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The Internet Software

Exeem Open Beta Released 394

Posted by michael from the download-it-with-kazaa dept.
BrasOnMyGuitar writes "The file sharing application known as eXeem (made by the creators of the now-defunct file-sharing site SuprNova.org) has gone into public beta. The program is based on the BitTorrent protocol. However, it eliminates the need for trackers and decentralizes the user from the network. This allows for Kazaa-style searching with the speeds and benefits of the BitTorrent protocol." Reader Eeknay points out that Linux users can run it too.
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Exeem Open Beta Released More

Exeem Open Beta Released

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  • First Thoughts (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Klar ( 522420 ) * <curchin@g[ ]l.com ['mai' in gap]> on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:11PM (#11435875) Homepage Journal
    Just downloaded the program, the interface is pretty p2p standard. When installing, It asks you to install an eXeem IE Toolbar, which I did not do.. Also, it seems to be having problems connecting to the network and searching for files. Hopefully it will be as widely used as suprnova was, and have some good download speeds. After several tries, I was able to connect to the network, and find a few files, but there were very few results, and only 1 seed on each of them. Since suprnova has been down, I've mostly just been using torrentspy [torrentspy.com]. Anyone have an other recommendations for sites? I prefer just having web pages, so I don't have to run a separate client.

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Informative)

      by surefooted1 ( 838360 )
      Mininova.org and Thepiratebay.com/org (I forgot sorry) Those are both good ones.

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Informative)

        by rikkards ( 98006 )
        Except Mininova can't handle the load (yet) that they have received over the last week.
        I usually go between Piratebay and Loki Torrent

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Interesting)

        by DarkMantle ( 784415 )
        My favorite sites.....
        http://www.lokitorrent.com/ - Requires Free Reg, I've got no spam from this (yet.)
        http://www.bi-torrent.com/index.htm - Was a suprnova.org mirror, now is laid out similar (categories and such) to suprnova.
        http://www.isohunt.com/ - classic from the days of IRC, still searches IRC as well
        http://www.packetnews.com - another from IRC, does both IRC and torrent now.
        http://www.torrentreactor.net/index.php - Been using it for a while. Pretty complete list of things available.

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Informative)

      by mr.henry ( 618818 ) *
      I miss suprnova too. isoHunt [isohunt.com] is pretty decent.

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Rei ( 128717 )
        One has to wonder whether exeem will have the moderation of Suprnova.

        I mean, it's possible to have moderation in a decentralized system - it's just a lot harder. Probably the easiest way would be a torrent extention or file associated with a torrent that holds digitally signed ratings from the previous suprnova moderators. Each user can then have their own list of public keys of moderators that they consider trustworthy, and can share those lists directly with friends. Instead of just a rating, you coul

    • note (Score:2)

      by Klar ( 522420 ) *
      forgot to include br's so formating looks pretty dumb on that post.. also, I started downloading a file, was getting pretty good speeds(150k/s), then lost connection to eXeem, and havnet been able to get back in :|

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:5, Insightful)

      by martok ( 7123 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:18PM (#11435961)

      It's unfortunate that they aren't opening this protocol as BitTorrent was. The nice thing about BitTorrent is the user can run it under any environment he chooses. From a gui windows program or as in my case, via btdownloadheadless/btlaunchmany on a headless fileserver.

      This seems like just another p2p app to me.

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Insightful)

        by XMyth ( 266414 )
        My thoughts exactly.

        My fear is this may (possibly...) splinter the existing BT community. I'm sure the smarter, more tightly controlled ratio sites (IOW, the *good* ones) will not jump into this...hopefully their users will see the folly in doing such.

        If it comes down to that though, I'd rather see eXeem go away completely. As you said...it's just another p2p app.
      • From within the program: "Future updates will include bug fixes, more customizable program, skinning program, linux console version, and additional functions to ease the use of the program! "

        So there you have it, your headless linux version is on the way. And of course there is always WINE.

