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SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.

In fact, their FAQ says this (here):

"What is your privacy policy?

"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."

I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:

"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.

"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL

"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.

"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."

In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.

At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.

The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.

SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).

Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...

SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.

In fact, their FAQ says this (here):

"What is your privacy policy?

"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."

I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:

"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.

"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL

"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.

"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."

In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.

At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.

The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.

SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).

Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...

SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.

In fact, their FAQ says this (here):

"What is your privacy policy?

"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."

I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:

"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.

"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL

"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.

"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."

In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.

At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.

The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.

SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).

Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...

SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.

In fact, their FAQ says this (here):

"What is your privacy policy?

"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."

I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:

"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.

"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL

"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.

"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."

In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.

At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.

The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.

SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).

Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...

SongSpy, now in version XE Beta 2.0, is installing a very nasty spyware app called FTapp without users' knowledge whatsoever - not in the license agreement that users have to agree to when they install SongSpy, nor in the FAQ on their website.

In fact, their FAQ says this (here):

"What is your privacy policy?

"We're still working on pulling together a formal policy in full-blown legalese. But rest assured that we ourselves are privacy zealots and won't be doing anything remotely devious with the information you provide us. Also, we take pride in how little we know about what you are doing on SongSpy, you aren't tracked, logged, or monitored for analysis by the client software."

I looked up FTapp with Google and found nary any info, except for a virus entry for FTapp in McAfee's Virus Information Library. FTapp's entry in McAfee's Virus Information Library says the following:

"Virus Characteristics: This is an advertising/user monitoring trojan. Once running this trojan may track your web browsing activity and/or display advertisements.

"Indications Of Infection: Presence of the file FTAPP.DLL

"Method Of Infection: This trojan is installed via an executable.

"Removal Instructions: Use specified engine and DAT files for detection. Use the ADD/REMOVE Programs Control Panel in Windows to remove this program."

In fact, an entry for FTapp is in the Add/Remove Program applet of Windows' Control Panel. But, if you try to remove it, it says that there was an error and asks if you wish to just remove the install entry from Add/Remove Programs. Thus, FTapp CANNOT be uninstalled this way; it will remain.

At the time I discovered FTapp on my system, I assumed that the next step was to just delete the (unhidden) folder C:\Program Files\ftapp. I've done this and haven't had any problems yet.

The folder C:\Program Files\ftapp contains two files: FTapp.dll and FTapp.mon. Viewing the properties sheet for FTapp.dll didn't reveal much, but opening FTapp.mon was my greatest cause for alarm. In it appears to be lots of websites I've visited recently.

SongSpy users cannot even contact SongSpy, either. Their support, in its entirety, is the FAQ, and the only way they have set up to be contacted (here) is at staff@songspy.com, and only for business proposals or if someone is from the media (hint hint).

Also, iMesh 3.0 was just released this week, and it contains something called FTPBack/FTP_back/FTP Back. Also stealth, it's installed automatically during iMesh 3.0 setup and without users' knowledge and is set to run at Windows startup using the Windows Registry's Run key...

• Alpine - Adaptive Large-scale Peer2peer Information NEtworking
• ANAP -- Anonymous Napster
• AudioGalaxy Satellite
• Bearshare -- Powerful Gnutella client
• Blocks -- open source distributed sharing client with encryption
• Carracho -- MacOS file sharing program
• CuteMX
• Direct Connect
• DFSI -- Distributed File Sharing over IRC
• Espra
• FileSwap
• Filetopia
• FreeNet
• Gnutmeg -- peered file sharing system
• gnutella -- distributed P2P file sharing tool
• Hotline
• IMesh
• Jungle Monkey -- open source
• KaZaA - Windows Media Desktop
• Konspire -- open source distributed client in java
• OFSI -- Open File Sharing Initiative
• ProjectELF -- anonymoys distributed sharing system
• SongSpy
• Spin Frenzy
• Splooge -- P2P file sharing by file extension
• Swapoo -- Napster like service for sharing video game ROMs
• Swaptor -- Online File Sharing Community
• VNN - secure file sharing app

infoAnarchy reports on the many, many alternatives to Scour & Napster, be it distributed or centralized. It uses the K5 site engine, meaning anyone can submit stories and moderate submissions.

In our Resources section, you can get an overview of the many available file sharing tools. Here's the ones I would recommend:

• One of the best alternative feature-wise is Filetopia (its userbase is relatively small).
• And for MP3s, Songspy is quite powerful.
• If you like Napster, get Napigator. It allows you to connect to OpenNap servers where any file type can be shared (and which are not concerned by any changes in Napster's business model).
• A good alternative to the Windows Napster client is FileNavigator.
• Recently reborn: CuteMX, has a lot of features but requires IE.
• Somewhat closer to Gnutella, with distributed servers: DirectConnect
• Distributed, anonymous, encrypted: Blocks

But again, please come visit us at iA to find out about the best new tools. We know our stuff.

File sharing will never die.

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