Core 2 duo and a cheap asrock MB from 2009…So nowadays if a motherboard has no heatsink is because it simply doesn’t have enough power to overheat.
You’re talking to me as if I have bought a cheap motherboard, I am talking in general with people who are not in the know.
As for your latter statement of “So nowadays if a motherboard has no heatsink is because it simply doesn’t have enough power to overheat.” That is rubbish to be honest, the south/north bridges are constantly in use, and the chipsets will heat up even when idle.
South bridges deal with PCI, USB, IDE connection types as well as dealing with anything Bios usage, and any external connections.
The north bridge deals with the GPU, CPU and RAM.
So yeah they are always in use… and are always supplied power to do so, since the motherboard is taking in typically 140W of it.
Heatsinks cost money which is why budget boards don’t have them to keep costs down low, or the material used if one is available is the cheapest they can get is aluminum which is a soft material and not that great. All the way up to Diamond, yes even diamond has been used in the more expensive boards.. but the majority is a compound of copper and tungsten, or in some cases Copper-Silver.
Yes they do it too save money, but if it doesn’t perform they loose that money in warranty circunstances, they make it so that if you use it as intended it will not fail (i know they fail sometimes but that is normal, in every manufacturing line 10 in 100 MB come with defect).
Sir in honestly my experience even with older hardware is that a motherboard which doesn’t have a heat sink , even when you use a method to overclock the south/nothbridge (to a limit which it ceases to function) is that you end up frying the CPU or GPU first, What you say is true for systems of 2000 to 2005 where there where virtualy no safety measures where a chip would funtion until it caught on fire, now the systems shut down before you get even close to that situation…For a system nowadays to fry a Bridge you need to have it working out of stock frequencies and even then you need to have very particular ciscunstances, for example hacks to disable safety measures, et cetera…
I do understand your concerns mister, but you don’t really need to worry unless you have a shady chinese made motherboard, if you have a motherboard from a know seller it obeys the standards, thefore you don’t need to worry…
And generaly if are buying something you buy from a trustworthy seller
its the same as installing anything .. they now try installing toolbars etc along with their software.. if youre daft enough not to read what youre allowing to install its your fault… im on 64bit so ner ner .. .. it takes a few seconds more before you hit the accept or install button to actually read what youre going to get.. if youre too lazy to do that.. its stuff like this that youre allowing in.. at your own risk… an expensive lesson in some cases im sure
Listen, i have utorrent version 2.2 for years, unchecked the automatically find for updates since i installed it and i still don’t have any trouble with it, i’m bootlegging everything up like a charm.