p2pnet.net News Special:- The Center for Democracy and Technology thinks it’s time for the Federal Trade Commission to do something about scams sites that “deceptively”claim to offer legal music and video downloads.

In the meanwhile, P2PForums has been actively reporting rogue p2p sites since early last year and now has a “never-ending” list with new sites popping up constantly.

And often, clone domains are set up before the developers of new application have even released a public beta, writes ToM

Read on >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What is a “Rogue” P2P site?
By ToM - P2PForums

- Dictionary refrence for “Rogue”

In this instance, a rogue P2P site would be a site set up to SELL you a free product, install spyware, trojans or viruses on your PC, set out to make money from a free P2P product or service (such as domain cloning and stealing) or conduct itself in a way which harms the file-sharing community.

Bad links here purposely have a “/” attached to the beginning of the URL to disable the hyperlink due to the fact visits to these sites potentially generates income to the owner of the scam site through advertising revenue, spyware, dialers or hidden installers. For your own security, DO NOT visit the rogue sites listed on this thread!

I have left out legitimate “Pro” versions of software some vendors (such as LimeWire and BearShare) sell for a one off cost or monthly price. For newcomers, it can be extremely difficult to determine whether the site selling the software is the original creators or not, as scam sites often use logos, slogans and images stolen from the official sites.

As a rule of thumb, NO Peer2Peer file-sharing software costs money. The only exception would be making a donation to a company or individual you feel is deserving or a pay news server (for advanced Newsgroups/Usenet access). If you’re tempted by a site offering something for a price, I’d recommend posting a link to it here so we can inspect it.

Scam sites often use the phrases like “100% legal!”, which is untrue. This is another tactic they use to prey on people who have heard about the joys of file-sharing through the media along with less joyful side (RIAA lawsuites) and don’t wish to end up in court. Another con they use to fool you are fake “verified” links and images or even fake “recommend by” (ZDNET for example) images & awards. Cliches such as “Direct downloads!”, “Get access now!” and made-up quotes by their supposed users are used too. Take care not to fall for their cheap tricks.

Ensure you type domains correctly if you input something manually into your web browser. Common typos, such as missing a letter from a name will lead you to scam sites set up by people who have created a clone domain of the official site.

This list will be updated as regularly as possible. If you know of any rogue sites that have gone unlisted, please post them in reply to this thread. More lists of scam sites can be found at Slyck and BeatKing. Thanks to everyone else who has put time towards finding these rogue sites.

General Rogue P2P Sites:

• /http://www.247downloads.com/
• /http://www.musicdownloadcentral.com/
• /http://www.emusic.com
• /http://www.easymusicdownload.com
• /http://www.emp3downloadhq.com/
• /http://www.fileminer.com/
• /http://www.music-download-network.com/
• /http://www.filesharingfriends.com/
• /http://www.mp3ebook.com/
• /http://www.unlimitedshock.com/
• /http://www.songs4free.com/
• /http://www.downloadshield.com/
• /http://www.mp3downloadcity.com/
• /http://www.mp3perfect.com/
• /http://filmgimp.org/
• /http://www.moviedownloadcity.com/
• /http://www.divxmovies.com/
• /http://www.xvidmovies.com/
• /http://www.hqmovies.net/
• /http://www.gettingmovies.com/
• /http://www.compareshopsave.com/moviesites
• /http://www.imovieshare.com/
• /http://www.easymusicdownload.com/
• /http://www.completemovies.com/
• /http://www.flicksunlimited.com/
• /http://www.findanymusic.com/
• /http://www.my-free-music.com/
• /http://www.mp3advance.com/
• /http://www.mp3shock.net/
• /http://www.mp3yes.com/
• /http://www.free-mp3-music-player-downloads.com/
• /http://mp3.abandonware.nu/
• /http://www.freeality.com/
• /http://www.mp3musicworld.com/
• /http://www.songfly.com/
• /http://www.mymusicinc.com/
• /http://www.247download.com/
• /http://www.mp3rocks.net/
• /http://www.downloadsociety.com/
• /http://www.mp3musiczone.com/
• /http://www.imusicshare.com/
• /http://www.download-mp3-now.com/
• /http://mp3university.com/
• /http://www.mp3u.com/
• /http://www.americamp3network.com/
• /http://www.downloads-unlimited.com/
• /http://www.ekmpowershop.com/
• /http://new.filedownloadnetwork.com/
• /http://www.billionsofdownloads.com/
• /http://www.mp3source.us/
• /http://www.thirdforum.org/
• /http://www.musictiger.com/
• /http://www.mitawards.org/
• /http://mp3-download-unlimited.com/
• /http://www.soundaccess.org
• /http://www.cfugboston.org/
• /http://www.icisnet.org/
• /http://www.coboltools.com/
• /http://www.cnouveau.net/
• /http://www.afterlife-psychical.org
• /http://www.tropicalmoths.org/
• /http://abandonware.nu/
• /http://mp3must.com/
• /http://www.pitkingov.com/
• /http://www.download-doctor.com/
• /http://www.movieconnect.net/
• /http://www.unlimitedfiles.com/
• /http://www.downloadlab.com/
• /http://www.btinternet.com/~chris.heaton/
• /http://www.bolton-heaton.freeserve.co.uk
• /http://www.rabbithole.fsnet.co.uk/
• /http://www.mp3dollars.com/
• /http://www.mp3downloadreview.com/
• /http://dcmoviez.com/
• /http://learn.download-secrets.com/
• /http://www.thedownloadplace.com/
• /http://MP3-MovieSitesReview.com/
• /http://www.mp3downloading.com/
• /http://www.software-10.com/
• /http://iMusicPro.com/
• /http://music.bigya.com/
• /http://www.6l9.com/
• /http://www.p2pdownload.com/
• /http://filesharingcentre.com/
• /http://mp3rox.com/
• /http://www.musictiger.com/
• /http://www.mp3eternity.com/
• /http://musicmania.com/
• /http://download-mp3-now.com/
• /http://mp3sharing.us/
• /http://www.mp3grandcentral.net/
• /http://www.free-mp3-music.com/
• /http://www.top-rated-mp3-sites.com/
• /http://www.netmp3downloads.com/
• /http://www.sigster-light.tk/
• /http://ibonsai.org/
• /http://www.music-movie-downloads.com/
• /http://www.UltimateMovieDownload.com/
• /http://www.EzMovies.net/
• /http://www.Top-Music-Sites.info
• /http://www.mp3review.info/
• /http://www.getanysong.com/
• /http://www.musicandmovies.org/
• /http://www.EasyDvdGuide.com/
• /http://www.unlimited-music-reviews.com/
• /http://www.movieadvanced.com/
• /http://www.Mp3ReviewSite.com/
• /http://pickyourmovies.com/
• /http://www.MovieDownloadWorld.com/
• /http://www.usenext.com/
• /http://www.download-music.qck.com/
• /http://www.download-plus.com/
• /http://www.allmoviedownloads.com/
• /http://www.MovieInDemand.com/
• /http://europe-music-network.com/
• /http://netmusicmania.com/
• /http://www.BrandNewMovies.com/
• /http://mp3downloadingzone.com/