        • Yeah, but what if... (Score:4, Insightful)

          by DrYak ( 748999 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @06:44PM (#11436939) Homepage
          There's a big probleme with commercial application going to linux. For most enterprises : "Linux" = "A windows compatible x86 machine running Linux instead of Windows". I bet their linux console version will be just a x86 binary, compiled on a Fedora Core machine (a that could run maybe on SuSE Linux if you fix a couple of missing libraries). Hello ! There a lot of other architectures on which Linux runs ! And this specially important for internet related software, because there's a lot of MIPS-powered hardware hacked to run Linux. (I'm not speaking about the Linksys WT54G - it doesn't have a harddisc. I'm speaking about a lot of Linux+MIPS based file servers running Samba. They are good candidate to run p2p downloaders). And I won't even mention Wine : It requires a X11 server and it's everything but what is needed for a headless server.

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Informative)

      by russint ( 793669 )
      The pirate bay [thepiratebay.org]Free for all, the worlds largest tracker.
      Torrentbytes [torrentbytes.net], requires registration. Only new releases, great download speeds.
      Filelist [filelist.org], requires registration. Only new releases, great download speeds.
      Elitetorrents [elitetorrents.org], requires registration. Only new releases, great download speeds.

    • Exeem is adware ridden (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:51PM (#11436307)
      You might want to check out this FAQ [thefreehost.org], particularly point 2.

      Say, are those popups jumping on your desktop?

      • Re:Exeem is adware ridden (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        I always run things like keygens under Virtual PC. It can install all the adware, trojans, and malware it wants, and once the key is generated, I just say "buh-bye" and discard changes to the virtual hard-disk image.

        Sounds like the same strategy would be handy for running Exeem.

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:4, Informative)

      by Jugalator ( 259273 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:52PM (#11436330) Journal
      The world's largest P2P tracker was unharmed when MPAA went berserk and is at tracker.piratbyran.org [piratbyran.org].

      There's sometimes some web server hickups and they've done some maintenance recently.
      The server load increased a lot when Suprnova entered hide & seek mode.
      Just wait a while if it's down and it should be online again, with thousands of torrents and seeders. ;-)

      • SHHHHH! (Score:3, Funny)

        by Japong ( 793982 )
        ON'T-DAY ENTIONMAY IRATEPAY BAYAY! Now repeat after me: "With Suprnova gone I don't even know where to go to get my .torrent files. I can't seem to find them after the **AA shut down all my favorite copyright-infringing sites. Instead of downloading Elektra and Ashlee Simpson's new album, I purchased them from a retail store at the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Thank you MPAA and RIAA for making the world a better place. You can rest easy knowing you've stopped piracy forever."

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:5, Informative)

      by kid-noodle ( 669957 ) <jono AT nanosheep DOT net> on Friday January 21, 2005 @06:19PM (#11436657) Homepage
      Yeah, so you didn't install the eXeem toolbar.

      But you did just install cydoor, kudos to them for actually rolling this, but I'm happy sticking with the alternatives until a version not spyware ridden appears.

      I'll repeat that, because it isn't made instantly clear (fairly clear, but not as clear as I'd like): eXeem will install cydoor, with no opt-out.

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:4, Informative)

        by hobo2k ( 626482 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @09:08PM (#11437990) Journal
        In fact disabling eXeem's spyware is a breech of contract. From the EULA:
        6.5 In exchange for downloading the Software at no cost,
        you expressly agree that you accept the Embedded Third Party Software and that so long as you have not entirely deleted the Software from your computer you will not take any action, including downloading other software which modifies, is intended to modify or permits others to modify registry or other settings on your computer to, disable, remove, block, prevent the functioning of, or otherwise interfere with any of the Embedded Third Party Software.
        I'm not saying that this should surprise anyone. Kazaa is well known for its spyware and eXeem is positioning itself as a Kazaa replacement. For most users the free (as in no money) access to large amounts of copyrighted content is ample compensation for having their machine rooted by a company which wants to make money off their personal info. The hidden cost of being 0wned by cydoor is much less than the obvious cost of actually buying the CDs or DVDs that you want to enjoy.

        whoops, there goes my "excellent" karma.

