WinMX
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Wmxlogo.jpg
WinMX is a peer-to-peer file sharing program authored by Frontcode Technologies and running on Windows operating systems. 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 operates 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.
Lopster used to have WPNP 2 support, although it was locked out with the arrival of WPNP 3.
A number of people consider WinMX a much safer downloading program than Kazaa, partly due to the fact that no spyware and adware comes with WinMX.
WinMX was very popular in Japan due to its ability to handle 2 byte characters. By 2001 it was the de facto P2P application in Japan. However, WinMX's Japanese popularity dropped sharply with the arrest of several users, and resulted in the development of a semi-secure, encrypted, serverless application called WinNY (N comes after M, Y comes after X). WinMX is also especially popular in Italy and Hong Kong.
In early 2004, rumors circulated in Hong Kong that the Customs Department was prosecuting people using WinMX to share copyrighted items. This turned out to be not true.
The biggest flaw that led to WinMX's decreased use dealt with non-shared files. Unlike other P2P programs, non-shared files in WinMX still showed up on the search results. One could see a desired file, but could not download it. It was not uncommon to see a result list consisting of 99%+ unshared files.
During March 2005, The NPD Group found that WinMX was used in more US households than any other P2P client or legal music downloading service [1] (http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_050607.html), although this claim is disputed.
External links
- WinMX homepage (http://www.winmx.com/)de:WinMX