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eXeem Lite Public Beta Released
TheKarateMaster writes "Just days after the release of eXeem Open Beta comes eXeem lite 0.19 Public Beta. Much like with KaZaA, the official version of eXeem comes chock full of spy/adware -- specifically, cydoor. eXeem lite is spyware free and free of bloat -- and free. Version .20, which should fix a few minor bugs, is expected 'in next coming days.' (read: soon)"
Whilst this is excellent news indeed, I fear only the so called "computer savvy" will reap the benefits of this (ie no spyware). There are a lot of people out there who seemingly click at random through the World Wide Wreckage, completely and utterly naive of the dangers they face. And there are others who just can't be bothered to protect themself from spyware, data loss, scams, identity theft, etc.
Does this sound familiar:
Clueless user: Hrm, that looks like a good idea. Click. Install. Now why is my computer slow and always crashing? Better call my tech boy genius neighbor!
Tech boy genius neighbor: OMFG what did you do!?
I commend the software venders that do their best to protect those who need protecting the most. Even Microsoft is looking into integrating Spyware search and destroy tools into Windows. It pays to get with the times!
Which is only good news as the poliferation of spyware is just a waste of everyones time and and invasion of privacy.
----
Somebody please write an Azureus plugin for Exeem!
To be fair, they kind of screw themselves over asking for donations, given that their users are exactly the people too cheap to pay for music/tv/games/whatever.
From the FAQ There are currently no versions of eXeem(TM) for Linux or Mac. No way to install spyware on my Linux box? Awwww, what a shame!
eXLax - Exeem without the crap.
It is now known that slashdot editors don't read slashdot.
That was the official eXeem release, the one with spyware.
This is eXeem Lite, which is supposed to be spyware free.
How long until the eXeem makers either sue or try to ban lite users from the network?
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
If only Bram Cohen would had licensed the original bittorrent under the GPL (rather than the MITL), people would not be able to profit so easily from his work.
Granted, the trackerless protocol surely took some work, but the base BT protocol (and its implementation) was the revolutionary thing.
I hate companies providing adware software like Kazaa or Exeem, that promise you heaven on earth, and actually offer subpar programs, that would have much more quality as an opensource project (see eDonkey vs eMule).
the official version of eXeem comes chock full of spy/adware -- specifically, cydoor
Can this above comment be explained? I downloaded and installed eXeem, it did not appear to include any spyware whatsoever. It certainly did not come packaged with Cydoor. What's the deal here?
Surpnova asked for donations yes, but eXeem is unrelated to suprnova for all but publicity purposes - it was an existing development project which latched on to the recent publicity surrounding SUprnova (with its apparent approval).
Easy fix, easyer than DLing and maintaining a differant client...
:)
Delete files in c:\windows\system32\AdCache
Set all user permissions on folder c:\windows\system32\AdCache to deny (no access)
block/deny:
*cydoor.com/*
*cms.com/*
It doesn't complain if the ads are not comming in, it just throws them up
...
Have you not seen what lowkee did at LokiTorrent?
He raised 30k last month and 10k this month.
If it's because you want to take advantage of the # of users, have you considered that they are primarily the type of users that install spyware-ridden software on their PCs? Is that the type of user community you want to get files from, and share with?
What good reason is there to use eXeem? If you want to use a popular program that a lot of people use, what problem does eXeem solve that Kazaa doesn't?
Is eXeem supposed to be considered the second coming strictly because Suprnova shut down? Anybody who relied strictly on Suprnova for torrents was a fool, anyway, considering the wake of Napster and the obvious fate of any popular centralized source of illicit IP.
If you like the BitTorrent system... keep using it, eXeem offers no real advantages. If you have no integrity or circumspectness whatsoever, then just use Kazaa. I don't see what niche eXeem fills.
To Lepaca:
I don't understand your point, Lepaca. I just used the lite version to dl a nice PDF version of the Kama Sutra. How is eXeem or eXeemLite useless? Why is taking a decent program riddled with spyware (eXeem, KaZaA) and hacking out the spyware (lite versions), therefore improving the base program, not a valid endeavor?
To the anti-p2p crowd:
You people make me sick. You know in your heart-of-hearts that there's plenty of legitimate uses for this technology, and yet you still try to paint p2p users with the broad brush of illegality. Go bust the kids trading Brittney tracks! Leave us the tools to easily distribute legitimate large files (Linux distros, Project Gutenberg archives, etc), you dark-minded fucks.
the official version of eXeem comes chock full of spy/adware -- specifically, cydoor.
Check your sources.
eXeem does not come with a bunch of spy/adware. It comes with exactly one: Cydoor. Which is adware, only displaying ads.
Stop making that big face!
eXeem lite is spyware free and free of bloat -- and free
This isn't Free (libre) software, so while it is nice that it doesn't cost anything, neither does the official eXeem, so it is not better in that respect.
