Normally I try to support Gnutella clients. The more that are active, the more the network will be strengthened. I'm going to make a strong exception, however, in the case of SwapNut. I installed this program when it first appeared on this site; it was slow and awkward as most java apps are, but otherwise it ran without difficulty. Then I noticed that a substantially larger version bearing a later version number (1.017?) had been posted for download. So I accepted the invitation and replaced my original installation with the newcomer. Here are my experiences:

1. It offers you an option to send emails to everyone in your address book to publicize SwapNut. Read carefully. I've noticed that some people posting here were lulled into accepting this outrageous intrusion.
2. It offers you an opportunity to install Gator and Offer Now, blatant spyware programs. You can, however, decline the option.
3. It asks that you provide your name and email address, but it doesn't specify what purpose is served by you sharing this information.
4. It inserts an uninvited and otherwise hidden program fsg.exe into your System folder. Ad-aware found it and allowed me to easily remove it. I don't know its function, but I do know that I didn't agree to have it installed.
5. At the finish of the installation procedure, I was presented with a number of screens offering both services and products. Even more annoyingly, I was presented with a window containing a list of already chosen publications for my subscription. I unchecked all of these choices (some of them may even be offensive to some people) and submitted my negative choices. Thereafter, I had difficulty even closing the windows. I restarted the computer and, yes, you guessed it, SwapNut had decided that it should be restarted when Windows restarted. By using msconfig, I got rid of that annoyance and accessed the program in a normal way. And unbelievably, I was bombarded with the same aggravating windows as before, included the subscription screen. Well, that was more than enough for me and I uninstalled the program completely.

I noticed that it had been removed from its download site, so I thought that my experiences reflected a bug in the program. It's back up today, and so I decided reluctantly to give it another go. The results were even worse. Besides all those same obnoxious windows, I even had difficulty closing the program. I had to End Task to shut it down.
There really isn't any reason for this program to exist. There are many other options that will perform the same functions without the problems. It uses the Gnutella protocol but its purpose is diametrically opposed to the objectives of the movement.
Trash it!

BTW, those two previous posts were by me. I forgot to login.

I am not sure what you are running, but I am having a pleasant experience with the software. I selected no to install Gator (already have it) and No to the notify friends (I don't have a contact list anyway) and the program runs fine. I personally like it and thought people should see a second side of things. Nobody forces you to install Gator or the other things, so why the uproar?

The great thing about Gnutella is that there are a lot of choices, so use what you like best. I like SwapNut.

I'm running Win98SE, but that's not the problem. The original version of SwapNut (1.0) ran fine for me also, although I certainly prefer the smoothness of a client written in C++ as opposed to java based programs. In my opinion, java is a great language for web sites but not for independent applications.
All of my remarks refer to the new version of SwapNut that has recently been posted for download. If you see nothing to complain about, install and evaluate it for yourself.

******* ***** ...

Hey VTOLfreak!

What have we discussed about insulting other users?

Morgwen

Sorry ...