uTorrent displays a nonexisting local IP address as replicated ghost peers when there is no actual peers

Question

• This happens only when the torrent has no real peers.
• When there is at least one real peer connected, this doesn't happen.
• The address 192.168.56.1 is not configured to be used for any purpose.
• There is no web server software running in my system.
• The modem interface shows no actual connection to the IP address 192.168.56.1.
• This happened in all uTorrent versions (including 3.4.1) so far for the last 2-3 years.
• Comodo antivirus scan haven't ever found anything related.
• This doesn't happen in my laptop which is connected to the same modem.
• I found another person experiencing this problem here.

What could be causing this? How do I diagnose it to find the problem source?

Network configuration:

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MyPC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 6C-**-**-**-**-B8
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::406a:4a76:2ecf:75ad%10(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 174911561
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-B8
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 208.67.222.222
                                       208.67.220.220
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 08-**-**-**-**-6E
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::fdf7:b77a:8b92:1fb4%21(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.56.1(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 352845863
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-B8
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{********-****-45DE-****-************}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-**-**-**-**-**-**-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-**-**-**-**-**-**-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{********-****-42E9-****-************}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-**-**-**-**-**-**-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

More information:

My operating system : Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
My gateway address  : 192.168.1.1
My local IP         : 192.168.1.2
My uTorrent port    : 5001
uTorrent version    : 3.3

Answer 1

As you can see in the ipconfig /all output, 192.168.56.1 is an IP address associated with your computer on the VirtualBox Host-only virtual network interface. Somehow, Local Peer Discovery is malfunctioning on this adapter, causing µTorrent to see itself as a (potential) peer.

Since all this stuff happens internally on your computer, none of it will ever show on your modem or elsewhere.

I’m not overly familiar with µTorrent, so I don’t know if you can keep it from trying to use the virtual network interface. It might be worth a shot, though. Perhaps somewhere in the advanced settings.