Every time I try to download or play something on KaZaA, this annoying ad regarding online casinos pops up, complete with loud voiceovers and irritating sound effects.

Makes me wonder why I didn't stick with Morpheus....

I know why you didn't stick with Morpheus: After the last few versions of it it's become total sh*t.

Yes...good point....but KaZaA ain't no joyride, either.

I'd be careful using Kazaa, it contains spyware which AFAIK can't be taken out of it, so I'd recommend uninstalling it straight away. Do a search for Kazaa+spyware on google if you want to find out more.

Just what is spyware anyway? A program to nail you for downloading illegal stuff (about 90% of the products available on KaZaA) or does it just check what you download and uses the information to send you commercials?

spyware is just one (small) step up from a virus, and it earns that solely becaue it dosent actualy set out to damage your computer. Basicaly spyware somes into your system by stealth - its installed by another pience of coftware w/o your consent or knowledge, and usualy cant be uninstalled w/o removing the host program. Or sometimes not even then. Due to legal issues it has to be mentioned in the license agreement of the host program, but nobody ever reads those things.

When its on your system it monitors your activity, usualy what websites you visit etc, and sends this data back to its author. Usualy the result is an increase in the amount of spam you get in your emial address.

The spyware is never designed to cause damage, although aureate does in fact cause IE to fail spectacularly, and other packages can cause other side effects. There are packages on the net to find and remove it, but no package ive seen even claims to be 100% effective.

There are spyware-free versions of KaZaA, btw, like KaZaA-lite. Not that KaZaA is particularly happy with that, though... ;)

I got Blubster, its not too bad I guess

i use winmx and have never had any trouble with it.after what i read about kazaa i doubt i'd use it.

Yes, Kaza is a Trojan Horse. What this means is increased spam, and they can screw around with ur computer. My sis downloaded it, then when we found out, we got the steps to uninstall it. And BDE (Brilliant Digital Software) isn't getting in llegal trouble because they said they can do this on the Fine Print and terms crap.