This
file-sharing program lets you trade MP3 files,
as well as other types of video and picture files,
with people over a decentralized network. WinMX
lets you track and resume broken transfers and
shut down your computer after it has downloaded
your chosen files. And perhaps most refreshing,
the program proclaims that it comes with "no
bundled spyware, no ads, no B.S."
Unlike rival programs like Kazaa and Morpheus,
you can configure WinMX's Share settings to limit
the number of files you're willing to share with
other users. Sound selfish? It is, and fair minded
people will want to use it with restraint. At
the same time, if lots of people are constantly
accessing your PC, it can cause your Internet
connection to become downright sluggish.
WinMX offers a variety of decentralized chat rooms
where you can talk to other music fans. Download
Winmx
WinMX is a peer-to-peer file sharing program authored
by Frontcode Technologies and running on Windows
operating systems. The official WinMX website
and WinMX servers have been offline since September
2005 due to a lawsuit (see the "Decline"
section below), though the application remains
operable through third-party modifications.
WinMX began its life as an OpenNAP client capable
of connecting to several servers simultaneously,
although Frontcode later created a proprietary
protocol, termed WinMX Peer Network Protocol (WPNP),
which was used starting with WinMX 2 in May 2001.
WPNP version 2 was phased out as WinMX 3.0 and
its WPNP version 3 protocol came into existence.
Frontcode had operated several cache servers to
aid WPNP network operation.
Downloads can be very fast for popular songs
since the user can run a "multi-point download"
that simultaneously downloads the same file in
small pieces from several users. Some consider
WinMX a much safer downloading program than Kazaa,
partly due to the fact that no spyware and adware
comes with WinMX. The client application Lopster
used to have WPNP 2 support, although it was locked
out with the arrival of WPNP 3.
WinMX was very popular in Japan due to its ability
to handle 2 byte characters. By 2001 it was the
de facto P2P application in Japan. However, WinMX's
Japanese popularity dropped sharply with the arrest
of several users, and resulted in the development
of a semi-secure, encrypted, serverless application
called WinNY (N comes after M, Y comes after X).
WinMX is also especially popular in Italy and
Hong Kong.
In early 2004, rumors circulated in Hong Kong
that the Hong Kong Customs Department was prosecuting
people using WinMX to share copyrighted items.
This turned out to be untrue.
[edit]
Decline of WinMX
One of the major problems that led to the declining
popularity of WinMX was the increase presence
of "dummy" files, reportedly placed
by individuals and/or companies opposed to file
sharing. In many cases, one could see a desired
file, but could not download it since most of
the listed selections were inaccessible. As a
result, it took additional effort to find the
available downloads from within the list, although
with practice, this was easily done.
During March 2005, The NPD Group found that WinMX
was used in more US households than any other
P2P client or legal music downloading service
[1], although this claim is disputed.
On September 13, 2005, Frontcode Technologies
received a cease and desist letter from the RIAA
asking them to implement filters to make it impossible
for users to download copyrighted material from
WinMX, or shut down. Under the threat of litigation,
on September 21, 2005 the network and the WinMX
homepage were confirmed offline.
It is suggested for WinMX users to either apply
a patch which would connect them to a user-driven
WinMX network, or move on to a decentralized file
sharing network such as Gnutella or the eDonkey
network.
About P2P
A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network
that relies on the computing power and bandwidth
of the participants in the network rather than concentrating
it in a relatively low number of servers. P2P networks
are typically used for connecting nodes via largely
ad hoc connections. Such networks are useful for
many purposes. Sharing content files (see file sharing)
containing audio, video, data or anything in digital
format is very common, and realtime data, such as
telephony traffic, is also passed using P2P technology.
A pure peer-to-peer network does not have the
notion of clients or servers, but only equal peer
nodes that simultaneously function as both "clients"
and "servers" to the other nodes on
the network. This model of network arrangement
differs from the client-server model where communication
is usually to and from a central server. A typical
example for a non peer-to-peer file transfer is
an FTP server where the client and server programs
are quite distinct, and the clients initiate the
download/uploads and the servers react to and
satisfy these requests.
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