eDonkey2000 / Overnet / eMule:
Official Sites: http://www.edonkey2000.com | http://www.overnet.com | http://www.emule-project.net | Trusted ed2k hashlink sites

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.emule.org/
• /http://www.emule-software.com/
• /http://www.edonkeydownload.com/
• /http://www.overnetdownload.com/
• /http://www.edonkey-mp3.com/
• /http://www.edonkey-software.com/
• /http://www.emule-software.com/
• /http://www.sharlive.com/ (Clone of ShareLive.com)
• /http://www.share-live.com/ (Clone of ShareLive.com)
• /http://www.sharereaktor.com/ (Clone of ShareReactor.com)

Ares / WarezP2P:
Official Sites: http://www.aresgalaxy.org | http://www.softgap.com | http://www.warez.com

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.aresgalaxy.com/ (Clone of AresGalaxy.org)

Piolet / Blubster / RockItNet / MP2P:
Official Sites: http://www.piolet.com | http://www.blubster.com | http://www.rockitnet.com | http://www.mp2p.net

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.poilet.com/ (Clone of Piolet.com)

BitTorrent:
Official Sites: http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/ (Original Client) | Trusted BT sites

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.bittorent.com/
• /http://www.supernova.org/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.suprnova.com/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.suprnova.net/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.suprnova.ca/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.suprnova.tk/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.suprnova.cn/ (Clone of SuprNova.org)
• /http://www.bi-torrent.org/ (Clone of bi-torrent.com)
• /http://www.azureus.org/ (Clone of azureus.sourceforge.net)
• /http://www.torrentbits.biz/ (Clone of TorrentBits)

WinMX:
Official Sites: http://www.winmx.com

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.winmx-download-winmx.com/
• /http://www.winmxpro.com/
• /http://www.winmx-pro.com/

SoulSeek (Slsk):
Official Sites: http://www.slsknet.org

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.slsk.org (Clone of SlskNet.org)
• /http://soulseek.com/

Shareaza:
Official Sites: http://www.shareaza.com

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.sharaza.com/ (Clone of Shareaza.com)
• /http://shareaza-downloads.com/
• /http://shareaza-download.com/
• /http://shareaza.ca/ (Clone of Shareaza.com)
• /http://www.shareaza.co.uk/ (Clone of Shareaza.com)
• /http://www.sharekazaa.com/
• /http://shareza.com/ (Clone of Shareaza.com)

Morpheus:
Official Sites: http://www.morpheus.com/

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.morpheussoftware.net/
• /http://www.morpheusp2p.com/
• /http://www.morphus.com (Clone of Morpheus.com)

