Some of the settings mentioned below are optimized for 256k connection.

If you w
ant to calculate the optimal settings for your connection, check at the end of t
his tutorial. But I suggest you to read the entire tutorial for guidance on othe
r settings.
First go to Options>Preferences>Network
1. Under `Port used for incomming connections', enter any port number. It is bes
t to use a port number above 10000. I use 45682.
2. Randomize port each time utorrent starts: UNCHECKED. I leave this unchecked b
ecause I have a router. If you do not have a router or a firewall, and want extr
a security,check this option.
3. Enable UPnP port mapping (Windows Xp or later only): UNCHECKED. I leave this
unchecked because I have experienced it slowing down speeds. It is not needed if
you manually port forward.
4. Add utorrent to Windows Firewall exceptions (Windows XP SP2 or later only): U
NCHECKED (do this only if you have windows firewall disabled)
5. Global Maximum upload rate (kb/s): [0: unlimited]: 22 (for 256k connection)
6. Protocol Encryption: ENABLED. I would recommend everyone to enable this. This
can help increase speeds with many ISPs.
7. Allow incoming Legacy Connections: CHECKED
Options>Preferences>Torrents
1. Global Maximum Number of Connections: 130 (for 256k connection)This number sh
ould not be set too low or the number of connections made to your torrents will
be limited. Setting it too high may cause too much bandwidth to be used and can
cause slowdowns.
2. Maximum Number of connected peers per torrent: 70 (for 256k connection)If you
see that the peers connected to a specific torrent are exactly this number, or
very close, increase this number to improve speeds.
3. Number of upload slots per torrent: 3 (for 256k connection)This depends on ho
w much you want to upload to other users. Do not set too low or it may affect do
wnload speeds.
4. Use additional upload slots if upload speed <90%: CHECKED
5. Maximum number of active torrents: 2 (for 256k connection)
6. Maximum number of active downloads: 1 (for 256k connection)
7. Enable DHT Network: CHECKEDThis is recommended to be checked to improve speed
s. More people will be available for sharing if this is checked.
8. Enable DHT for new torrents: CHECKED
9. Enable Peer Exchange: CHECKED
10. Enable scrapping: CHECKED
11. Pre-allocate all files: CHECKED
12. Append .!ut to incomplete files: UNCHECKED