      • Re:First Thoughts (Score:5, Interesting)

        by I(rispee_I(reme ( 310391 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @09:58PM (#11438241) Journal
        Exeem Lite coming soon [exlite.net]

    • Re:First Thoughts (Score:3, Informative)

      by trotski ( 592530 )
      Anyone have an other recommendations for sites?

      Yes - bi-torrent.com [bi-torrent.com].

      It's just like suprnova, enjoy!

  • Michael (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    what is your paypal address? I wrote this kool new program that I want you to put on the front page. Look forward to doing business with you! Thanks!

  • Privacy of the person sharing? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by surefooted1 ( 838360 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:12PM (#11435890)
    How well does it protect the person sharing or seeding the file?

  • Usage (Score:5, Funny)

    by Vandil X ( 636030 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:12PM (#11435893)
    And of course, eXeem will be used exclusively for the mass distribution of Free, Open Source, GNU, and GPL'd software.
    • using Cydoor adware..... Yes. The world makes sense now
    • The Grateful Dead and a couple of thousand other bands (including, as of a couple of years ago, the estate of Jimi Hendrix) allow non-commercial distribution of their concert recordings. Non-commercial! But by making this an ad-driven product, the bozos behind eXeem have ensured that it can't even be used to legally distribute most music that can ordinarily be legally traded on the Internet. Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick with ordinary bittorrent, which at least has some measurable legal uses. :)

  • Well... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Neophytus ( 642863 ) * on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:13PM (#11435900)
    It now does nothing really that new, apart from using the bittorrent protocol. Networks like the long lost WinMX [winmx.com] have supported downloading from users with partially downloaded for years now.

    I guess it just saves the client from searching for the peers itself, leaving that job to the supernodes.

  • eXeem lite... (Score:5, Informative)

    by KhalidBoussouara ( 768934 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:14PM (#11435906) Homepage
    ...has already been released.

    eXeem Lite [exlite.net]

  • Spyware (Score:3, Interesting)

    by FiReaNGeL ( 312636 ) <`moc.liamtoh' `ta' `l3gnaerif'> on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:14PM (#11435907) Homepage
    Does it contain spyware ala Kazaa? I sure won't install it until I seen the source, eXeem being affiliated with Suprnova.org which was.... well, hosting tons of illegal .torrents?

    • Re:Spyware (Score:5, Informative)

      by Bungopolis ( 763083 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:19PM (#11435970)
      According to the eXeem Lite FAQ [thefreehost.org] eXeem does contain spyware.

      • Re:Spyware (Score:5, Informative)

        by NetNifty ( 796376 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:31PM (#11436104) Homepage
        Yup, says here [exeem.com] that they use Cydoor, and a quick google [google.com] pretty much confirms that it's spyware, or that company uses spyware at least, and hence shouldn't be trusted.
      • Well, I say that eXeem contains a 4-leaf clover and 2 bottles of peanut oil, but that doesn't mean it's true.

        The Exeem Lite faq says:

        2. Does eXlite contain spyware?
        eXlite was sorely made to take out the spyware from eXeem so to make it clear eXlite does not contain spyware.

        Are there any details here?

    • It has. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Spy der Mann ( 805235 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `todhsals.nnamredyps'> on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:38PM (#11436182) Homepage Journal
      From TFA:

      Third Party Advertising

      The ads appearing on the Exeem.com Web site and within eXeem(TM) application are delivered by our web advertising partner, Cydoor. Information about users of eXeem(TM) and Exeem.com, such as the number of times they have viewed an ad (but not user name, address, or other personal information), is used to serve ads to users. If you would like more information about Cydoor, please visit: http://www.cydoor.com/Cydoor/Company/CompanyPrivac y.htm

      Ads that might appear outside Exeem.com and eXeem(TM) application are Opt-out ads, that you have a chance to uninstall. Outside Exeem.com and eXeem(TM) application is eXeem's Toolbar LookSmart.


