A file sharing service that in 2003 claimed the record number of total downloads from any Web site (more than 230 million since it went online). Unlike Napster, which provides a central directory of shared files, Kazaa distributes its directories to "supernodes," which are the users' own computers. Supernodes communicate with other supernodes to complete a search. Users with fast computers and connections are automatically made supernodes unless they disallow it. As a supernode, no more than 10% of the CPU power is used.
Free and Paid Content
Supported by advertisers, the Kazaa software enables users to view content available from other users as well as paid content from Altnet, which uses digital rights management (DRM). Although Kazaa encourages users who wish to share content not to share copyrighted material, there is no way to enforce this policy.
A Wild History
Kazaa was founded in 2001 in Amsterdam by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who created the underlying peer-to-peer technology (FastTrack) that was also used to power other services such as Morpheus and Grokster.
The music industry sought to close down the company, and a Dutch court ordered the cessation of software downloads from its site. However, because Kazaa was totally distributed, stopping the software did not prevent existing users from swapping files. In 2002, the Kazaa Web site and logo was sold to Sharman Networks Ltd., which is incorporated on the island of Vanatu near Australia. In 2003, the Dutch Supreme Court proclaimed that the Kazaa service was legal. For more information, visit www.kazaa.com. See peer-to-peer network, Napster and BitTorrent.
Free and Paid Content
Supported by advertisers, the Kazaa software enables users to view content available from other users as well as paid content from Altnet, which uses digital rights management (DRM). Although Kazaa encourages users who wish to share content not to share copyrighted material, there is no way to enforce this policy.
A Wild History
Kazaa was founded in 2001 in Amsterdam by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who created the underlying peer-to-peer technology (FastTrack) that was also used to power other services such as Morpheus and Grokster.
The music industry sought to close down the company, and a Dutch court ordered the cessation of software downloads from its site. However, because Kazaa was totally distributed, stopping the software did not prevent existing users from swapping files. In 2002, the Kazaa Web site and logo was sold to Sharman Networks Ltd., which is incorporated on the island of Vanatu near Australia. In 2003, the Dutch Supreme Court proclaimed that the Kazaa service was legal. For more information, visit www.kazaa.com. See peer-to-peer network, Napster and BitTorrent.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Sentinel (exe)
- Blocks access to porn sites. Time restricts playing of PC games, music playback from Web sites Internet Radios, watching of videos from Web sites (Youtube & Co.), chat programs(ICQ & Co.) and download of MP3, movies, software and stuff via P2P(Azureus, Kazaa, eMule, and eDonkey), or direct from Web sites....
- Software downloads 2008-07-08
- Argente - Disk Cleaner (exe)
- This application will enable you to easily delete all the u needed items form your computer in order to free up space. With Argente - Disk Cleaner you can safely remove all unnecessary files, history and privacy of Windows. Look unnecessary files in the system, with more than 40 types...
- Software downloads 2008-06-17
- Skype (dmg)
- Skype is software that enables you to make free calls anywhere in the world in minutes. Created by the people who brought you Kazaa, Skype uses innovative P2P (peer-to-peer) technology to connect you with other users. It is quick and easy to install and offers several features, including SkypeOut calling...
- Software downloads 2008-05-27
- Judge decisively rejects RIAA legal theory
- Judge decisively rejects RIAA legal theoryNiceOK so if I buy a CD and let strangers walk in my house and listen to them I'm infringing on copyright! hahahaha!This judge probablydissented just to get his name in the paper. Because hundreds of other judges have upheld the theory, because it's pretty...
- Discussion threads 2008-04-30
- Judge decisively rejects RIAA legal theory
- A federal district judge has delivered a pretty resounding blow to a theory the RIAA has been using to win verdicts in its copyright-infringement lawsuit campaign. In Atlantic Records v. Howell, Judge Neil Wake refused the RIAA's motion for summary judgment based on the "making available" theory. ...
- Blog posts 2008-04-29
- Privacy Protect It (exe)
- Removes all traces of Internet explorer, VLC, Skype, DivX, Bit Torrent and popular P2P applications, including LimeWire, Azureus, Bit Torrent Client, uTorrent, Kazaa, orpheus. Removes all traces of desktop search applications, Microsoft Office applications and any unwanted items or customized settings pertaining to email applications such as Outlook, Outlook Express,...
- Software downloads 2008-04-28
- JuicyCampus, free speech, and personal responsibility
- JuicyCampus, free speech, and personal responsibilityOn ending anonymity.When people write about ending anonymity, I always wonder how something like that could be accomplished. For example, how does any social site, forum, what-have-you actually _verify_ the information I give to them? Sure, they can log an IP address, but...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-20
- JuicyCampus, free speech, and personal responsibility
- Well the latest fad is upon us, and after a bit of a hiatus, I just had to write ... It is called JuicyCampus (see http://juicycampus.com/, if you must) and it certainly brings out the worst in us. Let's face it, people love to...
- Blog posts 2008-03-20
- What a novel idea: Verizon cooperates with P2P file sharers
- What a novel idea: Verizon cooperates with P2P file sharersP2P: A perfectly 'good' technologyAnd Verizon is taking the right path to innovate and maintain Net Neutrality.Bad ComCast! Bad!The problem isn't traffic, it's parking.A lot of people have tried to compare P2P with cars in a traffic analogy. I think...
