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How To Avoid Fake Files

#1 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 23 September 2005 - 11:13 AM

A Guide for Getting the Correct File.
Or: how to avoid fake files.

What is a “Fake”?
The problem with the term “Fake File” is that what you consider a fake might be the correct file to another user. For example: If you are downloading “The Video Guide for Installing a USB Key on Linux” which is a feature length video file and instead you find out you downloaded a home made film called “The Erotic Art of Nude Waffle Making” you would think “Hey it’s a fake!!!” But another user, who looked for a film about nude waffle making, would have downloaded the same file and would not consider it to be a fake. So it’s all in the name, I consider a file to be a potential “fake” if it has two different common names that describe different content (like in the example above).

Setting Up eMule to Avoid Fake Files Spreaders.
Fake files are often spreaded by companies that want to hurt your P2P experience (like RIAA, MPAA, MediaSentry etc.) or by users who try to spread viruses etc. The easiest way to spread these files are through fake servers so naturally the best ways to avoid them is to keep your serverlist clean of fake servers and to keep an updated IP filter.
Fake servers are servers that spread fake sources and false search results. To make sure you don't have fake servers in your server list delete all servers in the "Servers" tab (right click on any server and select remove all). Go to the "Server" section in the options screen and disable the "Update serverlist when connecting to a server" and "Update serverlist when a client connects" options. Set the number of failed retries to 10 and enable the "Auto-update serverlist at start up" option, click the "List..." button and in the text file that opens paste this link: http://peerates.net/servers.php. Save the text file and close it.
Now to setup the IP filter. An IP filter is a tool that blocks communication from a list of IP addresses. eMule has a built in IP filter it just needs the user to supply the list of IP's to block. Go to the "Security" section in the options screen, in the "IP Filter" enable the "Filter servers too" option and paste this link in the "Update from URL" box:http://upd.emule-sec...rg/ipfilter.zip. Then click on the "Load" button and let eMule download the updated IP address list. Try to remember to manually update the ipfilter weekly by clicking the "Load" button. Now all you have to do is restart eMule.

Avoiding Fakes in the Search Stage.
Generaly speaking there is a better chance a popular file is the correct file (As long as you have a clean server list). Sort the results by availability and if you reached the maximum results (300 if you are using global search) make your search term more specific. If you encounter search results with BOTH very high availability AND only 100% complete sources, those are definitely fakes.
Another way of getting more relevant results is using the search filters that are located at the right side of the search box. Use the Max/Min size filter to limit the size of the file you are looking for (since a single song can't be more then 50MB and a full length movie can't be less the 500MB). To use the “Complete Sources” and “Availability” Filters, set the “Complete Sources” to 1 and the “Availability” to 2 (These are minimum values) this way you will only get results for files which are complete (have no missing parts) and that are shared by more than one peer.
Once the client finish searching expand the first result (if possible) by clicking the “+” mark and check the filenames. If most of the filenames are the file you were searching for, start downloading the file. You can also see a "Ratings" icon next to some results. Read more about ratings here: Look at the bottom on the page.
Edit: If you are connected to KAD you can also search for comments on the file you are about to download by right clicking it, selecting "Comments..." from the context menu and clicking the "Search KAD" button.
Edit: If you encounter a search result that is definitely fake, right click on it as select "Mark as Spam".
Edit: There is an infestation of fake EXE, ZIP and RAR files that you will mostly encounter when using KAD search. There are a few ways to avoid them. The first is to use the "Type" option under the search box. If, for example, you are looking for a video file select "Video" in the "Type" drop menu, then you won't see these results. Another thing to do is to never download EXE files, ,most released programs are packed in a ZIP or a RAR. The third thing you can do is look at the file size, these fake files are usually too small to really be the content you are looking for - for example, if you are looking for a movie called "abc and d" and you see a result "abc and d.zip" with a size of 5MB you can be sure it's a fake.

Always check the length and bitrate with music and video files when searching. (Added by netfinity)
Althought inconsistencies in those fields doesn't neccessarily means the file is a fake, it is highly probable that it isn't what you were looking for. The absense of these fields for mp3's and avi's is a good warning that the file might be fake as other sources were not able to decode this information from the file. However if the number of complete sources is very few it might happen that this information has not been processed yet. It is a guess work but there is usually one file that appears less fake than the others.

length
When you download a you usually have an approximate knowledge about the actual playing time. By looking for this in the search window you can guess that an mp3 that is 15 minutes is probably fake aswell as a featured movie that is 5 minutes long.

bitrate
A mp3 file is normaly 128 kbit/s or greater and a divx (avi) is greater than 1000 kbit/s. If the file is not you can be quite sure it's either fake or of poor quality.

Avoiding Fakes in the Transfer Stage.
After you started downloading your file Go to the "Transfers" tab. Wait for eMule to connect to all the sources available for the file you just started downloding (takes from a few seconds to a couple of minutes usually) and then right click the file and select “Comments…”. Click the “Search Kad” button at the bottom of the comments screen and wait for a few seconds. If there are comments read them, they can reveal fake or damaged files. Also go to the “File Name” tab and recheck the file name to see if the most common names match the file you want to download. Don’t panic if you see that there is one or two other names for the file, they might be wrong.

