WinMX

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(Redirected from WPNP)

WinMX is a peer-to-peer file sharing program authored by Frontcode Technologies that runs on Windows operating systems. The official WinMX website and WinMX servers have been offline since September 2005 due to a lawsuit (see the "Decline" section below), though the application remains operable through third-party modifications.

WinMX began its life as an OpenNAP client capable of connecting to several servers simultaneously, although Frontcode later created a proprietary protocol, termed WinMX Peer Network Protocol (WPNP), which was used starting with WinMX 2 in May 2001. WPNP version 2 was phased out as WinMX 3.0 and its WPNP version 3 protocol came into existence. Frontcode had operated several cache servers to aid WPNP network operation.

Downloads can be very fast for popular songs since the user can run a "multi-point download" that simultaneously downloads the same file in small pieces from several users. Some consider WinMX a much safer downloading program than Kazaa, partly due to the fact that no spyware and adware comes with WinMX. The client application Lopster used to have WPNP 2 support, although it was locked out with the arrival of WPNP 3.

WinMX was very popular in Japan due to its ability to handle 2 byte characters. By 2001 it was the de facto P2P application in Japan. However, WinMX's Japanese popularity dropped sharply with the arrest of several users, and resulted in the development of a semi-secure, encrypted, serverless application called WinNY (N comes after M, Y comes after X). WinMX is also especially popular in Italy and Hong Kong.

In early 2004, rumors circulated in Hong Kong that the Hong Kong Customs Department was prosecuting people using WinMX to share copyrighted items. This turned out to be untrue. For under HK's laws the copyright holder needs to take action to drive non-criminal prosecution.

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Decline of WinMX

One of the major problems that led to the declining popularity of WinMX was the increased presence of "dummy" files, reportedly placed by individuals and/or companies opposed to file sharing. In many cases, one could see a desired file, but could not download it since most of the listed selections were inaccessible. As a result, it took additional effort to find the available downloads from within the list, although with practice, this was easily done.

During March 2005, the NPD Group found that WinMX was used in more US households than any other P2P client or legal music downloading service [1], although this claim is disputed.

On September 13, 2005, Frontcode Technologies received a cease and desist letter from the RIAA asking them to implement filters to make it impossible for users to download copyrighted material from WinMX, or shut down. Under the threat of litigation, on September 21, 2005 the network and the WinMX homepage were confirmed offline.

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Resurrection of WinMX

By September 25, 2005, users were able to download a working software patch for WinMX from two websites known as WinMX Group [2] and Vladd44 [3]. These patches work by modifying the DNS lookup WinMX uses to find peer caches. When WinMX tries to find the FrontCode peer caches (central servers essential for the operation of WinMX), it is instead directed to look up one of the new peer caches set up by the WinMX community.

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