Unless properly configured, Kazaa (and other file sharing programs) can quickly put you over your 2 GB per week upload or download limit without your knowledge, giving your a bandwidth Violation.

If you are using the newest version of KaZaA Media Desktop, this guide will help you to properly install and configure the program for use with our network. We advise that you Disable Sharing, which allows other users to upload files from your computer, and also it is recommended that you Disable the Supernode Feature. The Supernode is a feature that will allow other KaZaA users to traffic their searches and data through your connection at will. The following guide will help you in preventing a violation by going through the installation and configuration process step by step.

For more information on how the default settings of Kazaa could get you a bandwidth violation, you can read our Kazaa-specific information page. To find out how to correctly setup and configure Kazaa, keep reading on this page.

If you have an older version of Kazaa installed, you might want to try out one of our other guides: Kazaa Version 1.7 or Kazaa Version 2.0 Or this guide could be used if you decide to upgrade to the newest version.

Parts of this guide:

• Installation

• Configuration

Installation: 

Figure 1

When you start installing, you'll encounter the Installation Options on Step 3, shown above. The most important parts in this window are circled above. You want to UNCHECK the startup option and UNCHECK Enable Virus Scanning (you should already have an Antivirus Program installed on your computer).

Configuration

The next part is after the installation and you have the Kazaa window open and the program is running. Start by clicking on TOOLS then OPTIONS. Then this window will appear.

Figure 2

You can change the Username to whatever you want it to be. It's not important. But be sure that the Launch Kazaa Media Desktop automatically option is UNCHECKED. Be sure to click the APPLY button at the bottom after you change anything. Then click on the Sharing tab and continue...

The Sharing tab looks different than previous versions of Kazaa. You want to disable ALL sharing of files. To be sure that it is correct, UNCHECK the Share files in "My Shared Folder" option.

Figure 3

After you uncheck the Share files option, click the APPLY button at the bottom. Then click the Options button, shown above.

Once you click that, a new window will open, similar to the one below:

Figure 4

In this new window, UNCHECK both boxes in the upper left corner, the Run the Peer Points Manager at system startup and Enable File Sharing. Then be sure to click the APPLY button once again. After you apply the changes, click the 'X' in the upper left of the Peer Points window to close it and return to the Sharing Options window.

The next step is to click the ADVANCED tab. And this is one of the MOST IMPORTANT steps in the configuration.

Figure 5

In the Advanced Options menu, BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that you check the box that says Do not function as a Supernode. Click the APPLY button after you check the box to be sure it applies the change.

Then continue on by clicking the Firewall tab.

Figure 6

The only thing to change in the Firewall tab is to UNCHECK the Use port 80 as alternative for incoming connections option. Then, as before, click the APPLY button and then you can click OK to close the options.

Congratulations, you should now be correctly configured to use Kazaa on the PSU network. Keep in mind, this does no guarantee that you will not get a bandwidth violation but with Kazaa it is a large step in preventing one.

Un-installation of Third Party Software

When you install Kazaa 2.5, it does not give you the option of installing Third Party Software (aka, spyware). So there are two things that we recommend manually uninstalling from the Add/Remove Programs menu.

1. Click on the START button.

2. Then go to Settings -> Control Panel (or just Control Panel for most XP users)

3. In the Control Panel window, double click on the ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS icon.

4. In this new window that pops up, look for the following two items that Kazaa has installed.

5. Highlight each item by clicking on it (one at a time) and then click the Change/Remove button in each space. Follow the instructions in the respective new windows to uninstall each item.

Figure 7

That's it. You should be all set now. If you have any other questions on Kazaa itself, you can search our site using the box on the left, or talk to your nearest ResCom desk, which can be found on the Contact Us page.