Transmission 1.80 adds support for magnet links, fixes vulnerability

The Transmission developers have announced the release of version 1.80 of their popular cross-platform BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing client. The latest update, which the developers call "a huge listen-to-the-users release", of the powerful, yet lightweight, BitTorrent client includes a number of changes and new features.

In addition to nearly 60 bug fixes and several performance improvements, Transmission 1.80 features the addition of support for magnet links and trackerless torrents. As the name implies, trackerless torrents don't require a centralised tracking server, making torrents more independent from the tracker. Other changes include an optional "incomplete directory" where partial downloads are stored, the addition of .part to incomplete file names and improved IPv6 support. The Mac version of the client includes a redesigned trackers inspector tab, which includes favicons and copy-paste functionality to paste lists from multiple trackers, Quick Look support on Snow Leopard and improved Finder functionality.

Additionally, a directory traversal vulnerability, rated as a medium risk, has also been addressed that could have allowed a maliciously crafted torrent file to potentially overwrite any other files on a users system. However, the developers note that "there were no known exploits of this in the wild".

More details about the release can be found in the release announcment and in the Change log. Transmission 1.80 is available to download for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. Transmission is dual-licensed under the MIT License and version 2 of the GNU General Public License (GPLv2).

(crve)