As for the claim that the official version comes with spyware and that this "lite" version doesn't - several posters have already said they couldn't find any spyware after installing eXeem.
As for eXeem-lite, if I can't see the source, why should I believe the site that claims it is spyware-free? Because the say so?
I learn from all my mistakes, I intend to be a genius at the end of my life.
Sure, it is much HYPED app. But I've yet to hear about how great it actually is. Who even said it will catch and deliver? Why eXeem lite and not X lite, when X can be any ad-sponsored program on ZeroPaid?
And while we on it. Why so many Slashdot articles on this? Promote it when eXeem is worth it.
I'm sympathetic to your point, but this seems to be the wrong discussion to be making it in. Check out clause 7.b. of the eXeem license agreement. Users of the software agree not to redistribute or modify it. What are the people who made eXeem lite doing? Redistributing a modified version. Even if you use the software only to distribute 100% legitimate, public domain or freely redistributable stuff, you're still commiting copyright infringement by using eXeem Lite!
Information doesn't want to be anthropomorphized. -AC
you can neuter most cydoor apps using the dummy cd_clint.dll files from here. Using these, the apps will still run but no more ads! My boss had installed a GRE word prep program and it didn't work after I cleaned up with AdAware (kept saying cd_clint.dll not found or something). I replaced it with this and everything was a-okay!
Wait... if they have the ability to 'ban (lite) users from the network', then they have the ability to 'ban individuals engaging in the act of distributing copyrighted works without prior permission to do so'.
Which means that they would become a prime target for whichever media copyright maintenance agency applies to them.
Unless I'm missing something.
eXeem is NOT related to Bittorrent in any way. It does not use the Bittorrent protocol nor an extension of it. It is yet another P2P application/network that is trying to captilize on an already popular application/network/protocol. Considering that it is closed source, Windows only, spyware stricken, and leeching off of Bittorrent's popularity, it would be wise to boycott eXeem.
If you want to use a P2P application that combines the swarming of Bittorrent with distributed indexing, searching, and tracking, try one of the eDonkey apps such as aMule, eMule, eDonkey2000, etc. Many of them are open source, spyware free, and run on multiple platforms. Since the eDonkey network has been around for a long time, it is filled with a variety of content. However, Bittorrent is still the fastest P2P protocol for raw data transfer, so don't drop it, just find a few good torrent sites.
One of BitTorrent's strengths was that it was very difficult to spoof content. IE - If you trusted the tracker, you knew exactly what you were downloading. Given eXeem's new "everyone's a tracker" marketing, is it now vulnerable to spoofing? If a user posts a malicious file under an alternate name, what's to prevent everyone from downloading it? Are there safeguards to protect the network from being flooded with invalid files?
Functionally, how is eXeem different from other P2P clients? My idea of what goes on is; You do a search across all files shared on the eXeem network, pick a file you like, and start downloading from peers. That's roughly the same thing with Kazaa, etc. What's the advantage of using eXeem?
..until I can recompile it myself.
Often shady versions can be more reliable than legit stuff. How the thing is, for most people, this is in the same category as OSS. It's realeased by a group of people on the net, who knows their motivations? People love to scream about the safety of OSS but 99.0% of the people doing the screaming are doing it with their head in a bag since they either lack the ability to check the source, or just don't take the time. They are taking it on faith that the source is clean of bad shit, and that the binary on the site is a faithful compile of that source.
Well, of course, you would tell me that you don't have to check it, because others have. Lots of other people have taken the time to check it carefully, so you don't have to worry. If there was something nasty in the source, they'd tell the world, and they've verified that the binaries are faithful productions of that code.
Same thing applies here. People will install it, check it with virus scanners and anti-spyware utilities. Run an install logger that will tell you every file it installs and where, every registry change, etc. Then they'll look at that to see if there's any spyware. If not, they'll declare it to be ok. As with the OSS, it's a bunch of random strangers you don't know telling you it's ok. At a certian point, you fighure they can't all be lying.
However you don't know for sure any more with OSS than you do with something like this. In both cases you are relying on experts you'll never meet telling you something you can't personally verify. I mean I trust people when they tell me Linux is safe. I trust that there aren't any backdoors. But how do I really know? Maybe there's a backdoor, along with a note in the source to come join the cabal that rules the Earth, and that's why no one has revealed it. Hell it could be that there's a backdoor in the compiler (http://www.acm.org/classics/sep95/) that exists only in the binary form, never in source. You don't really KNOW.
So, as with many things in computers and online, you put your faith in the masses. You assume that competent people will check this out and will tell the truth about it. You assume if there is spyware in it, word will spread and you'll know. You assume it to be safe because it hasn't been proved unsafe. Bad method, maybe, but we use it all the time.