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Which file-sharing software is spyware free?

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by blackcurrant

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Hi everyone

I have never used P2P file sharing software and would like a little advice from other members...

I have seen many articles which condemn various P2P programs because they are supposed to be infested with spyware and/or adware.

I realised that I really don't know very much about this beyond the hype...

So, do any of you use P2P software which is free of known pests, and what would you recommend? I would like to know if there is a 'safe group' of programs. And, are the majority of P2P programs OK?

Thanking you all in advance...

31 replies

by gralfus

The installation software can be infested with spyware or adware, such as with the regular version of Kazaa. Many people opted for the hacked version called "Kazaa Lite", which cut out the code that loads adverts, and left out the other adware it wants to load at install. I'm not sure if this is still available for download, since they may have been shut down by the original Kazaa.

The other issue is that any software downloaded can also be trojanized or open security holes in your system.

Not that I'm advocating downloading cracked software, just trying to answer the question fully.

by deepsand

I personally know of 2 installations that trusted Kazaa Lite, much to their regret.

As it fell to me to rehabiliate one of those, I feel confident in stating that it should not be used.

by deepsand

To date, this is the [b]only[/b] one that Im aware of that has been independently tested & found to be free of malware & malware extensions.

[v]http://www.limewire.com/english/content/home.shtml[/v]

One of my clients has used it for several years, with no ill results.
[v]http://www.limewire.org/[/v]

by husp1

I also use limewire and have found that both the regular and pro version add "bearshare " to the system after activation. (not sure but I think the software is dependent on it.) try bittorrent, have not seen anything from that yet. haven't heard of it being used in a business but I think it might have some use there.

by smithz_96

I recently tried out LimeWire and it was OK for a while until one bad download had this in it
Win32:WimAD-I (Trj) a nasty varment that infected my PC , so my answer to you there is not a safe file sharing program out there, actually anything you download from the internet be careful, little worms are getting smarter by the second

by geekchic

that is only half the battle, I think I would be more concerned about what will be in the files that you download from the shared sites...pretty dangerous stuff.

by deepsand

And, what makes you think that the "stuff" on my machine might be "pretty dangerous?"

by geekchic

maybe it's safe...maybe it's not...maybe it's safe...maybe it's not..maybe it's safe...maybe it's not...maybe it's safe...dang, I ran out of daisy petals so I guess your stuff is safe! LOL!

You are right, I should have said "may" be instead of "will" be...I humbly apoligize.

by blackcurrant

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

This is interesting. I was under the impression that virtually ALL file-sharing software was not to be trusted.

I have read that Limewire was not to be trusted so it is good to hear a different opinion.

by robmcinnes

You may want to have a look into bit torrent. I'm not sure about any malware or spyware that may be part of the program software but it uses a new way of splitting files up and is aparently pretty good! I have never used bit torrent but I have heard some good things about it.
Again as one of the previous poster stated anything you pull down may already be infected with anything!!!
Most P2P software has what would be described as malware or spyware built into it so be carefull. Aslo the music and film industry are trying to stop the illegal act of sharing their files and the music industry will take you to court and charge you $1000 per copywrite infringement.
The film industry has an unlimited ammount per copyright infringement. New laws in the UK state that your ISP must provide your details to law enforcement agencies upon request if it is believed that you are sharing or downloading copyright protected media.
Anyway thats enough of me going on, have fun but do be carefull, especially if you are an IT proffesional as any legal action against yourself could affect you career!

by blackcurrant

Thanks.

The reason I started this thread is because nearly everything I have read about file sharing software indicates it is a security risk. I have been giving advice to people that reflects that information.

Recently, someone has said that I do not know what I am talking about, and that there is a lot of file sharing software which is perfectly safe to use.

I would like to know if everything I have read has been biased (which I very much doubt), or if there is indeed a substantial number of file sharing programs which are safe to install. I am taking this opportunity, therefore, to ask fellow members who have used file-sharing software or who have clients who use it for their opinions.

Personally, I have no intention of installing file-sharing software and I certainly would not allow any of it near my network. But, if someone has a different view I would be very interested to hear it.

by deepsand

Whereas other P2P platforms transfer a given file in its entirety from a single host, BT tranfers individual segments of a file from multiple hosts & reassembles them at the destination.

Given that the various packets have different sources, it is required that [b]all[/b] sources be [b]identically[/b] corrupted in order for the result to be a file that contains a viable contaminant.

by jaqui

it's jigdo under another name.
jigdo = jigsaw download
debian concept to ease data transfer oads from mirrors.

bit torrent is the same thing, a torrent file is a script that lists all websites that have the desired file available.

by husp1

been using bittorent for quite the while now and found several Legal downloads. alot of new musicians are posting demos using it. some sites carry both legal and illegal downloads. so please don't blame good tech. for peoples bad judgment.

by tony hopkinson

are both open source. Stay away from the chat side of it though. And if you are curious enough to download an executable make sure you av is well up to date.
Emule has a nice feature where you can see the names of all the files that would be used as sources. It works by some arcane hash/checksum. Low quality / iffy files generally have names that you wouldn't choose to download.
Sort your fire wall out so the ports are only accessible to the p2p executable as well.
Note P2p softare generally is 'aimed' at people who want to break copyright rules and therefore have little legal redress against being spoofed spammed, virused .. , you see where I'm going.
I learnt nore about how my firewall works from attempting to secure P2P than any other exercise.

by jaqui

while it has adds in it ( since aol bought it )
it is both a chat client and a peer to peer file sharing client, with a hook.
only people you know and have on your icq list can access your files, and only those who choose to share files have any to view. there is no typical p2p shearch for files.

this makes any you do download more trustworthy.
also, icq uses a vpn connection for the file transfer.

the open source p2p clients, found on sourceforge, like shareaza and emule, are spyware free.
there are a few available that can be found through a google search that are free, but generally they are all infected with spyware / adware.

the majority of content on a p2p network is copyrighted material, or pornographic material.

something like icq's method means content that is of interest, and may not be copyright violation.

by blackcurrant

Yes, I have been using ICQ to chat for a few weeks now, though I had not authorised the file-sharing aspect of it. My system has not detected anything dodgy since I installed it, and MS-Antispyware was happy with it.

