Chrome is Blocking uTorrent as Malicious, Harmful Software

Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers available for free these days, though it has an unfortunate side effect for some people recently. According to a recent report on TorrentFreak, the web browser is blocking downloads from the popular download client uTorrent. Anyone who attempts to download the software will receive an error saying the software is malicious and harmful. This led many to believe the website was hacked, which has happened in the past, but no one can confirm whether this is the case or not.

There are millions of new downloads each month for uTorrent, making it the most used BitTorrent client available. That fact makes this information worth noting, as hundreds, if not thousands, of new installs were blocked by Google Chrome recently. The web browser simply warned the user that is was malicious and being blocked. No further explanation was given, though it generally isn’t in cases such as this. Chrome believed it to be a risk to the client, though.

The version of uTorrent being blocked was the most stable release from the software company, which makes these even more odd. Chrome offers the option for users to restore the file, but not without offering yet another warning as to the potential malicious nature of the download in question. The browser is convinced this software is harmful. Be warned, however, that could be the case, though it may not be, too.

The first reports flooded in in late January for the latest stable release. The website managed to scan the software with more than 50 of the most popular antivirus software available, but found no active threats within the download itself. According to Google’s safe browsing diagnostic page, however, uTorrent was involved in a malware distribution issue in previous months, though no details as to what this malware was had been given.

This is not the first time uTorrent has been blocked by Chrome, unfortunately. The same thing happened late last year when a malware blocking feature was in beta on the web browser. BitTorrent managed to resolve this issue quite quickly, but it is unclear whether the most recent blockade will be fixed as fast.

Chrome is Blocking uTorrent as Malicious, Harmful Software