Someone was downloading a Melt Banana track from me just now - not unusual, until I noticed that Kazaa was uploading more data than there should be. The mp3 was about 1.3mb - by the time I noticed what was going on, whoever was downloading had recieved 1.7mb, with no sign of stopping. I disconnected shortly after that. Can anyone tell me just what the hell was going on here? What was this extra non-existant data that my computer was sending out?
― Christopher Lyons, Sunday, 18 August 2002 23:04 (twenty-three years ago)
I don't know what that could be, but nothing surprises me about Kazaa. It's crammed with spyware and hard on system resources.
― paul cox, Sunday, 18 August 2002 23:12 (twenty-three years ago)
this has happened with me a few times with Kazaaa as well - it also happened with Napster once or twice as i recall so i doubt its to do with spyware - just a bug that occurs due to some connection/transfer quirk on the receiver's end perhaps
― blueski, Monday, 19 August 2002 07:37 (twenty-three years ago)
i think i've had the opposite experience... as in, i've downloaded a file that cut off at a certain point and then was just blank for a minute or more. maybe kazaa got confused and mistook an incomplete file for a complete one that exists elsewhere, adding the rest on independantly? i dunno how this stuff works at all though.
― minna (minna), Monday, 19 August 2002 07:53 (twenty-three years ago)
The mp3 was about 1.3mb - by the time I noticed what was going on, whoever was downloading had recieved 1.7mb, with no sign of stopping.FYI: Spyware requires an extra port to be opened. A clever hacker can use the download activity on the expected port (most Napster clones nowadays use 6969) to hide the fact they are poking around your system on another port (usually 37173, 31337 or 1337); whats even worse is the culprit might've used this security hole to
ADD something to your system. A trojan that leaves
more ports open, thus making it easier to enter your system. If this is the case, next time, all you need to be is on the internet, not specifically on Kazaa for Hacky McTrojan to get in, make changes to make it even
easier to get in next time (while "escalating their priveledges) as well as some more downloading...of stuff you don't want strangers downloading.
Questions to ask yourself: Have you noticed any new users added to your system? Have you noticed any new programs in the Startup folder? Does the system seem to slow down as if someone is uploading/downloading even when you aren't on Kazaa? Are your suffering unexplained lags?
Advice: If so...
1) destroy any users that aren't supposed to be on your system;
2) kill any "guest accounts" (especially ones that have waaaaay more priveledges that they should);
3) Uninstall/Delete anything in your Startup folder that looks new and you don't remember installing it;
4) Use Lavasoft AdAware and/or MooSoft's The Cleaner to remove any trojans;
5) Update your security patches.
6) Invest in a software firewall (like BlackIce Defender, ZoneAlarm or Sybase) and if your you really want to baffle them: also use a software proxy, such as Proximitron.
― Lord Custos Alpha (Lord Custos Alpha), Monday, 19 August 2002 12:20 (twenty-three years ago)
Ta for the advice - checked out the Cleaner thing, didn't find anything untoward on my system - also I already have a firewall anyway, and I was using Kazaa Lite (the hacked versh with all the spyware stripped out - mind you, said hackers could have already put in some of their own, yikes) - so I think Blueski might be right with his explanation. I'll be more wary in future, tho, and check out that AdAware thing also.
― Christopher Lyons, Monday, 19 August 2002 13:37 (twenty-three years ago)