      And from elsewhere [simplythebest.net]:


      Spyware: Cydoor

      NUISANCE LEVEL *****
      THREAT LEVEL *****

      Cydoor

      This technology can be activated both in online and offline modes. The technology's architecture can be integrated into any software program. Cydoor can update or rotate banner ads not only when users are online, but also when they are offline. Upon installation of a software application integrated with their advertising technology, Cydoor Technologies sets a numerical identifier on your computer.

      The following files are used:

      In C:\Windows\System: cd_clint.dll, cd_gif.dll, cd_swf.dll and cd_load.exe.

      Removal:

      You can delete the C:\Windows\System\Adcache directory. Then remove all instances from the Registry. Look in HKLM\Software, HKCU\Software. Look also for entries in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run and in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Shareddlls.

      If you wish to KaZaa without the Cydoor spyware, copy the cd_clint.dll, remove the Cydoor agents with a spyware cleaner, and place the cd_clint.dll back in the Windows System folder.


      OK, I think I'll pass.

  • Here's the download (Score:3, Informative)

    by Aggrajag ( 716041 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:14PM (#11435911)
    http://download.exeem.com/exeem.htm
    • Slashdotted for me :( Anyone got a .torrent of the file?

      Too bad that the exeem site is so graphics heavy, they should have put up the text only version for slashdot :)

  • No native binaries for Linux (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Slayer_X ( 141736 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:14PM (#11435915) Homepage
    Actually the client runs with the help of wine, I prefer native binaries :/

  • Yay RIAA! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Alan ( 347 ) <arcterex@NOspAm.ufies.org> on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:14PM (#11435921) Homepage
    It's nice to see that the taking down of sites and services such as napster and suprnova has stopped piracy in it's tracks!
    • Hmm... from reading Slashdot, I was under the impression that the only files being traded through P2P were research papers, Linux distributions, and independent music files.

      What is this 'piracy' you speak of? Surely there aren't people using P2P networks to commit copyright infringement!

  • Mini Review (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bgreg03 ( 759992 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:15PM (#11435928)
    As the guy above said, when you first open this program, it appears to be a very normal p2p program, like kazaa and ares. The ability to create your own 'torrents' is what will really set this service apart. Some of the downsides of the other p2p applications (including bittorrent apps) was the inability of the layman user to contribute and share things new and unique. I personally think you will see this take off VERY quickly, and will be the next level of p2p. Lets see how this turns out.

    • Re:Mini Review (Score:3, Interesting)

      by aero2600-5 ( 797736 )
      "The ability to create your own 'torrents' is what will really set this service apart. Some of the downsides of the other p2p applications (including bittorrent apps) was the inability of the layman user to contribute and share things new and unique."

      I'm sure this has never occurred to you, but do you think it's possible that not allowing the average user to create their own torrents might be a good thing? Really, do I want to sift through 20 different torrents for the most recent episode of The Daily sh

  • In other news... (Score:2, Funny)

    by b374 ( 799492 )
    Reader Eeknay points out that Linux users can run it too.
    Reader b374 points out that Linux users can run Notepad using Wine too... (let's see how fast someone points out that it should be GNU/Linux :) )

  • official torrent download link (Score:4, Informative)

    by Zulithe ( 669389 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:18PM (#11435965)
    http://suprbash.org/vip/lexa/exeem020.torrent from a moderator in the exeem chatroom happy torrenting

  • question about linux use (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Does the adware they install run under wine too?

