Editing Shareaza (section)

== History ==
[[File:Shareaza.png|thumb|140px|Logo of Shareaza version 1]]
In mid-2002 Stokes released the first version of a [[gnutella]] client he had written and dubbed "Shareaza". It was from the beginning a client with the aim of having features other gnutella clients did not have.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} Over the next two years Stokes coded in support for the [[eDonkey 2000 network]], [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]] and a rewritten gnutella-based protocol which he named [[Gnutella2]].

On June 1, 2004 Stokes released the Shareaza source code under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]] license (which coincided with the release of Shareaza version 2.0). Shareaza joined [[LimeWire]], [[Gnucleus]], and others as an open-source client on the Gnutella network.

Since the beginning Shareaza was advertised as "completely free. No ads, no spyware, no guilting you to upgrade to a commercial version", stating that the developers "[couldn't] stand that kind of crap."<ref name="Shareaza_archive">{{cite web| url=http://www.shareaza.com/copyright.aspx | title=Shareaza| publisher=Shareaza Development Group| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020628021209/http://www.shareaza.com/copyright.aspx | archive-date=2002-06-28| access-date = 2008-07-19}}</ref> It has remained as such in each subsequent release.

From the first version Shareaza has supported swarming, [[metadata]], library management, and automatic [[Hash function|file hashing]].<ref name="Shareaza_archive" />

=== Domain takeover ===
On 19 December 2007 the project's [[domain name]], shareaza.com, was [[domain redirection|redirected]] to a site claiming to be "The Official Home of Shareaza", promoting the download of a client known as Shareaza V4 (which had become V6 in October 2009, V7 in August 2010, and V8 {{As of|2011|11|alt=in November 2011}}) unrelated to releases by the Shareaza development team,<ref>{{cite web | title = TorrentFreak - Shareaza.com Hijacked and Turned Into a Scam Site | url = http://torrentfreak.com/shareazacom-hijacked-and-turned-into-a-scam-site-071224/ | access-date = 2007-12-24 | archive-date = 2009-08-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090822044524/http://torrentfreak.com/shareazacom-hijacked-and-turned-into-a-scam-site-071224/ | url-status = live }}</ref> an [[iMesh]] clone with only small graphical modifications, and using Shareaza v1 logo. The domain owner Jon Nilson was forced to sell it as a part of a settlement with ''La Societe Des Producteurs De Phonogrammes En France''.<ref>{{cite web | title = TorrentFreak - The Shareaza Conspiracy In a Nutshell | url = http://torrentfreak.com/the-shareaza-conspiracy-in-a-nutshell-080313/ | access-date = 2012-01-05 | archive-date = 2012-07-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120727071306/http://torrentfreak.com/the-shareaza-conspiracy-in-a-nutshell-080313/ | url-status = live }}</ref> This client is a network interface for a centralised music shop by Discordia Ltd. and does not connect to any open P2P network such as [[Gnutella]], [[Gnutella2|G2]], [[eDonkey network|eDonkey]] or [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]]. Content is limited to the [[Digital rights management|DRM]]-protected music that can be bought in Discordia's online music store; Discordia is a company based in [[Cyprus]], closely related to the [[RIAA]] and unrelated to the Shareaza development team. In response the Shareaza development team moved their website to [[SourceForge]].

Versions prior to 2.3.1.0 of the original Shareaza connected to www.shareaza.com to check for software updates. From 1 January 2008 the new owner of the domain shareaza.com, Discordia Ltd.  used this update check mechanism to suggest to users that ShareazaV4 (and later ShareazaV5, V6, and V7) was an update to the original Shareaza client. Since version 2.3.1.0,<ref>{{cite web | title = Heise-Security - Hostile takeover of Shareaza | url = http://www.heise-online.co.uk/security/Hostile-takeover-of-Shareaza--/news/101548 | access-date = 2008-02-09 | archive-date = 2008-10-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081015160002/http://www.heise-online.co.uk/security/Hostile-takeover-of-Shareaza--/news/101548 | url-status = live }}; {{cite web | title = Secunia - Shareaza Updates Notifications Security Issue | url = http://secunia.com/advisories/28302/ | access-date = 2008-01-14 | archive-date = 2009-09-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090907050010/http://secunia.com/advisories/28302/ | url-status = live }}</ref> released on 3 January 2008, the original Shareaza has linked to the Shareaza pages at sourceforge.net.

=== Trademark registration by iMesh===
On January 10, 2008, the new owners of Shareaza.com, Discordia Ltd ([[iMesh]] Inc.), filed for trademark registration of the Shareaza name in an attempt to stop the original developers from using the name, claiming that the first-ever use was on December 17, 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77368229 | title = Latest Status Info | publisher = [[US Patent and Trademark Office]] | access-date = 2008-04-29 | archive-date = 2008-05-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509191704/http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77368229 | url-status = live }}</ref>  The Shareaza Development Team obtained legal representation to challenge the registration and a legal defense fund was set up.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://torrentfreak.com/shareaza-strikes-back-at-scammers-were-fighting-back-080510/ | title = Shareaza Stands Up To Scammers: "We're fighting back!" | publisher = [[TorrentFreak]] | access-date = 2008-09-07 | archive-date = 2008-09-09 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080909065649/http://torrentfreak.com/shareaza-strikes-back-at-scammers-were-fighting-back-080510/ | url-status = live }}</ref> The development team appointed William Erwin to handle the donations; it was stated that he had been paid by iMesh to sabotage the defense, and that he had stolen the money donated. The trademark was awarded to iMesh after the development team had given up defending the trademark.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1044&p=7014 | title = What happened to the legal defense for the trademark? - Shareaza discussion at sourceforge | access-date = 2012-01-05 | archive-date = 2017-04-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170408171559/http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1044&p=7014 | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== Version history ===
Release notes for all versions from 2.0.0.0 are linked from the Sharaza ChangeLog page.<ref name=changelogs/>

