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 a newer 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 correctly setup and configure Kazaa, keep reading on this page.

If you have a different version of Kazaa installed, you will need to follow one of our other guides for Kazaa 1.7 or Kazaa 2.5.

Upgrade Notice: If you click the button within Kazaa that says it will Update you to the newest version, it WILL change all of your settings back to default and you will need to reconfigure the new version.

Parts of this guide:

• Installation

• Configuration

Installation: 

Figure 1

The first window is just the welcome screen, where you can click “Next >” (shown above, in figure 1).

Figure 2

The next screen is the End User License Agreement (EULA).  You should at least understand everything that is in it, even if you don’t fully read it.  When you check the “I agree…” box, you are agreeing to everything that is written in the EULA.  If you agree, click “Next >” (shown by figure 2).

Figure 3

In figure 3, you have a choice of where to install the program.  By default, it is installed into “C:\Program Files\Kazaa” and there is no reason to change this, unless you have another preference.

Figure 4

Figure 4 is an important part of the installation.  By default, KaZaA installs what it calls “Promotional Software” which they say keeps the program free.  These programs include SaveNow, DelFin Media Viewer, MediaLoads (and MediaLoads installer), b3d Projector, and New.net.  Be sure to UNCHECK the “Install all Promotional Software” box, and then click “Next >”.

If you have ever had KaZaA, chances are, these programs are installed.  If you want to check to see if they are, go to “START” and “Settings” (for 98/ME or “Control Panel” for XP), and then double click on “Add/Remove Programs” and look for any of these programs.  If you find them, we advise removing each of them.  For more information, you can look at our SpyWare info page.

Figure 5

Figure 5 shows the options of the Kazaa install process.  The only option we focus on in this window is to be sure to CHECK the box that says "Do not start Kazaa Media Desktop when the computer starts."  This way, Kazaa is only comes on when you start it manually.  Also, you should know the difference between clicking the "X" in the Kazaa window, and actually exiting the program.  When you click the "X" in the top right of the window, it only minimizes the program into your system tray (in the lower right).  The program still runs.  If you actually want to close the program, you have to right click the Kazaa icon in that system tray and select "Close Kazaa".

Figure 6

If you want to review exactly what Kazaa will do when it begins to install, Figure 6, shows you where you can do that.  It's the window titled "Install Kazaa Media Desktop" and in the Current Settings window, you can see each step that Kazaa will perform and which components it will install.  Since there are no options (unless you want to click "Back" and change something), you can just click "Next >" and proceed.

Figure 7

The final window, shown by figure 7, just shows a completed installation, and allows you to click "Finish."

Figure 8

After the installation completes, and you click "Finish," Kazaa will open another window which lets you import files to share, and since you'll be disabling sharing if you follow this guide, there is no reason to do this, so you can just click "OK."

Configuration:

Figure 1

To get to the file options, in the Kazaa window, you should go to "Tools" and then to "Options..."  This will bring up the Options window and allow you to configure Kazaa.

Figure 2

When the options window opens, it will be selected to the "My Kazaa" tab.  In this, you can change the username that Kazaa displays you as; which can basically be anything you want.  The second box is for the Newsletter, we don't recommend putting in your real email address, just because we don't know what they do with them.  But you have to enter some sort of email address and you can UNCHECK the "Subscribe" box.  The final box is the country, and it should already be set to the United States.  And again, with the final check box, we recommend UNCHECKing the "Launch Kazaa automatically" option.  From here, you want to go back up to the top, and click on the "Traffic" tab.

Figure 3

In the Traffic window, you have the option to change where you downloaded files go to.  If you click the button with the "..." on it, you can direct it to a folder that your files will download to.  The first check box is the one that will "Disable Sharing."  Be sure this box is CHECKED and then click "Apply" on the bottom right.  That way you won't be uploading files and that will help to prevent a violation.  Once you do this, you can go to the top again, and click the "Advanced" tab.

Figure 4

The first thing to change is to be sure that the "Do not function as a Supernode" box is CHECKED.  And you can also UNCHECK the box to use "Optimal bandwidth use when computer is idle."  If you're sure both of those are correct, you can click ok and you are finished installing KaZaA.