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)"

Comments

Good news for the computer savvy

[sjrstory]

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!

Re:Good news for the computer savvy

[Uber Banker]

Mentioning mindless clicking and downloading - the story takes you to a website where the eXeemLite software just downloads.

WTF? Computer savvy?

Download a cracked version of some shadowy software - and trust that its 100% legit??? Why not publish MD5 sum of the package which can be verified by expert users willing to take the plunge?

Plus, has anyone tried this on WINE?

Re:Good news for the computer savvy

[batemanm]

...has anyone tried this on WINE?

It was terrible. I saw two of them and they were both out of focus, then I was physically sick and in the morning I had a terrible headache. :-)

Azureus Plugin for Exeem

[Anonymous Coward]

Somebody please write an Azureus plugin for Exeem!

Re:I thought....

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Good News!

[codesurfer]

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!

New name for Exeem Lite

[Anonymous Coward]

eXLax - Exeem without the crap.

So...

[slavemowgli]

How long until the eXeem makers either sue or try to ban lite users from the network?

Re:So...

[Jugalator]

They've already said they'll try to do that.

But since it's not an option to me to use a Cydoor-infested eXeem, I'll just use other software in replacement of this one, and maybe eXeem Lite for however long I can. For replacements, BT trackers are still around, alive and highly functional, and solve the whole deal with the Kazaaification eXeem might experience too. For more rare stuff than might be found on BT networks, there's always uncentralized networks like Kademlia. Slower downloads, but an amazing selection.

A shame original bittorrent didn't use GPL

[xDCDx]

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).

Re:A shame original bittorrent didn't use GPL

[costas]

Even if he had done so, there are tons of BT-compatible codebases out there (Azureus is in Java, BitComet in C++, libtorrent in C AFAIK); the license of the original Python client is not the issue. Unless of course you mean that Mr. Cohen should have either patented or claimed copyright on the BT protocol itself which is (to say the least) very much against the spirit of the GPL.

Re:A shame original bittorrent didn't use GPL

[stienman]

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.

And we wouldn't have exeem. Unless, of course, you can point out an open source solution that provides the same (and better, according to you) features compared to exeem?

Don't you hate it when people complain about the GPL restricting their free use of software? You are complaining about another person's use of a license.

When you release your software, you get to choose the license. Don't complain about another author's choice of license. I want other people to use my software, even to make money off it. Therefore I use the BSD license. We have philisophical and political differences, but that doesn't make my choice bad and your choice good. In my case, I don't want to force others to give back to the 'community' - I let them choose how they contribute (or if) to society. The GPL preference is to tell people, "Use my software and you have to release all your efforts - if not, I'm taking my toys and going home."

Sarcasm aside, each has its advantages and disadvantages. I suspect many choose the GPL not because they have an altruistic desire to further society. Many release it for the reasons you imply when you say, "people would not be able to profit so easily from his work." They don't want other people profiting off their work. "If I can't or didn't make money off it, neither can you." Which, I feel, is a very different goal than the claimed altruism of the GPL.

I don't mean to imply that most people have this in mind when choosing a license, but I've seen this side of the license debate more than I care to.

-Adam

Easy fix

[Barny]

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 :)

Re:Easy fix

[illumin8]

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 :)

Although I appreciate the information, I'd just as soon not have the spyware installed on my computer in the first place. Unless you've sat there with a debugger and stepped through Cydoor one instruction at a time, how do you know it doesn't stick copies of itself somewhere else, or trojan another binary along the way? These spyware programs are notorious for nasty tricks like that.

Also, I remember reading in the previous article that uninstalling Cydoor causes Exeem to stop working, so you're still better off using the Lite client.

Please don't support spyware or authors that include spyware in their products. There are better ways to make money, and decent programmers can simply use Paypal or some other method of donationware to make a buck, while still delivering value (and most importantly goodwill) to their users.

My guess is the real reason why they're funding this using Adware is that the original Suprnova was mostly funded by banner ads, and they still need a revenue stream. Of course, now the editors are no longer screening content, so what they bring to the table (besides the application) is not as much.

Ban users from the network ? Implications...

[Animaether]

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!

[Jagasian]

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.

How is it different from Kazaa/eDonkey/etc..?

[stickyc]

Due to the spyware, I'm not likely to install eXeem anytime soon, some questions to those who have:

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?