WinMX
 | |
| Developer(s) | Frontcode Technologies |
|---|---|
| Stable release | |
| Preview release | 3.54 Beta 4
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Type | File sharing |
| Website | www |
WinMX is a free peer-to-peer file sharing program authored by Frontcode Technologies that runs on Microsoft Windows operating systems created in 2001. Officially, the support of WinMX by Frontcode ended in 2005 when they received threats of legal action by the RIAA. While the official website and servers for WinMX have been removed, a community of developers have brought the service online unofficially with the use of third party programs.
Beginnings
WinMX began its life as an OpenNAP client capable of connecting to several servers simultaneously, although Frontcode later created a proprietary protocol, termed WinMX Peer Network Protocol (WPNP), which was used starting with WinMX 2 in May 2001. WPNP version 2 was phased out as WinMX 3.0 and its WPNP version 3 protocol came into existence. Frontcode had operated several cache servers to aid WPNP network operation.
Downloads can be very fast for popular songs since the user can run a "multi-point download" that simultaneously downloads the same file in small pieces from several users. Some consider WinMX to be much safer than many other file sharing software, mainly because no spyware and adware comes with WinMX.
The WinMX program houses a few inbuilt features such as bandwidth monitoring, short messaging, and hosting chatrooms. Often, two users negotiate an exchange of their files with the help of the short messaging system or chat. After the transfers have started, one gets the option of selecting an individual bandwidth for the other to make sure both transfers end more or less at the same time. The program itself has a few drawbacks. It eats up huge amounts of memory (and noticeably slows the computer's real time clock) when run for a long time. It also needs some third party add on programs to monitor automated file exchanges and accelerate search results.
Function
When connecting to WinMX, you connect to the WinMX Peer Network (WPN) either as a primary or secondary user. A majority of the functions on the WPN are available to both users, but primary users tend to have better connections and have the ability to host chat rooms. Secondary users use little bandwidth, so their prolonged connection to the network is stable.
Sharing files in WinMX
WinMX, by default, will only share Audio and Video files, although, if properly configured, it can share almost every type of file. It is also considered a very safe network with a limited number of viruses. WinMX also has a file-size restriction. Files over 2GB will not be shared, and must be split into chunks smaller than 2GB in order to be shared. A Primary user can share a maximum of 5000 files on the WPNP network, while a Secondary user can still share a maximum of 3000 files; these limitations do not apply on OpenNap servers (see below).
Searching for files
You can search for almost any file in WinMX. Search results, however will display only those results whose file types match the ones that the user himself is sharing. To include any extra file types in searches, they must be included in the shared file types. When a user sends out a search, the search is spread throughout the network. If a file is found, the HASH number of the file along with the way to find it is sent through the network to the user who made the search. Searches can also be made with hash numbers instead of words and numbers.
Even before the WinMX network was originally shut down, there were increasing reports of fake files and corrupted data in the networks. The people hosting the files, called flooders, as secondary users. If certain trigger words are included by a user when searching for a file, that user gets many results which are not real. The resulting large bandwidth also often crashes the user and the "Primary" to which s/he is connected.
Chatting
WinMX allows a person to host chatrooms with its built-in Chat function. There are some rooms reserved for chat, some for trading files, and some which allow both. There are typicially around 1500 to 2000 chatrooms open at any given time. WinMX also allows you to message a user using its Private Message function. You can message a user that is in the same chat room as you, a user that you are downloading from, or one you are uploading to. Users can receive messages by default, unless it is reconfigured not to. It is also possible to host chatrooms in languages other than English, such as Japanese, German, French and Italian.
OpenNap
WinMX started out as a Peer-to-Peer program that connected to OpenNap servers. It can still connect to many OpenNap servers. These servers enable users to connect to a wider userbase and also receive many more search results. Two advantages for running OpenNap is the ability to have a permament list of friends called a hotlist and the ability to shared a unlimited number of files.
Translations
WinMX is natively run in the English language, but patches can be installed for the following languages: French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Finnish, Swedish, Japanese, Chinese, Hungarian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian and Greek.
Official closing
On September 13, 2005, Frontcode Technologies received a threatening letter from the RIAA demanding that they either implement filters to make it impossible for users to download copyrighted material from WinMX, or shut down. On September 21, 2005 the network and the WinMX homepage were officially confirmed as offline.
Unofficial Resumption
By September 25, 2005, users were able to download a working software patch for WinMX from two websites. These patches work by modifying the DNS lookup WinMX uses to find peer caches. When WinMX tries to find the FrontCode peer caches (central servers essential for the operation of WinMX), it is instead directed to look up one of the new peer caches set up by the WinMX community. The patches themselves are free, but there are many websites who charge users before they can gain access to the patches. There is no officially sanctioned patch to download and each will include their own set of instructions for installation and use. Two common patches are the one setup by WinMXGroup and one by MXPie.
Third Party Programs
In addition to the program and patches, developers and WinMX users have created third party programs to either enhance the chat room function or to control uploading by others peers.
Chat
Most of the software that was made by the third party developers were for use in the WinMX chat rooms. They include bots, clients to host rooms and plugins. The bots, such as Lettuce bot, Mxcontrol Bot and Metis Bot, were used in the chat rooms to either make it more lively, introduce games or to moderate users. Another one, called Shareguard, maintains lists of the files a user in a chatroom has.
Chat Clients are used primarily to host rooms. They are used so that room admins can host rooms more effectively. Popular chat clients include Nushi chat client, Rabbit chat client, and Ouka chat client. A big advantage of Chat Clients is that a chat room can be accessed without having to run a full copy of WinMX. Some also contain useful shortcuts or menus to make administrating a channel easier. For normal users, the clients can be used to view rooms independently of the server. Web listings of the chat room are also available and can be accessed using software.
There are numerous plugins that can be used; common plugins allow users to announce in the channel what song they are listening to currently.
Upload Managers
The two most popular upload managers for WinMX are Mx Monitor and LeecHammer. Each program has the ability to control the upload rate of peers and can block certain kinds of peers from uploading, including those who do not share any files.
References
External links
- MXControl The home page for the MXControl chat bot
- Nushi Chat Client Home page for Nushi chat client
- MXLinx The home page for the MXLinx queue manager
- Resurrecting WinMX - September 23, 2005 Slyck.com article
- Archive of WinMX homepage (from November 2004, site is defunct as of September 2005)
- What Will Happen to the WinMX Network? - September 29, 2005 About.com article