Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic Kazaa users, beware!

I was trying today for the first time to install Kazaa (free version) in my computer. I regretted immediately.

As soon as the installation finished, I ran Lavasoft Ad-Aware (I always run the antispyware after I install a program from the Internet, just in case). I got 72 critical objects! Only 4 of them were tracking cookies; the rest were malware, bad registry keys, suspicious processes, etc. The main problem was with a Altnet program (which I have no idea what it does). I uninstalled all weird programs instantly from my computer and even had to restart my computer and run Ad-Aware again to remove most of the harmful objects.

Then, I ran Spybot just to make sure my computer was clean, and 13 more malicious registry keys/malware were found.

Never again!

I would STRONGLY suggest all of you that have these P2P programs to check your PCs for malware/spyware. I'm still going to look for a third spyware cleaner to make sure everything is out (any suggestions?).

malu

P.S.: Sorry for the long ranting, but I was surprised how this kind of very popular program can have so much trash in it, and I'm trying to understand how you guys are able to use it.

Unfortunately, Malu, you've learned a lesson many before you have also learned, and it's a painful one. The vast majority of P2P fileshare programs are stuffed full of adware/spyware and even in some cases viruses. Kazaa has a terrible reputation for it, and eDonkey is even worse - I remember one FoLC finding 400 malicious or suspicious objects on her computer after installing eDonkey.

The only filesharing program I know of which is guaranteed spyware-free is WinMX . I've been using it for the past year and many friends of mine for much longer than that, and we love it.

Good luck!


Wendy

Wendy,

Thank you for the info.

I downloaded and installed WinMX, and then ran Ad-Aware: no hits. I'm now running Spybot to see what the result is...also clean!

And thanks for the reminder, Malu & Wendy I hadn't run Ad-Aware in a while, and when I did, it found 37 critical objects (whatever the heck those are, but I'm assuming they're not good! )

PJ

There is one p2p program I know of and personally have used quite a bit, that has absolutely *no* spyware/adware (I´ve checked--I know it for sure), and it´s not WinMX. It´s called Filetopia, found here . It´s got a few similarities with IRC, being very channel based, more so than search oriented (i.e. your best bet is to be in a bunch of channels, search the channels for what you want, then grab the user´s list and get it from there). User lists range in quality and quantity, but many of the channel owners and operators (and some others) have lists in excess of 200 gig. (I heard that one user on FT had 1.2 terabytes in his list, but that may only be a rumor.) FT is characterized by a high quality in files, too, as you will almost *never* find viruses or spyware in anything you get.

Channels are formed by subject, by everything from soundtracks, e-books, folk music, TV episodes, and recent movie or game releases, for a few. Some are in other languages (mostly European ones). Public channels are generally friendly, and have several rules they must live by: they cannot kick you for having no list, though you may find users blocking you individually (the rule is share what you get), and they are required to keep the language clean and porn out. Non-public channels vary in rules such as who may enter and what you can be kicked/banned for. Channels marked A are adult and specifically allow porn, though kiddie porn earns a system-wide ban of that user´s nick as soon as it´s found, no matter what channel. Channels marked G are general, and keep vulgar language and porn out.

If you´re patient and willing to learn, FT has some of the best online communities, with the wonderful dimension of file-sharing, and there are many people who are ready to help you get set up. My personal favorites are #Folk Fans, #Folk Fans Too, #The Shepherds Bothy (not sure if I´ve got it exactly, but the channels are found via a channel list anyway), #MovieMusic, #TVseries, and #Gabriola Games. #FBO is one of the main movie ones, and the latter three are virtually the best of their type.

Hope you check out FT and enjoy it!

I ran Kazaa for at least a couple of years and then I dumped it after the download crackdown scare.

Kazaa the program still haunted me because I ended up having my laptop crash and the whole thing had to be reconfigured! Not a good time...I must say. The same thing happened to my younger sister's laptop as well because she was using Kazaa.

Needless to say, we all learned our lessons.

Regarding the Kazaa-Network, I highly suggest Kazaa Lite, which is kind of a 'rebuild' of the original Kazaa but runs without any adware/spyware. Beware, there's a difference between the free Kazaa and the Kaza Lite.

As WinMX also allows access onto the OpenNapster protocol, you have access to a huge sharing community which sometimes even provides years long lost files

But in all this discussion about spyware/adware don't forget one thing - most of the discovered malware is usually ONLY a tracking-cookie used by advertising companies. This is surely a problem for anonymous surfing but no threat for your computer.