'''v2.3.1.0'''<br />
Version 2.3.1.0 is the last stable version of Shareaza that supports Windows 9x.<ref name="win9x">{{Cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?release_id=565250&group_id=110672 |title=SourceForge.net: Comment on File: Shareaza v2.3.1.0 |access-date=2008-01-01 |archive-date=2009-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705063208/http://sourceforge.net/project/shownotes.php?group_id=110672&release_id=565250 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="v2.4.0.0">{{cite web | url = http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/ | title = Shareaza - Bringing P2P Together | publisher = Shareaza Development Team | access-date = 2008-10-03 | archive-date = 2010-10-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101007130142/http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/ | url-status = live }}</ref> It followed 2 days after the new owners of the project domain exploited the updating mechanism to emit a false update message to trick users into installing their fake Shareaza V4 client and contained a fix for this issue.

'''v2.4.0.0'''<br />
Version 2.4.0.0 of Shareaza was released on October 1, 2008, with many [[bug fix]]es and major changes to provide better stability of the client. It was the first stable release to include [[IRC]] support. Furthermore, major changes to the [[BitTorrent (protocol)|torrent]] handling mechanism were made and [[Windows 98]]/[[Windows Me|Me]] support was discontinued<ref name="v2.4.0.0" /> (the last version working on Windows 9x is 2.3.1.0).<ref name="win9x" />

When v2.4 was released the roadmap for the next version (2.4.1.0, a v2.5 release candidate) was set for release around October 1, 2009, to be followed by 2.5.0.0 a month later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/shareaza/roadmap |title=Shareaza - Roadmap - Mileston 2.5.0.0|access-date=2009-06-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616135332/http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/shareaza/roadmap |archive-date=2009-06-16 }}</ref>

'''v2.5.x.0'''<br />
Version 2.5.0.0 of Shareaza was released on October 31, 2009. It was significantly more stable and less resource-consuming than earlier versions, and further improved [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]] support, such as by selective downloading of files contained in batch torrents and download prioritization. There were also updates to the [[Gnutella]] and [[eDonkey network|eD2k]] implementation, such as extended support for GGEP, large files and chat. The [[IRC]] implementation of v2.4.0.0 was reworked to free it of the bugs that made it partially unusable in the previous version. Download manager capabilities were extended, [[Internet Explorer]] integration added, and ''BugTrap'' included to speed up and simplify reporting crashes.

Version 2.5.1.0 of Shareaza was released on December 1, 2009. It was significantly more stable and more functional than its predecessor due to fixed bugs. It improved usability and compatibility of BitTorrent according to most popular service suggestions. It made use of and required the [[Streaming SIMD Extensions|SSE]] instruction set, and thus required at least a [[Intel Pentium III|Pentium-III]] or an [[AMD Athlon XP|Athlon-XP]] processor.

Version 2.5.2.0 of Shareaza was released on February 6, 2010. It brought further improvements on stability. This and later versions were available optionally either as an SSE or non-SSE build to allow the use of older processors, unlike the SSE-only version 2.5.1.0. For this and later releases the SSE-optimized build uses [[SSE2]] and requires at least a [[Pentium 4]] or [[AMD Athlon 64]].

Shareaza v2.5.3.0, released on June 13, 2010, focused on internal changes and optimizations; the only significant addition was a [[Scheduling (computing)|scheduler]] that allows full control over what the application does at a given time while running unattended.

Shareaza v2.5.4.0, released on February 12, 2011, improved [[UPnP]] support and added limited [[DC++]] support. [[μTorrent]]-compatible [[peer exchange]] and tracker exchange for [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]] were also added. It fixed remaining IRC chat bugs and a lot of rather uncommon/rarely seen crashes.<ref name=changelogs/>

Shareaza v2.5.5.0, released on May 29, 2011, further improved [[UPnP]] support and included [[DC++]] and [[Gnutella]] updates, enhanced anti-spam protection during searches, and multi-file download merging.

;V2.6.0.0
V2.6.0.0 was released on 3 June 2012, adding support for [[Mainline DHT|BitTorrent (Mainline) DHT]] and UDP trackers as well as containing interface optimizations for Windows 7.

;V2.7.x.x
Shareaza 2.7.0.0 was made available on 31 August 2013, with a great many bugfixes.<ref name=changelogs/> It contained major improvements to the BitTorrent support, eDonkey uploading and the built-in media player.<ref name=changelogs/> It was followed by further V2.7.x.x releases.<ref name=changelogs>{{cite web |url=http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/index.php/ChangeLog |title=ChangeLogs - Shareaza Wiki |website=Shareaza.sourceforge.net |access-date=6 July 2019 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326030217/http://shareaza.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/index.php/ChangeLog |url-status=live }}</ref>