- Discussion threads 2008-03-14
- Comcast vs. BitTorrent to be focus of FCC hearing
- Comcast vs. BitTorrent to be focus of FCC hearingDidn't Comcast deny they are even doing this?I'm SURE they would not lie to us.Comcast has uniqe problemsIn essence, they need to protect their network. However, for most ISPs Internet is their business. Comcast is a cable provider trying to be in...
- Discussion threads 2008-02-22
- EU: User privacy rights trump intellectual property
- Good and bad news for European net users. The European Union's high court said that under EU law ISPs don't have to provider user data to record labels and movie studios looking to track down illegal downloaders, the AP reports. It seems that privacy rights in the...
- Blog posts 2008-01-29
- Avast Professional Edition (exe)
- Avast 4 Professional Edition is a complete ICSA & Checkmark certified antivirus software for corporate and advanced home use. Avast Professional Edition includes an on demand scanner with two user interfaces, a skinnable simple interface: just select what you want to scan and in which way and press the play...
- Software downloads 2008-01-10
- WashPo gets RIAA CD rip story wrong on Dec. 30; I got it right on Dec. 11
- WashPo gets RIAA CD rip story wrong on Dec. 30; I got it right on Dec. 11Message has been deleted.Hey Russell...You might also want to alert your compatriot, Dvorak. Seems he's jumped on the WashPo bandwagon as well.http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2242789,00.aspTotallySince Washington Post has nothing better to do than read the amateurish...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-04
- Could open source exist without the Betamax case?
- Could open source exist without the Betamax case?RIAA is Over-ReachingI agree that the Betamax time-shifting decision was a very big deal. I don't think it has much to say for open-source software, since software wasn't even subject to copyright until the 1976 copyright revision. When that was done...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-01
- Easy SpaceGuard (exe)
- Easy SpaceGuard prevents others from tracking your Internet Web browsing activity. Eliminate wastes from your system by removing history files, cache, and other Web browsing activity in: Internet Explorer, Netscape, FireFox, Opera Browser, Microsoft Media Player, RealOne Player, Kazaa, Morpheus, ICQ, and AOL. Delete recent document list and materials that...
- Software downloads 2007-12-28
- AdsGone Spyware Blocker and Popup Killer 2008 (exe)
- Updated for 2008, AdsGone Spyware Blocker and Popup Killer now blocks all known spyware, adware, keyloggers, Trojan horses, adbots, spyware cookies, spybots, phishing attacks, browser hijackers, and other malware threats and it still has all of the award winning pop-up blocking capability it always had. AdsGone blocks Messenger Service spam,...
- Software downloads 2007-12-19
- Privacy Shield (exe)
- Privacy Shield erases data by using government-level removal techniques. It completely "cleans" your computer of any Internet/Windows habits you want to guarantee won't get discovered. Privacy Shield covers your tracks for you, in seconds it will clear your browser history, browser cache, system cookies, visited and typed URL list, locked...
- Software downloads 2007-12-18
- What that RIAA/CD rip court brief really says
- There's a lot of misinformation floating around the blogosphere about what exactly the (hiss, boo) Recording Industry Association of America is saying in a court brief about the very act of ripping your CDs, converting them to MP3s, and then storing them on your hard drive...
- Blog posts 2007-12-11
- The RIAA is NOT saying that ripping your CDs is illegal
- The RIAA is NOT saying that ripping your CDs is illegalThis seems to be "news" to some of us!What about the "all copying is illegal" mantra that has beenflying back and forth for the last year or so? What about theSony "root kit" fiasco?I find it hard to ignore...
- Discussion threads 2007-12-11
- The RIAA is NOT saying that ripping your CDs is illegal
- Despite what some websites are reporting, the RIAA is NOT saying that ripping CDs into MP3s is illegal. The story started on lawyer Ray Beckerman's Recording Industry vs. The People blog. In a post yesterday Beckerman is claiming that the RIAA is saying that ripping CDs for...
- Blog posts 2007-12-11
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Marc Canter: The master of multimedia speaks
-
In this Super Techies interview, larger-than-life techie Marc Canter talks with ZDNet's Editor in Chief Dan Farber about his career as a multimedia pioneer.
- Watch the video >>
- Access the latest Intel and industry best practices
-
Designed specifically to address the concerns of senior IT managers at organizations with more than 100 employees, the Intel Premier IT Professional Program provides best practices via local and e-Seminars and a members-only Web site.
- View the Intel Premier IT Professional web-site tour >>
- Sports and Technology
-
Major League Baseball pitches new app to iPhone users
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Jeremy Schoenherr of MLB.com demos At-Bat, a new iPhone app from Major League Baseball.
View the ZDNet video to learn more -
The SF Giants' new hi-tech ballpark
SF Giants CIO Bill Schlough discusses new technology upgrades at AT&T Park and outlines his dual role- managing technology operations at the backend while using hi-tech to improve player performance on the field.
View the ZDNet CIO Vision Series video - From our Sponsors
- Fantasy Football
-
-
3 Great Ways To Play Fantasy Football
Play for free, play to win cash prizes- up to $3500, or customize your own league.
Learn More » -