And, as you said above - I did a search for game videos (using Limewire) - I specified the name of the game, and specified videos as the file type. Most of the results were pornographic and none of them actually had the game's name in the name of the file. Still, it was my first search, so I am a nOOb at the moment. However, I was not impressed by these results.

by tony hopkinson

and possibly porn is the hook that drives P2P. The greed that it profits from is P2Ps biggest weakness.

One of the most useful aspects I discovered though was my search for books and docukents, in fact I treat it as a good library now.

by john.m1

i am only intending to respond to the original question so dont lynch me here.
i agree with geekchic regarding file content and i do not condone illegal activity.
i have used WinMX for a long time now (more than 2 years 24/7 on broadband) i have helped friends get setup and use it, i have NEVER had a problem my friends have never had a problem, i believe it is spy/ad shite free.
no i dont download copyrite music or porn both of which are available in abundance, even to the extent that files are maliciously renamed to fool the innocent, but that is a user problem.
Spyware etc?
well it seems a lot safer than kazaa, et al, which my other friends use and then 'call me' to clean up their computers.

by blackcurrant

would also call me after installing programs like Kazaa, which is why I have tended to stay away from P2P software.

I suppose that because I have not used it myself, have only ever seen the poorer programs, and have only ever seen the hype concerning P2P software, I have come away with a biased view.

It is now clear to me that there are a couple of spyware-free file-sharing utilities available, but that a lot of the responsibility must lie with the computer user.

However, the average Joe Bloggs is unlikely to research P2P software, and sadly will end up with an infested computer more often than not.

So far, we seem to have three contenders for spyware-free P2P software - Bit Torrent, ICQ and, to a lesser extent, Limewire.

Does anyone know of examples that definately do contain spyware? I was under the impression that Limewire did (though there is a privacy issue with 'bearshare'), but have not discovered anything nasty. Mind you - I have not scanned my computer with a paid-up professional anti-spyware program.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.

by tony hopkinson

Shareaza and emule. They are both open source so putting spyware or adware in would be mad wouldn't it.
I've used both under xp. Shareaza tended to be a bit flaky, though they may have got round to solving that. Latest version of emule I've had no problems with. Content is a different matter entirely. There are some very strange people out there in cyberworld.
Try spybot S&D by the way it, updates regular. Free for personal use.
Needless to say you should have a firewall up and running, Sygate personal (again free) is my tool of choice for a software firewall. Grisofts AVG (another free one) also regularly updated is a good anti-virus (for checking out any exes you download out of curiosity). and it doesn't take your pc hostage unlike some popular payed for solution I could norton I mean mention.

by blackcurrant

I was in a bit of a rush... Yes, emule needs to be added to the list, as does Shareaza.

This list is becoming fairly respectable. Anyone else have any additions, or maybe programs that should definately be avoided?

by deepsand

1) Computer Associates describes BearShare as being a P2P system [i]distinct[/i] from LimeWire; and,

2) Audit My PC says [i]some[/i] versions of BearShare [i]contain[/i] spyware.

3) Computer Associates description of LimeWire says that (some) [i]distibutions[/i] of LimeWire contain (malware.)

It seems that the potential for risk is not inherent in either of these 2 P2P systems, but rather is linked to particular distributions. That is, certain parties who are providing downloads have bundled malware with legitimate P2P systems into their distributions.

This is precisely what happened to Kazaa Lite.

by deepsand

Actually, while you are in principle correct, in practice the risks are rather small.

For example, those searching a P2P net for music files have many sources from which to choose, and are able to see the characteristics of the files currently available & their hosts, such as Title, Artist, File Size, Bit Rate, Play Time, type of Connection (T-1, DSL, Cable, Modem), etc..

While it would be theoretically possible to design a file that could both masquerade as a legitimate music file and execute itself when "played," in order to propagate it would:

a) need to provide the expected musical content, so as to [b]not[/b] be at risk of being immediately purged by the recipient of such; and,

b) [b]not[/b] impair the ability of the now infected machine to remain sufficiently functional, so as to afford it the opportunity to be offered by its new host for sharing.

As this is no small feat, the use of P2P as an effective & efficient means of propagation is more suitable to files which are [i]expected[i] to be executables.

Therefore, one can quite easily mitigate the risk by being selective with regards to the file types selected; and, if deemed necessary, 1st quarantining them for closer scrutiny.

You can relax now; I was kidding about the "gotcha."

by geekchic

but I don't want to make an enemy out of anyone here cause I like learning from everyone! Just keep the good stuff coming and remember I am an old lady with a very weak heart...NOT! I am just an old lady but my heart is strong and I can chase you around the block if necessary!! LOL!

by deepsand

I fear that spinal fusion will inevitably be required if I am to continue living a reasonably active life.

by synthetic

I have been using Lime wire for years, recently bought the latest version, and I have no additional programs launching in the reg, no additional services running at boot, and ad-aware, spybot s&d, bazooka spyware scanner, and hi-jack this, do not report anything I that should not be there. www3.ca.com is just being sloppy with their reporting.

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