Re: MP3 s - I love \'em
Beware!
Kazza has "spyware" hooked into its installation routine. This is (or was) well-documented about a year ago, so a free utility like ADBUSTER should be able to sniff out and flush the offending parasitic application. Kazza should function perfectly normal without the hook stuck in its side.
The spyware called "Ezula TopText" hooks into your web browsers (especially IE) and changes links on web pages to point to whatever sites its a**hole advertisers want them to. So, something innocous like the name of a band on a web page would be dynamically linked via the spyware to B.G. Music, and so on.
Another spyware app that might appear in a Kazza installation is one that exploits the unused CPU time of your computer, and connects it to a massive network, with packets of data, video and audio files, and other material "pushed" onto your system for later retrieval by other systems hooked into the same network.
Here is an excerpt from a website that describes this particular parasitic application:
"Millions of computers are logged onto the Internet at any given time, each with excess processing power, excess storage capacity and unused bandwidth. Through Altnet, we intend to create a private peer-to-peer network to enable our clients to access and utilize this excess processing power, storage capacity and unused bandwidth for multiple applications. [...] To develop the Altnet private peer-to-peer network, each computer that comprises the network must be equipped with a software program. To distribute the program, we bundled it in a package, that we call ALTNET SECUREINSTALL, with our Digital Projector. Pursuant to an agreement with Sharman Networks, SecureInstall, along with the Digital Projector, is being downloaded as part of Sharman Networks KaZaA Media Desktop, which has consistently been averaging in excess of two million downloads per week since we began bundling our software in the fall, 2001. [...] Our longer-term goal is for Altnet, through multiple client relationships, to be the next advancement in distributed bandwidth, storage and computing. Currently, distributed storage and computing companies, such as Akamai, operate [...] by delivering the Web content and applications of their customers [...] to a server geographically closer to end users. Altnet intends to go the next step, which is directly to the end user in a private, peer-to-peer network. [...] We intend to market Altnet's peer-to-peer services in three main areas: Network Services, Distributed Storage and Distributed Processing. NETWORK SERVICES - Altnet's Network Services will be marketed as money saving, enterprise solutions to companies that spend significant amounts on Internet bandwidth and infrastructure for the following applications: File downloads from web sites or servers; Content distribution, including "push" (where content such as music, movies, news, sports or weather, is automatically "pushed" to the user) and cached on their PC; Ad serving; Content backup; and Video messaging/conferencing. DISTRIBUTED STORAGE - [...] By leveraging the excess storage capacity on the Altnet network, we believe, in certain storage market segments, Altnet can generate significant storage cost savings for its clients, a portion of which may be earned by Altnet as consideration for its services. DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING - [...] After the tasks are processed via individual computers, the data is transmitted back to a central server, which assembles the results. Altnet's Distributed Processing services will be marketed to companies currently in the high performance computing field, as well as the performance testing/measurement areas. [...] Altnet intends to earn a portion of the cost savings realized by its customers as consideration for its Distributed Processing services. ALTNET'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE We believe that Altnet is well positioned to compete effectively with companies currently providing distributed computing services. The software necessary to operate Altnet's peer-to-peer network has been installed on tens of millions of computers worldwide, and additional computers are added with each successive download of the KaZaA Media Desktop, providing a competitive advantage over other P2P competitors that have not achieved similar success in mass distribution of their software application."
As for MP3s themselves, I don't mess with them. My ISP kicks me off for staying online too long well before I could download just one. Stupid dial up.
I hope nobody buys me an MP3 player for my birthday, because I wouldn't be able to use it.