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CEO of Brilliant Defends Sneaky Installation Practices
Em Emalb and other readers sent in follow-ups to our earlier story about yet more bundled crapware with Kazaa. Kazaa says they didn't do anything wrong; and so does Brilliant's CEO. I don't understand why anyone is still installing Kazaa, given their track record. Brilliant's brilliant plan is to use your computer to distribute their advertising, and give out Altnet resource dollars in exchange.
Here's how to remove the "Brilliant" code.
www.kazaalite.tk
Extra Features compared to original KaZaA
- No Adware
- No Spyware
- No banners
- No bitratelimit for mp3 files
- No irritating websites loaded into KaZaA
- No crappy BDE Viewer
- No f*cking Bonzi Buddy
- Set up multiple users with the included PseudoTrack tool
Um....Get Kazaa Lite...no more crapware, same old Kazaa.
The reason I still use Kazaa is simple. You can disable the spyware, and when it's done, Kazaa is quite simply the best P2P that I've found. I can always download anything I'm looking for and never have to worry about not being able to find something, because its always there.
As for the spyware, do a quick search on usenet or using Google and you'll find how to disable it. I've had all of Kazaa's Spyware components disabled for a few months now.
-Julius X
remove "-whatkindofspamdoyoutakemefor-" from email to send
...the mind set of computer users...
yeah, it definitely will lose them users among hard core tech types. but i would venture to say that the majority of people that use kazaa don't even really understand or care about brilliant using their excess computing power. these are the same people that download that "free bonzi buddy" thing.
incidentally, i did read something where brilliant said kazaa users would not be forced to have their computers used in that way. everyone would have the option to turn it off.
These links were posted today in Kazaa.com, but shortly after they were deleted. They were in a page where you could read:
"We are proud to announce our partnership with Altnet. As our relationship evolves you will see an evolution in p2p software, taking KaZaA to a completely new dimension without sacrificing any of the things you enjoy in the software."
Yada, Yada
"With Altnet, consumers will be able to opt in to making certain parts of their computing power available to businesses. This may include disk space, processing power or bandwidth. You will know exactly how a business would like to use your resources at the time of use. You choose what jobs can use your machine and which ones cannot. You earn redeemable points for sharing your resource."
Kazaa.com was so "proud" of this partnership that the page was removed from their server in the same day!
You may get a message that the uninstall has been successful.
Search your computer for a "BDE" folder, which most likely will be found in the "WinNT" or "Windows" directory. In this folder will be a file called "bdeclean.exe". Run this to finish the first part of the process.
Delete the BDE folder.
Caution: An unrelated piece of software called Borland Database Engine also creates a BDE directory. If you think you may have this software installed, or if there is any confusion whatsoever, do not delete this directory.
2.In the "Temp" directory (this will normally be found inside the "Windows" or "WinNT" directory) is a folder called "Brilliant." This contains many files. Delete the entire folder.
3.After performing steps 1 and 2, you will need to locate and remove some additional Brilliant Digital files that have been placed in critical system-level computer directories. CAUTION: Deleting the wrong files could interfere with the normal functioning of your computer. These files will most likely be in the "Windows\System" or "WinNT\System32" folder(in windows XP I found them in Windows\System32\):
bdedownloader.dll
bdedata2.dll
bdefdi.dll
bdeinsta2.dll
bdeinstall.exe
bdesecureinstall.cab
bdesecureinstall.exe
bdeverify.exe
bdeverify.dll
Delete these files.
The ALTNET / b3d client does seem to install itself without asking you, but it sits quietly in the "installed programs" list, and can be uninstalled in 3 clicks (which I performed yesterday after reading Brilliant's plans for ALTNET).
Summary: I use KaZaA because it works, and only morons can't uninstall the spyware.
So, yeah, it's dead.
So, just because they don't read it, doesn't mean it isn't there.
When you sign a legal contract with lots of fine print you don't understand doesn't mean you aren't bound by it.
Posted from CNet -
John Borland CNET News.com
Brilliant Digital Entertainment quietly installs its own software with every copy of the Kazaa file-swapping software. The Brilliant Digital software, which is being progressively distributed over the next few weeks, can later be remotely "turned on" to become part of a new network.
Executives from Brilliant Digital and Kazaa's parent company say people can uninstall the Brilliant Digital or Altnet software from their computers without interfering with the Kazaa program itself. This is true, but it's not an easy process.
These three steps will remove most traces of the Brilliant Digital software from most machines. CNET News.com did it using a computer running Windows 2000 (news - web sites), but the same process should work for other Windows operating systems. Please be aware, however, that these instructions represent just one uninstall method and may not be suitable for all machines and software configurations.
CNET Networks assumes no liability in publishing these instructions, which people may choose to follow at their own risk. As always, it's a good idea to make a backup of any critical files before proceeding.
1. In the Windows Control Panel, select an option called "Add/Remove Programs." One of the options will be "b3d Projector." Highlight this and click the "Change/Remove" button.
You may get a message that the uninstall has been successful. Search your computer for a "BDE" folder, which most likely will be found in the "WinNT" or "Windows" directory. In this folder will be a file called "bdeclean.exe". Run this to finish the first part of the process. Delete the BDE folder.
Caution: An unrelated piece of software called Borland Database Engine also creates a BDE directory. If you think you may have this software installed, or if there is any confusion whatsoever, do not delete this directory.
2. In the "Temp" directory (this will normally be found inside the "Windows" or "WinNT" directory) is a folder called "Brilliant." This contains many files. Delete the entire folder.
3. After performing steps 1 and 2, you will need to locate and remove some additional Brilliant Digital files that have been placed in critical system-level computer directories. CAUTION: Deleting the wrong files could interfere with the normal functioning of your computer. These files will most likely be in the "Windows\System" or "WinNT\System32" folder:
bdedownloader.dll
bdedata2.dll
bdefdi.dll
bdeinsta2.dll
bdeinstall.exe
bdesecureinstall.cab
bdesecureinstall.exe
bdeverify.exe
bdeverify.dll
Delete these files.
"Goodness, how did you people live long enough to invent tools?" -Hobbes (the tiger, not the philosopher)
I prefer using DC from neo-modus.com myself. Everything broken into hubs. I download lots of Grateful Dead/jamband music, and only in shorten format, so off to the SHN hub I go. You want Anime? Go the any of the *numerous* anime hubs. Star Trek, MP3's, Ogg, you name it there's a hub for it. Did I mention *NO* spyware?
This lesson was brought to you by the letter "Q" an the number 4.
--Dave
I know people have experienced problems with Gnutella clients in the past but Limewire has improved dramatically over the past few months. If your willing to spend $8.50 you can get the pro version which has no bundled software and has a few additional features. You can always use the free version and run Ad Aware to get rid of the additional apps. Limewire is open source too so you can compile it yourself and remove the additional apps plus it works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The 2.3 version has a bunch of new features including the ability to search by media type: audio, video, programs, etc.
I don't understand why no one mentions EDonkey2000. Not only does EDonkey have a Windows and Linux client (with a GUI now), but it also allows downloads from multiple sources, so it if finds 20 ppl with the file, you can (potentilly) have a fast transfer.
There are hundreds of Edonkey hosts (which just manage the clients), and these have hundreds of thousands of files each. I've never failed to find anything I'm looking for on EDonkey, and its the only file share program I use.