After the release of 1.0.6, we immediately began investigating the possibility of being able to establish direct connections through routers without having to set up port forwarding or enable UPnP. As it turns out, there is a little-known method called "TCP Punching" that works with some routers. UDP Punching is used by many common VOIP applications, but applying the method to TCP is not very common. This method is not operating system dependent, so it can work on any platform supported by BitWise.
We are very pleased to announce that BitWise's latest builds have incorporated this technology to allow automatic direct connections through [some] routers without any configuration. At this time, we are looking for users with routers to test this new version. Note that testing does require that you and the people you talk to have the new version in order to perform the TCP punching. You also will need to disable your port forwarding, otherwise the TCP punching won't be needed (and thus won't be tested). I will be happy to test with you, and I have a standard battery of tests that can quickly tell you if it's working or not.
We anticipate that this new connection method will make it easier than ever for even more people to use BitWise. So far we're batting about 50% compatibility, which isn't great, but if it's easier for 50% of people to make connections, I'd say that's a big improvement!
We are looking for testers. Please use this forum thread. Comments have been disabled for this post.