aMule 3.2.0 released!

Four releases in one year. Who would have thought? aMule 3.2.0 is here, and this one comes with a clear message: please upgrade.

Security first

This is, before anything else, a security release. We fixed 15 vulnerabilities that were responsibly reported to us, and 11 of them are also present in the old 2.3.3. Some of them could let other eD2k or Kad users, a device on your local network or anyone who can reach the remote-control port crash aMule, peek into its memory or reach files and programs outside it.

So if you are still on 2.3.x or on any earlier 3.x release, this is the one to install. A big thank you to the security researchers who took the time to find and report these problems. The changelog has the full list.

A smoother everyday experience

Security is not the only thing that changed. Here is what you will notice when using aMule:

• No more freezes from a slow disk. If aMule uses a slow, busy or sleeping disk, you probably know the feeling: the GUI freezing for several seconds, sometimes over 20. That is gone. aMule now stays responsive, and uploads from your other disks keep going at full speed.
• Faster uploads, less CPU. Uploads are up to 16% faster and use about half the CPU at low speeds, and aMule no longer wastes time compressing videos and other files that are already compressed. Upload slots are also shared more fairly, because one machine can no longer grab most of them by pretending to be many users.
• New downloads start sooner. When you add or resume a download, aMule asks the servers for sources within seconds, instead of waiting up to 22 minutes for the next round.
• Search both networks at once. A new "All" search looks in eD2k and Kad at the same time.
• Less chat spam. The spam filter and chat CAPTCHA now protect amuled and every client connected to it, not just the desktop app, and they are on by default.
• Damaged files are caught and not spread. aMule remembers the result of Verify Local Data, stops offering parts it found damaged so others don't download bad data from you, and can recheck your shared files every few days if you want.
• A better server list. aMule can combine server lists from several sources you choose, and ignores a broken list instead of importing it.

A nicer desktop app

The desktop app got plenty of love too. In the Windows and macOS packages you can now choose Light or Dark mode, or let it follow the system (after a restart). You can set bandwidth with sliders and an Mbit/s calculator. Preferences follow the order eMule users already know. On Windows and macOS, tray icons and speed bars look sharp at any screen scale, and on Linux the tray icon now shows the connection state.

The Web UI speaks seven languages

The Web UI that ships with amuleapi is now available in Catalan, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese (Brazil) and Russian, on top of English and Spanish. Its translations live on Weblate with the rest of aMule, so if your language is missing, you can help.

And much more

That's just the tip of the iceberg. This release also brings a long list of smaller improvements and bug fixes all over aMule. A few of our favorites:

• Change ports on the fly. TCP and UDP port changes apply without a restart, even from remote clients.
• Proxies and Tor. SOCKS5 proxies such as ssh -D and Tor work again, and SOCKS4/4a through Tor works for the first time.
• Delete files from disk. Remove completed files from disk right from Downloads and Shared Files, in aMule, amulegui and the Web UI.
• A failing disk no longer loses a download. If saving a download's progress fails, aMule keeps the previous progress file, so the download survives.
• Faster startup with big libraries. The splash screen shows up right away, and scanning large shared folders is many times faster.
• Magnet links and reverse proxies. amuleapi and the Web UI accept magnet links, and can now run behind a reverse proxy on a sub-path.
• amulecmd improvements. For example, you can download a search result without listing the results first.
• Smaller Windows packages. The portable zip went from 48.6 MB to 32.7 MB.

Before you upgrade

For most people, upgrading is a drop-in: install it and carry on. But a few defaults changed for safety, so take a minute to read Before you upgrade, especially if you use aMule remotely (amulegui, amuleapi, amuleweb or your own scripts). The most important change is that remote clients can only set download and shared folders inside a list you choose on the aMule machine, so a leaked password no longer exposes your whole disk. The list starts empty, but folders you already use keep working.

As always, all the details are in the changelog, and you can get the new version from the download page.

Thanks to everyone who coded, tested, translated and reported bugs for this release. Happy sharing!