BitTorrent

Basic BitTorrent Features

• Enable DHT Network enables the Distributed Hash Table (DHT) if checked. You can also do this by right-clicking the DHT status in the main window status bar and selecting the corresponding option.
• Enable DHT for new torrents tells BitTorrent Mainline to check for peers from the DHT network on each newly added torrent job. This option only works if DHT is enabled, and if the 'private' flag is not set in the .torrent file.
• Enable Local Peer Discovery allows BitTorrent Mainline to attempt to discover local peers via multicast. If a peer is considered local, transfer rates with the peer will not be limited unless Limit local peer bandwidth is also enabled. Local Peer Discovery will not be used for .torrent files with the 'private' flag set.
• Ask tracker for scrape information tells BitTorrent Mainline to scrape the tracker (ask for peer and seed counts). By default, the tracker is scraped only when the torrent job is started, but this can be changed.
• Enable Peer Exchange enables Peer Exchange (PEX) for each newly added torrent job, provided the 'private' flag is not set for that .torrent file.
• Limit local peer bandwidth: This option decides whether BitTorrent Mainline should apply the rate limits to peers on the local network. Peers are considered local if they are discovered by Local Peer Discovery, or if they are on the same LAN as the client.
• The IP/Hostname to report to tracker field allows you to specify your IP address when reporting to the tracker. This is used in the case where your WAN (Internet) IP address is not reported correctly to the tracker for whatever reason (might be that you are behind a proxy server). Note that you can type a hostname in this field, so if you use a dynamic DNS service, you can enter your domain into this field. Also, realize that not all trackers pay attention to this information, and often ignore it.

Protocol Encryption

• The Outgoing dropdown menu allows you to select the mode of encryption that you prefer BitTorrent Mainline to establish. All modes will accept incoming encrypted connections, and the encryption is 2-way.
  
  • Disabled will force BitTorrent Mainline to attempt to establish only unencrypted outgoing connections.
  • Enabled will allow BitTorrent Mainline to establish encrypted and unencrypted outgoing connections, depending on how the peer responds to the handshake. This is the recommended option, as it provides BitTorrent Mainline with the largest pool of peers to pick from for connecting to.
  • Forced forces BitTorrent Mainline to establish only encrypted outgoing connections. Any peer that doesn't support encryption will not be connected to. It is recommended that you not use this option unless your ISP actively searches for unencrypted outgoing connections, as it can impair your ability to connect to peers.
• Allow incoming legacy connections allows BitTorrent Mainline to accept unencrypted incoming connections. If disabled, any incoming connection that is unencrypted will be ignored. It is recommended that you not disable this option unless your ISP actively searches for unencrypted incoming connections, as it can significantly impair your ability to connect to peers.