  • It's time to do a GPL version of this (Score:3, Insightful)

    by darthcamaro ( 735685 ) * on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:20PM (#11435981)
    This service will end up the same as Supernova eventually. The only way a p2p torrent service will ever survive is if it is GNU/GPL.
  • Just looked up exeem.com on whois...looks like a caribbean island is a good place to be if the MPAA comes calling...take a look for yourself:

    Administrative Contact:
    Swarm, Systems Inc. contact@exeem.com
    Swarm Systems Inc.
    Suite 4 Tample Building, Main
    Charlestown 1000
    Saint Kitts and Nevis
    304568187
    Technical Contact:
    Swarm, Systems Inc. contact@exeem.com
    Swarm Systems Inc.
    Suite 4 Tample Building, Main
    Charlestown 1000
    Saint Kitts and

  • If you download Exeem Lite (Score:3, Informative)

    by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:21PM (#11436006)
    make sure you read the readme file

  • Torrent for the beta? (Score:3, Funny)

    by dr_skipper ( 581180 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:22PM (#11436015)
    Anyone hosting a torrent for the exeem beta?

    I'd check suprnova.org but you know... lol

  • eliminate trackers, doom bittorrent (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sbma44 ( 694130 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:25PM (#11436044)

    Hey! No need for trackers! Hurrah! Peers can just find each other automatically! Gosh, I wonder how that works -- could it be a standardized port range? And could that make it incredibly easy to throttle, track and persecute BitTorrent use?!?!

    If my hunch is correct, these guys are morons. The nominal point of Exeem is to reduce the ability of copyright owners to sue pirates. Actually, it'll make it much easier for BigChampagne and others to track down users and prosecute them. Way to go, guys.

    Please note that I'm not making a moral judgment about piracy -- please withhold the flames. My point is simply that the Exeem architecture, while created to fix BT's legal vulnerability, is actually likely to enhance it.

    • edit the above: "prosecute" BitTorrent use. Persecute certainly does imply a moral judgment. Sorry for the malapropism.
    • With bittorrent everyone's IPs are in plain sight on a plainly visible central tracker. No matter what Exeem does I can't see how it could make it "much easier" to track people down.

      That said I don't think the nominal point of Exseem is to "reduce the ability of copyright owners to sue pirates". Individual pirates will probably be as attackable as ever (you simply can't offer something to the public without them knowing it came from you in an efficient manner otherwise). It just aims to remove the risk of
      • Honeypots are admittedly a concern with the BT system. But setting up a honeypot and collecting IPs isn't the industry's preferred method -- you have to give away content, and you only get evidence of infringements one torrent at a time. This is a very serial procedure, without a great return in prosecutions for the effort it takes.

        By contrast, if there's a well-defined port or ports, the industry can just monitor traffic on it for a period of weeks or months using either legal pressure on an ISP or a cu

  • it's not opensource (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kard ( 670433 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:28PM (#11436071) Homepage
    from the exeem-faq:
    How can eXeem(TM) be free?
    eXeem(TM) is supported only by ad revenue. This allows the developers to continue making upgrades to the network and enhancing the eXeem client for you.

    bittorent-faq:
    BitTorrent is great! How can I help?
    You can give a donation.

    see the difference?

    exeem-faq:
    Is eXeem(TM) open source?
    No, eXeem(TM) is not open source.

    bittorrent-faq:
    What license is BitTorrent released under?
    MIT License, which basically lets you do anything you want with it so long as you leave the license notification in the source.

    bittorent is there, it's widespread, does not contain any ads, the source code is available, runs on anything that runs python (means mac/win/linux and a lot more)

    and btw the author lives from the paypal donations he receives from the happy users.

    somehow the suprnova people do not understand these things...
    • That is because they (exeem, suprnova) are/were merely trying to profit from promoting software piracy.

      Anyone who says P2P shared content is mostly legit is either outright lying, lying to themselves, or blind and ignorant.

