Sunday, January 23, 2005

Exeem late night update

I have been doing some late night reading on Exeem and what people are saying about it since its release a few days ago. My opinion of the program has changed since reading these and my main points for concern are as follows: 1. The program DOES contain adware. Cydoor was dropped into my c:\windows\system32\adcache folder as part of the installation. Giant Anti Spyware detected and removed it after a scan. This all seems very familiar.....It's just like Kazaa! 2. Someone over at the Slyck news page forums has reported 2 out of 2 fake files since using the program. Just like Kazaa? 3. The rating/comment system appears open to mass abuse. Anyone can rate a file highly and then comment on it saying it is excellent - when really it is a fake. Same as Kazaa! I never managed to get the Harry Potter 2 film from there either! It was always some dodgy mask wearing swedish B&W porn film! Overpeer will be flooding the network with fakes as we speak! Just like Kazaa! 4. Exeem client crashes. I had it crash on me once already. I was trying to work out a way to obtain a list of files with seeds over 1000 - and it died on its arse. 5. The first site offering exeem: links has appeared. http://www.exeems.com/ Not tried it yet though. 6. Rumors that Suprnova was not closed for legal reasons are rife on many forums. They are alledging that Sloncek closed the site to pave the way for promoting Exeem - for which he is being paid for don't forget. 7. Someone pointed out that even though the program and its usage are termed as "de-centralized" the system must be able to obtain its list of number of users online and the number of active torrents. Digging in the registry reveals a list of IP addresses Exeem connects to for this information. So. Not de-centralized then. However, ammending this data could make it possible for you to set up a sub-network where exeem would still run - but not be connected to the main system. The fact still holds that Exeem is a step in the right direction with regards to the technology it uses. I got some good speeds from it during testing but the network is currently open to severe abuse. It might be faster to get the files - but when they are fakes - what is the point! When using Exeem - use an eBay mentality. Check the feedback on each file and only go where others have gone before you. Personally i will be uninstalling it for now. Bittorrent is still going strong after the demise of Suprnova and other torrent sites which are more than capable of filling its boots have risen to the challenge. Check out the top 10 list of torrent sites over at the P2P Forums. On on a complete side note.... check out Toogle image search for an interesting view on things.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just stumbled accross your site...

I've been using eXeem since it's initial release. It does use advertising in the program, but it works by using your net connection to show banner ads inside the program.

I have installed eXeem on three pcs and none of them have any Cydoor components installed. Nor has my adware and AV software detected any such installations.
Further to this, I have been using eXeem successfully for about three months now and not had a problem with any 'fake' files. As you state though, use the rating system.

Any P2P software is likely to be used to distribute viruses etc. It's part of the scene. Scan all downloads before you use them and simply delete or disinfect the files if they have been tainted.

Tao said...

I have not touched Exeem since i wrote that posting and i know that they have dropped the use of Cydoor since then too.
I am happy to continue using the normal "torrent sites" and only use SoulSeek to get other music.
I used Kazaa the other day and 2 out of 10 files i got were fakes. Just silent - no sound at all. Jeepers!
What has the world come to! Needless to say, i have uninstalled it since.

Thanks for the comment too! And keep reading!