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.