  • Cydoor Spyware, Ads, Toolbar (Score:5, Informative)

    by Alien Venom ( 634222 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:31PM (#11436103) Homepage
    If you are really interested in downloading it, you can download it from FileForum [betanews.com] as the main site is down.

    But please beware. It does constain spyware!

    As stated in their privacy policy [exeem.com]:
    The ads appearing on the Exeem.com Web site and within eXeem(TM) application are delivered by our web advertising partner, Cydoor. Information about users of eXeem(TM) and Exeem.com, such as the number of times they have viewed an ad (but not user name, address, or other personal information), is used to serve ads to users. If you would like more information about Cydoor, please visit. Ads that might appear outside Exeem.com and eXeem(TM) application are Opt-out ads, that you have a chance to uninstall. Outside Exeem.com and eXeem(TM) application is eXeem's Toolbar LookSmart.
    • Wow, this is indeed a sad day for the p2p community.

      I went into #suprnova.org on irc.suprnova.org and mentioned the fact that eXeem contained spyware. The first time, I just inquired about it. I was "warned" (kicked) and told to "keep my thoughts to myself." The second time I spoke in all caps, telling users to read the privacy policy if they didn't believe me. I was then banned.

  • Torrent (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Here's the torrent: http://www.lokitorrent.com/download.php?id=104617

  • lite client (Score:5, Informative)

    by Lukano ( 50323 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:35PM (#11436147)
    http://www.exlite.net for the "lite" spyware/adware free version (I had sumbitted this story too with this included - but no, it got rejected *sigh*).

    It's the 0.18 beta which asks for a key, but until a lite of 0.20 is released, if you close the window asking for a beta key, the program will work.

    The official 0.20 client is confirmed to include Cydoor and SearchSquire right out of the box.

  • Libtorrent (Score:4, Informative)

    by Rangsk ( 681047 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:35PM (#11436150)
    Exeem uses libtorrent [sourceforge.net] as its codebase, with extra coding for the decentralized tracker. Libtorrent is an open source GPL'd C++ implementation of the bittorrent protocol. The only requirements for compiling it are support for STL and the latest Boost [boost.org]. This means it works in Windows, Linux, Mac OSX... even cygwin! It's also a library, so it can be plugged into any application.

    I've had many communications with the creator, and he's a very cool guy and quite dedicated to the work. I helped a little with debugging, etc, but my main interest at the time was using it to in my own graphical interface. I never completed the project, but I still feel a good connection to libtorrent.

    • Re:Libtorrent (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mackstann ( 586043 )
      Exeem is using a GPL library? Doesn't that mean they're violating the GPL?

    • Re:Libtorrent (Score:5, Insightful)

      by yeremein ( 678037 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:57PM (#11436388)
      Libtorrent is an open source GPL'd C++ implementation of the bittorrent protocol.

      You're right--it is GPL. Not LGPL.

      This means eXeem needs to release the source code of their client, rather than shipping a spyware-encrusted binary, or they're infringing libtorrent's copyright.

      Then again, why would I expect the authors of eXeem to respect anyone's copyright?

      • License Violation (Score:2, Insightful)

        by tweakt ( 325224 ) *
        Confirmed!

        The Sourceforge page incorrectly lists the license as BSD. The COPYING file in the archive contains the GPL2 license. Unfortunately, none of the source files contain a license header.

        Does anyone know if this is a problem?

        • Re:License Violation (Score:5, Informative)

          by interJ ( 653180 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @08:05PM (#11437602)
          You are wrong.

          From the libtorrent documentation [sourceforge.net]: libtorrent is released under the BSD-license.

          I don't see any COPYING file in the archive, and the source files contain the following:

          Copyright (c) 2003, Arvid Norberg, Daniel Wallin
          All rights reserved.

          Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
          modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
          are met:

          * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
          notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
          * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
          notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
          the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
          * Neither the name of the author nor the names of its
          contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived
          from this software without specific prior written permission.

          THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
          AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
          IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
          ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
          LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
          CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
          SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
          INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
          CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
          ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
          POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

  • Definitely Has Spyware (Score:5, Informative)

    by gbulmash ( 688770 ) * <semi_famous@yah o o . c om> on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:36PM (#11436155) Homepage Journal
    From the site's privacy statement....

    "The ads appearing on the Exeem.com Web site and within eXeem(TM) application are delivered by our web advertising partner, Cydoor. Information about users of eXeem(TM) and Exeem.com, such as the number of times they have viewed an ad (but not user name, address, or other personal information), is used to serve ads to users."

    Cydoor is given a 7/10 Threat Assessment level by lavasoft.de, makers of AdAware.

    • Though most people don't seem to mind it.

      It's amazing. When news comes out that spyware is in a program.... it has no impact on it's usage.

      IMHO I avoid this crap. You know exactly what your getting:

      1. It includes spyware (a real sign of a legitimate company).
      2. Allegedly bought rights to suprnova name, so it can call itself the successor
      3. How is this change legality? Now rather than attack 1 site, and a handful of people, lawyers will be able to easily go after a giant web of users in a P2P networ

  • Not suprnova (Score:5, Informative)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:36PM (#11436156) Homepage
    I don't care how often the press releases state this is the next version of Suprnova....it is NOT.

    The company behind Exeem (there is indeed a company, and they are going to be profiting, which raises some interesting legal questions) basically paid the creator of Suprnova for the rights to use his name and to basically say that Exeem is the next Suprnova. In layman's terms: They bought his credibility and userbase.

    Personally, that doesn't matter that much to me. If it works, and gets as large as Suprnova with more protection and overall improvements...well, what do I care if they make money off of it. However, I will NOT tolerate any spyware/adware (a banner ad in the window is fine) bundled with it. Thankfully the makers of Exeemlite have taken care of this. I wonder how aggressively the folks at Exeem will handle this. The folks over at Sharman Networks (Kazaa) basically cut off everybody else on Kazaalite from their existing network.

    So, in conclusion, I don't care if they make money as long as it helps protect me, and gives me more value than Suprnova did, and I will not tolerate any spyware/adware. If they screw that up, they've just screwed themselves.

  • Bah (Score:3, Informative)

    by Ryokos_boytoy ( 259245 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:40PM (#11436209) Homepage
    "supported by ad revenue ..." I stopped reading right there.
  • Forget it. Bittorrent as we have all come to know and love is not dead. It is just moved around a bit. Its still quite easy to find plenty of torrent files out there.

    Exeem is a money making scheme and thats about it. Its not to be trusted.

  • Spyware (Score:3, Informative)

    by g00z ( 81380 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @05:47PM (#11436267) Homepage
    If you want to install Cydoor, by all means try this beta. If you'd rather not install not spyware, stay away from this one folks.

    The ./ editors should have included this in the article summary before they posted this one. Now Cydoor just got a bunch of new sucke^H^H^H^H^Hcustomers.

  • Spyware infested filth! (Score:5, Informative)

    by i41Overlord ( 829913 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @06:01PM (#11436444)
    Everyone was hoping that this would replace Suprnova.

    Sad news- it doesn't.

    The dead memory of Suprnova has been replaced by a spyware infested program that is marketed under the guise of being a Suprnova replacement.

    If you like clogging your system up with programs such as Cydoor, be my guest. But if not, reject this filth.
  • So, now that the trackers and torrents are distributed, the first person to cobble together an aggregating site wtih categories will be shut down for what reason exactly?

    The eXeem links work:

    Kylie_Minogue_no_underwear_clip.mpg [exeem]

    You could easily build a community around them. Will bloggers be 'cease and deceased' for posting eXeem links? Will Google filter out all exeem links that it crawls?

  • More than a little skeptical... (Score:5, Informative)

    by XeRXeS-TCN ( 788834 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @06:08PM (#11436540)

    Well firstly, it's already been said in previous Slashdot posts that it's a company responsible for this, who the former owner of Suprnova has some sort of agreement with, which gives them credibility that they don't necessarily deserve (yet.)