Kazaa Media Desktop / Kazaa Lite / Grokster / iMesh:
Official Sites: Go here

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.kazaagold.com/
• /http://www.kazaa-gold.com/
• /http://www.kazaaplatinum.com/
• /http://www.kazaasilver.com/
• /http://www.kazaa-silver.com/
• /http://www.kazaabronze.com/
• /http://www.kazaa-bronze.com/
• /http://www.kaaza.com/
• /http://www.kazza.com/
• /http://www.kaza.com/
• /http://www.kazaalite.com/
• /http://www.k-lite.tk/
• /http://www.kazaa-lite.tk/
• /http://www.kazaalite.nl/
• /http://www.kazaa-download.de/
• /http://k-litetk.com/
• /http://www.kazaalite.de/
• /http://www.kazaa.de/
• /http://www328.ws1.internetservice.com/
• /http://kazaa.freakin.nl/
• /http://www.kazaa-file-sharing-downloads.com/
• /http://www.klitesite.com/
• /http://www.klite.tk/
• /http://www.kl-kpp.net/
• /http://freewebhosting.hostdepartment.com/k/kazaalitetk
• /http://www.kazaa.co.kr/
• /http://k-lite-legal.com/
• /http://www.kazza.de.tc/
• /http://www.kazaa.st/
• /http://grogster.com/
• /http://www.kazaa-lite-kazza-light-download.com/
• /http://www.kazaa.baixar.ws/
• /http://www.visualindicators.org/
• /http://www.bizrx.org/
• /http://www.kaza-kaaza.com/
• /http://www.kazar.com/
• /http://www.kazaar.com/
• /http://www.kazzaa.com/
• /http://www.kazaa-downloads.com/
• /http://www.kazza-download.com/
• /http://www.kaaza.de.sr/
• /http://www.tvdance.com/kazaa/
• /http://www.get-kazaa-lite.com/
• /http://kazaa.ca/
• /http://grokster.ca/
• /http://kazza.ca/
• /http://kazza.biz/
• /http://kazaa.info/
• /http://www.k-lite-legally.com/
• /http://www.k-litegold.com/
• /http://www.klitepro.com/
• /http://www.klitegeneration.com/
• /http://www.kpremium.com/

eXeem:
Official Sites: http://www.exeem.com

Rogue Sites:

• /http://www.exceem.com/
• /http://www.exeemhq.com/
• /http://www.eXeemHeadquarters.com/

Miscellaneous Rogue sites:

Any domain owned by EarthStation5 (aka ES5 / ESV / Earthreactor) should be avoided. They have many domains set up to steal traffic, but are all easily identifiable. Due to way ES5 has conducted itself in both the past and present, we strongly consider EarthStation5 a rogue company. Examples of their rogue nature include spreading lies about various sites, lies about their application, spamming, security flaws added purposely to their software, death threats made to various respected names in the file-sharing community, handing user passwords and information out freely, domain cloning and hijacking, admitted Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against BitTorrent sites and Google bombing.

Search engines. Although in themselves, search engines are the original and harmless way of finding something you’re interested in, many results and “sponsered links” as Google call them should be avoided. The majority of “sponsered links” when searching for file-sharing software via Google are links to scam sites such as the ones listed above. I recommend asking on our boards for software recommendations rather than using Google to find possible solutions.

*NEW* It has been brought to our attention recently that a new type of scam site has been setup going by the name “Openwares.org”. This site REPACKAGES free and open source software projects and bundles them with malware such as spyware and dialers. Worse still, the owners of Openwares.org have been purposely filling CNET’s download.com with fake versions of software, including many P2P file-sharing apps and security / user protection applications such as PeerGuardian and ProtoWall.

Method at Methlabs.org has written a guide specific to this malicious Openwares.org site which I recommend you read through here. For your own good, never download any software listed on Openwares.org.

Some tech sites have unknowingly reported news of applications listed on Openwares.org thinking they are genuine. If you notice a site you frequent has done this, we urge you to inform a moderator at the site of the problem.

FAQ

I’ve heard KazaaGold (or similar) is better that than the original software. Is this true?

No. You’ve either heard that from a scam site or from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. What some scam sites do, KazaaGold for instance, is create a self-extracting installer (exe) containing the program and a couple of freeware applications. The last time P2PForums examined a KazaaGold installer, we found it to simply be an old version of Kazaa Lite, Ad-aware (a FREE spyware removal tool) and eDexter (a FREE browser enhancer). Don’t be fooled.

I’ve found a site which says it’ll give me P2P software for free if I provide my email address. What’s this?

Free? No chance. The scam site wants your email address so they can sell it to 3rd parties and more. “Free KazaaGold” is a popular scam where the only apparent catch is providing your email address. Don’t let these scammers have any of your information.

I’ve seen a pro-p2p site or good site I know advertising these sort of pay sites. The links must be legit then, right?

Wrong. Many sites cannot control the advertising which is sent via their banners, as they are often controlled by 3rd parties. Scams are everywhere - never be tempted to “buy”.

I’ve been scammed. Is there anything I can do to get my money back?

Not that I know of. Put it down to experience and move on. If, however, you are paying a monthly fee to a scam site, cancel payments to them IMMEDIATELY!

ToM on 12th July 2004

[Editor’s note - This was published on March 9, 2005. Bear in mind the list is “never-ending” with, “new scam sites popping up all the time”.]

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2005 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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