"Kazaa" full of viruses

[Giganova]

Just a cautionary warning about the Kazaa web site where lots of people are getting some of their software and plugins from. I downloaded some audio software from Kazaa just to test it and see which one I'll purchase (no -- really! ). Turned out that the downloaded software was full of viruses and trojan horses! Now I have to format my hard drives and install everything from scratch.

 

[Dave S.]

I'm very glad that "Kazaa" is full of viruses.
Dave

 

[Giganova]

yeah, you're right. I should have never tried it out. Stupid me. Stay away from Kazaa as far as you can.

 

[TexRoadkill]

The issue isn't with Kazaa it's with cracked software in general. The MP3's and videos on Kazaa are fine for the most part. Any cracked software is dangerous for your computer.

 

[webstop]

The MP3's and videos on Kazaa are fine for the most part.

Wanna get a subpoena from RIAA?

 

[mari]

I've downloaded a good few audio files, whats the deal with them?

 

[Giganova]

I was talking about cracked software. MP3s should be fine, I guess, but I won't wanna try again catching nasty viruses & trojan horses. I am done with illegal downloads and cleaned my system. It really doesn'y pay off in the long run. Most the plug-ins that I've downloaded made Logic very unstable anyway and it crashed all the time.

 

[proclaimation]

Its possible that some group is adding these viruses so that you don't download any cracked software. There's alot of good demos out there that you don't really need them.

 

[Bass Master "K"]

That's why I never use cracked software. Like someone else pointed out, most companies offer demo's and with those you know what you are getting.

Don't assume that mp3's are totally safe.

I had a friend who was visiting from overseas. Unlike me, he thinks that paying for software is silly since it is "free" and it isn't hurting anyone (his words not mine). We had gone back and forth about the subject and neither of us was going to change the other persons mind. Well, when he was visiting I was commenting on a new CD that was coming out in less than a week and he said "Well we can download the whole thing on the net so you can check it out." I told him "no, I will hear a track or two on the radio I am sure and then I can decide if I want to buy it, I don't like downloading stolen music." Well he kept going on and on about it and I think in the back of his mind he thought that I would be impressed to be able to get the stuff for free and would see things from his point of view, so while I was fixing dinner, he downloaded the songs (I don't know what site it came from). Well he calls to me "I'm done downloading, if you want to hear the new CD come check it out". I stayed in the kitchen until I heard the words "oh shit" come out from the living room.

When he hit play, everything went black. He tried a reboot....black. Tried to boot to safe mode....black. End result was he spent the next two days reloading all of my software and drivers onto my computer, trying to get it back to close to where it was before, and feeling pretty bad because he knew I didn't want him to download the stuff to begin with. I lost all of my e-mail addresses and my bands e-mail tree that I hadn't backed up I learned a lesson there. It either was the mp3 file or the biggest coincidence on the face of the planet.

 

[proclaimation]

I know I read acouple of months back of the RIAA wanting to infect MP3's with viruses that would do exactly what you describe. RIAA didn't get legal permission to do it but who's to say they can't do it illegally. I can't see people wanting to P2P just to be evil and share viruses. there are such people but I think most P2Pers want to share music. the stealing software should stop. your friend should have used his brain and had norton antivirus installed. or do what's best-respect your wishes and leave enough alone.

 

[chupacabre]

sorry . . . but bullshit you can't get a virus by running an mp3. You have to run an .exe file or a .dll but running an mp3 is rediculous.

 

[Giganova]

with all due respect, chupa, but that's nonsense. A virus or trojan horse can reside on almost anything, even in instant messages and jpg images in email attachments.

 

[Giganova]

with all due respect, chupa, but that's nonsense. A virus or trojan horse can reside in almost anything, even in instant messages and jpg images in email attachments.

 

[proclaimation]

let's not be disrepectful of each other but the commom belief that virures attack only exe or dll was true for older days. the dos days are long over. you can even have one trigger from a web page - very easily. but I need believe its all on the hacker side that's doing it. there's too many w32.handy viruses going thru kaaza and its primarily role is to knock out/down networks, i.e. kaaza (you will see various related viruses with the same purpose). I think most hacker/cracker/whatever is going to support such a network, not tear it down. But someone does cause too many files have these viruses and kaaza was never like this a few months ago. kaaza is being hit hard and is going to topple-from without (RIAA) and from within (network viruses). Then its on to the next target.

 

[Stealthtech]

I scan anything and everything that comes from the web before a launch. Its the only way to keep your system safe.

 

[Bass Master "K"]

To clarify...I didn't see if the file was an mp3 personally, I was not present until it was already too late....but my friend is pretty knowledgable about computers and downloading and if he thought he was getting the mp3, it would have presented itself as an mp3, I don't know what was attached to it. He downloads all the time, not me.

It just seems too big a coincidence that the second he hits the play button my computer goes tits up. He didn't want to admit it and I could tell he felt really bad, but after I thought about it, what better way for a label to get a little revenge, even if it was not "officially" released by them *wink wink*. They get someone outside the company to upload the files and teach people who are trying to get it for free a lesson.

All I can tell you is what happened. I can't say 100% it was that mp3, but there is no other explanation. I didn't have any cracked software on my machine.

 

[proclaimation]

then it was a mp3 since your friend was downloading music. you should have an antivirus on your computer and not because of kaaza. RIAA and other labels might be doing this for revenge but, one day, it'll be payback time for them. the RIAA web site already has been hacked-I think,twice-and some hacker group is probly gonna attack them.