What is KaZaA Lite?

KaZaA Lite (sometimes called 'K-Lite') is a Peer-to-Peer File Sharing application that does not contain any 'Spyware'. In actual fact, it is a slightly modified version of the very popular KaZaA Media Desktop (often called the 'Original KaZaA' or 'KMD'), which is made by Sharman Networks. Both programs are very similar, with almost identical features and appearance. The main difference is that KaZaA Lite has been modified so that it does not have any of the 'Spyware' that comes with the Original KaZaA.

KaZaA Lite provides sharing of all kinds of media and software. It is a 'FastTrack' Client, which means it connects to the FastTrack P2P network system, just like some other popular file sharers like Grokster and the OLD Morpheus. (Morpheus is now based on the Gnuttella network).

KaZaA Lite can download single files from multiple users to ensure you get the most efficient use of your bandwidth. They also resumes broken downloads or downloads that were in progress when you shut down your computer last. All-in-all, FastTrack is a very good, very powerful P2P system.

The author of KaZaA Lite was concerned about the fact that the Original KaZaA contained Spyware and wanted to be able to use it without the Spyware, so he made a version without it: KaZaA Lite!

KaZaA Lite is not a different program, it's the same program, just with out the Spyware, so any features you would like to have added will need to be added to the Original KaZaA first. If you would like to suggest a new feature KaZaA's web site has a feedback form that you can use to request new features. They don't support KaZaA Lite so suggest the feature to be added to 'KaZaA Media Desktop', not 'KaZaA Lite'. www.kazaa.com/en/contact/index.htm.

What are the specific differences between KaZaA Lite and the Original KaZaA?

The main difference is the way that they get installed onto your computer. When the Original KaZaA is installed, it includes the CyDoor spyware component which displays ads. KaZaA Lite comes without this.

KaZaA Lite has no bitratelimit for mp3 files. This means that you can download and share high quality mp3 files.

KaZaA Lite contains an additional tool called 'Speed Up'. This tool can help you get faster downloads.

KaZaA Lite contains an additional tool called 'Sig2Dat'. With this tool it becomes easy to download and share specific files. This way you can download verified files that are posted on various websites and forums. It works the same as file hashes that some other p2p software such as eDonkey have.

Other than that, there is virtually no difference betweenhow KaZaA Lite and the KaZaA Media Desktop work. Some of the graphics within the program are different, or have been removed in KaZaA Lite, such as the Shop and Bonzi Buddy icons. Also, some of the menu items encouraging you to tell friends about KMD and buy from KaZaA's shop have been completely removed or at least disabled.

What is Peer-To-Peer File Sharing?

File sharing is the act of making certain files stored on your computer available for other people to download thus sharing them. Other users also share their files to make a huge online collection. You use a file-sharing client, such as KaZaA Lite to search this collection for something you're interested in, and can then download it directly from the other user(s) hard drive(s).

This idea was originally made popular by Napster, which has subsequently closed to develop a new version of their file sharing program. Unlike Napster, where file types were restricted to music files, KaZaA Lite allows these shared files to be all sorts of different media: audio files, video clips, photos and even software applications. If you have a band, getting your tracks on the KaZaA (FastTrack) network is a great way to get your music known and recognized. Budding filmmakers can have the same sort of exposure.

It's called peer-to-peer because of the way in which files are downloaded directly from other users' hard drives. Traditionally, when downloading files, you get them from a large server. Everyone connects to this server to download the files so it needs a lot of bandwidth. This structure is called a hierarchy, because all the users computers 'look up' to the big servers. The FastTrack network has no servers every computer is on pretty much the same level. They communicate and transfer files between each other, which means no single machine requires lots of bandwidth. With KaZaA Lite, you can even download bit of the same file from different users to make the most efficient use of bandwidth.