MP3s News
As some of you may have noticed, WinMX will no longer connect. WinMX has shut down permanently. I have not heard of any particular reason, such as involving lawsuits, therefor I assume they just decided to retire. WinMX was actually the last primary downloading service that was completely free as well as free of viruses and adware. We're sad to see it go. You can find about 10 billion forums online concerning the big KO.
I've done a little bit of research and risky downloading to find a new program with which to download music. Most of the programs out there are, if not a virus itself, loaded with adware and other unwelcome goodies. Here is the latest information I can give you about what's out there now...
Kazaa & Kazaa Lite = avoid
Napster = avoid
iTunes = avoid
BearShare (Gnutella) = more info below
WinMX = permanently shut down
Limewire = I've heard bad things
BearShare is great, once you finally get to install it, and then clean up the mess. First of all, you have to hit about 10 different sites before you can finally download it, and some of that can be tricky. Then when you finally install it, you must choose to allow extra software (adware) to install with it. Before you give up hope, BearShare is very honest about the additional ads it installs. Both ads are legit (not viral or capable of doing any damage to your system). And what's best about it all is that you can remove both ad programs after BearShare is installed. Detailed instructions on removing BearShare ads at bottom of post.
Napster requires a credit card and registration (with a 7-day trial). Adware free.
iTunes costs $0.99/song. Adware free.
Kazaa & Kazaa Lite. Any version of either program will inevitably mess up your Windows operating system beyond repair. Lite is the lesser of the two evils.
BearShare ads: Save! and Weather. Before you remove these, run and set up BearShare. It should ask you to upgrade (so upgrade it). The reason you do that first is because the upgrade will reinstall the adware Save! After you upgrade, close BearShare and hit Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and move to the Processes tab. End the following processes: Save.exe, Weather.exe, and BearShare.exe (if running). Then run the uninstall files for the two adware programs, located here:
C:\Program Files\Weather\WeatherUninst.exe
C:\Program Files\Save\SaveUninst.exe
*Weather can also be uninstalled from Add/Remove Programs
Click OK to any warnings or notices during the uninstallation process (ignore the warning that uninstalling might cause BearShare not to work, it will not affect it).
After the installation process is completed for both adware programs, delete the following file (if it exists): C:\Program Files\*wherever you installed BearShare*\Installer\saveinstwm.exe (I recommend using C:\Program Files\Gnutella\BearShare for installation)
And finally you can delete any leftover folders in Start Menu such as "WhenU"
When you install or uninstall a program, it is a good habit to reboot immediately and immediately after reboot delete all files in the following folders:
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp\
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\
This will delete remnants of the uninstalled programs.
*NEW INFO* I just ran MS AntiSpyware Beta, and it found a few remnants of the WhenU ads. I recommend installing MSAntiSpyware Beta on your PC anyway, but especially for this. Set it to run a Full Scan with all areas checked. When it's done, click "Always Ignore" for BearShare and "Remove" for WhenU. If it detects anything else, choose Always Ignore for programs you want to keep, and Remove for anything you don't recognize (when in doubt, just Remove it).
MSAntiSpyware Beta can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx using Internet Explorer.
It may seem like a lengthy process, but it actually only takes about 5 minutes (plus 5 for MSAntiSpyware). I'm very satisfied with BearShare and actually like it better than WinMX so far. You must use Internet Explorer to download BearShare. Of course, you'll need the URL to get BearShare...
http://www.gnutella.com/connect/windows/clients/1/download
Have fun with all that!
I've done a little bit of research and risky downloading to find a new program with which to download music. Most of the programs out there are, if not a virus itself, loaded with adware and other unwelcome goodies. Here is the latest information I can give you about what's out there now...
Kazaa & Kazaa Lite = avoid
Napster = avoid
iTunes = avoid
BearShare (Gnutella) = more info below
WinMX = permanently shut down
Limewire = I've heard bad things
BearShare is great, once you finally get to install it, and then clean up the mess. First of all, you have to hit about 10 different sites before you can finally download it, and some of that can be tricky. Then when you finally install it, you must choose to allow extra software (adware) to install with it. Before you give up hope, BearShare is very honest about the additional ads it installs. Both ads are legit (not viral or capable of doing any damage to your system). And what's best about it all is that you can remove both ad programs after BearShare is installed. Detailed instructions on removing BearShare ads at bottom of post.
Napster requires a credit card and registration (with a 7-day trial). Adware free.
iTunes costs $0.99/song. Adware free.
Kazaa & Kazaa Lite. Any version of either program will inevitably mess up your Windows operating system beyond repair. Lite is the lesser of the two evils.
BearShare ads: Save! and Weather. Before you remove these, run and set up BearShare. It should ask you to upgrade (so upgrade it). The reason you do that first is because the upgrade will reinstall the adware Save! After you upgrade, close BearShare and hit Ctrl+Alt+Del on your keyboard and move to the Processes tab. End the following processes: Save.exe, Weather.exe, and BearShare.exe (if running). Then run the uninstall files for the two adware programs, located here:
C:\Program Files\Weather\WeatherUninst.exe
C:\Program Files\Save\SaveUninst.exe
*Weather can also be uninstalled from Add/Remove Programs
Click OK to any warnings or notices during the uninstallation process (ignore the warning that uninstalling might cause BearShare not to work, it will not affect it).
After the installation process is completed for both adware programs, delete the following file (if it exists): C:\Program Files\*wherever you installed BearShare*\Installer\saveinstwm.exe (I recommend using C:\Program Files\Gnutella\BearShare for installation)
And finally you can delete any leftover folders in Start Menu such as "WhenU"
When you install or uninstall a program, it is a good habit to reboot immediately and immediately after reboot delete all files in the following folders:
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp\
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\
This will delete remnants of the uninstalled programs.
*NEW INFO* I just ran MS AntiSpyware Beta, and it found a few remnants of the WhenU ads. I recommend installing MSAntiSpyware Beta on your PC anyway, but especially for this. Set it to run a Full Scan with all areas checked. When it's done, click "Always Ignore" for BearShare and "Remove" for WhenU. If it detects anything else, choose Always Ignore for programs you want to keep, and Remove for anything you don't recognize (when in doubt, just Remove it).
MSAntiSpyware Beta can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx using Internet Explorer.
It may seem like a lengthy process, but it actually only takes about 5 minutes (plus 5 for MSAntiSpyware). I'm very satisfied with BearShare and actually like it better than WinMX so far. You must use Internet Explorer to download BearShare. Of course, you'll need the URL to get BearShare...
http://www.gnutella.com/connect/windows/clients/1/download
Have fun with all that!