As if it wasn’t bad enough that the last (automatic) uTorrent update broke WebUI, it looks like the updated WebUI is also causing uTorrent to lock up or crash.

From what I’ve been able to determine, WebUI is the culprit.

Here’s what I know about the WebUI uTorrent 2.0 bug

  • Connecting to WebUI via a browser, either locally or remotely, does not cause uTorrent to freeze.
  • Using the open port checker tool at CanYouSeeMe.org to check the port I have WebUI running on (8080) causes uTorrent to immediately freeze.
  • By telnetting in to port 8080, I was able to determine that the crash happens when the client disconnects. That is, I am able to connect, issue all kinds of garbage commands, etc, and the uTorrent program runs fine until I disconnect from the session. As soon as I do – Bam! The interface is immediately frozen.

Based on this information, it seems likely that the program is crashing when your computer is “portscanned” by one of the many script-kiddies polluting the internet with their port scanners. So a simple solution to the problem is to block port 8080 on the router, allowing connections only from inside your home network. In this thread, some people are having success with this workaround.

I did this and it fixed the problem. Though it’s not an idea solution, since I am now unable to connect to WebUI when I’m away from home. For now, I’ll just use VNC to access uTorrent from outside my home network. But as soon as I get time, I’m going to dive into the problem and see if I can find & fix the bug.

I’ll update here when I do.