Just be carefull with whatever you use.
22 September 2005
Source
Last week, the RIAA sent out cease-and-desist letters to seven file-sharing network operators, which includes the popular P2P networks WinMX, eDonkey and BearShare. Throughout Wednesday, users started reporting about the inability to connect to the WinMX network as well as the WinMX website. As a result, there are reports that WinMX has closed its doors, with some saying the company has shut down for good to avoid legal issues. While there were some reports about eDonkey.com also going down, their website is back up again at this time of writing.
Back in June, the US Supreme Court ruled that those who distribute devices or software designed for infringing copyright works could be held liable if consumers use it for this purpose. As a result, the record labels are now trying to shutdown websites where consumers can download software to access the networks. Thanks to Savannah who used our news submit to let us know about the following news:
LOS ANGELES/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Popular file-sharing site WinMX.com ceased operating and the New York office of another, eDonkey.com, appeared to be closed, in the continuing legal fallout among underworld peer-to-peer music services, industry sources and users said on Wednesday.
The turmoil among file-sharing networks follows the landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June that held anyone who distributes a device used to infringe copyright is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by others.
In the wake of the decision, the trade group Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) last week sent out "cease-and-desist" letters to seven file-sharing groups. A spokeswoman for the RIAA declined to name the targets.
Popular file-sharing sites BearShare, eDonkey and WinMX were reportedly among the targets.
The decentralized nature of most peer-to-peer file-sharing software makes it uncontrollable once it is released over the Internet. However, shutting off sites where users first download the software may strangle the flow of new users.
For WinMX fans, this is will be a big loss for them, especially since WinMX did have the advantage of being free of Spyware and providing access to a wide range of music and other content. However, it did have the drawback in that many search results either did not work or downloads got stuck in an endless queue of waiting to start. What is interesting is that WinMX claimed that its file sharing network is decentralised, however this no longer appears to be the case if their network is not working. For those who attempt to connect, this is as far as WinMX gets:
In my opinion, shutting down network is simply going to do no more than push the majority over to other file sharing networks. Worse still, for every file sharing network the RIAA successfully closes in the US, the more control they lose over former members that move to file sharing networks that are run in countries which the RIAA have little, if any control over.
BearShare Client Install File
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