    But in the grand scheme of things, the client isn't open source, so you really don't know what's going on in there. And what's worse, the EULA [exeem.com] revokes your right to disassemble / reverse-engineer the software, so they may well crack down on anyone trying to distribute an open source version:

    b.In addition to those prohibitions contained elsewhere herein, you agree you will not: ... (iv) modify, alter, decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or emulate the functionality, reverse compile or otherwise reduce to human readable form, or create derivative works of the Software without the prior written consent of Swarm or its licensors, as applicable

    Secondly, from the privacy policy:

    Personal Data Collection and Use The collection of personally identifiable data on this site by Exeem.com is only gathered from information that has been submitted to Exeem.com freely and deliberately by site users. Exeem.com reserves the right to use this data in the following ways:

    ...

    Third Party Advertising
    The ads appearing on the Exeem.com Web site and within eXeem(TM) application are delivered by our web advertising partner, Cydoor. Information about users of eXeem(TM) and Exeem.com, such as the number of times they have viewed an ad (but not user name, address, or other personal information), is used to serve ads to users.

    So the app spams you with ads, and what's worse, Wikipedia has this to say [wikipedia.org] about Cydoor:

    Cydoor is a spyware program that causes popup and pop-under ads to be displayed while you are browsing the Internet. It also re-routes your web requests through third-party servers for the purpose of capturing your web surfing habits.

    So you're not only spammed with ads, you're installing spyware. This is confirmed by eXeem Lite's FAQ:

    2. Does eXlite contain spyware?
    eXlite was sorely made to take out the spyware from eXeem so to make it clear eXlite does not contain spyware.

    A closed source, advert spamming, spyware installing pile of crap that you are expressly forbidden from reverse engineering... sounds like a whole barrel of laughs.

    As far as I'm concerned, eXeem can go and fornicate itself with an iron stick.

  • In response to their lame inclusion of spyware in this application everyone should post this link (or one like it): http://www.spywareguide.com/product_show.php?id=7 in: irc://irc.suprnova.org/suprnova.org Enjoy...it is too bad suprnova is dead :(

  • Summary (Score:2, Informative)

    by UlfGabe ( 846629 )
    Has cydoor apps - a spyware company.

    Relies on ad revenues, is NOT open-source, uses a non-bittorrent-compatible file format, runs in Linux on an emulator..... two words, -> NOT GOOD.

  • Not by SuprNova.org (Score:5, Informative)

    by BobPaul ( 710574 ) * on Friday January 21, 2005 @06:28PM (#11436774) Journal
    This program is NOT written by the guys at SuprNova.org. It is simply endorsed by the guys at SuprNova.org. Listen to the radio interviews [silentdragz.net] with for verification.

  • The protocol (Score:3, Interesting)

    by br00tus ( 528477 ) on Friday January 21, 2005 @09:10PM (#11438007)
    With all this talk of spyware, open source and so forth I've taken a look at the protocol, using WINE and tcpdump. I might use a tool other than tcpdump later.

    Anyhow, I've booted it up a few times. When I click refresh on new files, it starts making TCP/IP connections to port 4000 of various hosts. I then send the TCP/IP header plus the packet itself. In hexidecimal value, these packets usually begin "02-04-05". Then I send "b4-04-02-08-0a". Then I send "00-XX-XX-XX-00-00-00-00-01-03-03-00". The X's change each connection - they seem to be incrementing. So that's my handshake. The response also begins "02-04-05" with 9 bytes after that. Then I send 10 bytes. That's when the remote host starts sending me big packets.

    Well, I just started looking at it so it's still a mystery although I think I've seen some patterns. Anyhow, anyone interested in this can discuss it here, or go on the usual Freenode IRC channels (#p2p-hackers, #bittorrent etc.)

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