Previewing Video Files.
You have to set up eMule to enable it to preview files with a video player that has a good support for playing partial files. The recommended player is VLC which you can get here VLC Download Page. After installing VLC you have to go to eMule’s Options screen, next go to the Files section and under video player browse for the vlc.exe executable (usually it's under C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC), then uncheck the “Create Backup to Preview” option. I also recommend you check the “Try to Download Preview Chunks First” option. Once eMule is set up in that way you can preview any video file you download before you finish downloading it, you will have to wait until eMule downloads the first and last chunk of the file. Once eMule downloads these chunks the “Preview” option will be available (un-grayed) under the context menu of the downloading file in the "Transfers" section.
More information on previewing files can be found on the official documentation here: Preview Multimedia Files

Recognizing Strange Download behavior.
There are files on the network that were created to fool users. These are true fake files since they are usually files full of binary zeros. These files respond to eMule's built in compression in a very strange way, you will see the file either transferring unusually fast (sometimes at speeds higher than your limit) or you will see the file transferring at a normal speed but the progress bar will get full very fast. If you see one of these things happen to one of your files this file is most likely a fake.

Reporting Fake Files
Some users, after discovering a fake file, comment it as a fake and keep sharing it to warn other people who try to download it. If you choose to do that remember to set the file upload priority to Very Low (in "Shared Files" tab>right click the file>priority>Very Low), that way your comment is shared but there is a lower chance you actually upload the fake file to someone. In order to add your comment to the file go to the shared files section, right click it and select "comments…".

Edit: Another good guide by xnorf

That’s about it, happy downloading :)

This post has been edited by niRRity: 14 October 2012 - 06:49 AM

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#2 User is offline   qm2003 

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Posted 23 September 2005 - 11:28 AM

:goodpost:

I vote for making it a sticky in the help & guides forum.
How to setup Emule. A small checklist | Schmu's MuleDoc
P2P is not piracy, it's marketing.
In fact, if your music or movie is NOT being downloaded, you should be WORRIED !
If you can't even give it away for free, how do you expect to sell it, stupid ?


I'm a bloodsucking fiend. Look at my outfit !
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#3 User is offline   jestheonlyone 

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Posted 23 September 2005 - 12:20 PM

hi

Another way to check for fakes is using the donkeyFakes webservice.
here is a small program that can be used to easily configure webservices

Quote

if you reached the maximum results (300 if you are using global search)
Just a small technical correction (that does not change anything to the rest of your post, but understanding this is essential when searching for rare files):

Only the server search is limited to a given number of results (usually 300, but it may be 400, 200 or even 50 on some servers).

global search works differently: each server in your list is searched, one after the other, starting with the server you're connected to.
The search stops as soon as, after a server replies, the total number of sources (not of results) exceeds 100.

This post has been edited by jestheonlyone: 19 April 2006 - 11:51 AM

my latest favorite jamendo album (Creative Commons license): CraZyH et Djézinho - Prémis N'1
Could be considered as the male counterpart to zap mama. It's really worth a try, even if you hate hip-hop...
Jamendo tags = beatbox electro ethnique experimental hiphop lounge percussions ragga rap reggae scat soft triphop world


--------------------------------------------------------

Pris pour des vaches à lait par les industries du disque... Maintenant boycottons-les!!!
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#4 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 24 September 2005 - 08:56 AM

@jestheonlyone: Thanks for the info.

@qm2003: Thanks :)
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#5 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 11 October 2005 - 05:44 PM

Edited one of the sections.
Oh and, BUMP...
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#6 User is offline   s01o 

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Posted 11 October 2005 - 06:21 PM

2 niRRity:
just now I was arguing with a friend about the fake files. I was really surprised to find this post:) it was fate, that led me here:) good post :thumbup:
thanx :respect:
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#7 User is offline   xnorf 

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Posted 11 October 2005 - 06:39 PM

Have you checked the "Quick help & guides" lately? :-k
Or my sig?
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#8 User is offline   s01o 

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Posted 11 October 2005 - 07:42 PM

xnorf, on Oct 11 2005, 09:39 PM, said:

Have you checked the "Quick help & guides" lately? :-k
Or my sig?
View Post

woot woot :xshocked: that's right, your sig :woot: where were my eyes :ph34r:
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#9 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 12 October 2005 - 08:43 AM

@xnorf: I added a link to your guide in my guide. How did I miss it?! I looked in the "quick help and guides" section if there is a fake detection guide before writing mine and somehow I missed it...

@s01o: Thanks, glad I could help.

This post has been edited by niRRity: 12 October 2005 - 08:44 AM

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#10 User is offline   Rekrul 

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Posted 19 October 2005 - 02:51 PM

jestheonlyone, on Sep 23 2005, 08:20 AM, said:

Just a small technical correction (that does not change anything to the rest of your post, but understanding this is essential when searching for rare files):

Only the server search is limited to a given number of results (usually 300, but it may be 400, 200 or even 50 on some servers).

global search works differently: each server in your list is searched, one after the other, starting with the server you're connected to.
The search stops as soon as, after a server replies, the total number of sources (not of results) exceeds 100.
View Post


I'm still using 44b because a later version gave me trouble and after that I never bothered to upgrade, and I always use the Global server search. I just searched for audio files containing "britney" and got 297 results, the sources for which must add up to well over 300-400. Picking just two of the largest, it lists 61 complete sources for one and 82 complete sources for the other, which is 143 sources total. There are many more.

Is this 100 sources limitation something that was added to newer versions of eMule, or am I missing something?
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#11 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 19 November 2005 - 05:12 PM

after re-reading his post I realise I didn't really understand what jestheonlyone was trying to say. If global search stops once you reach 100 sources how come most of the global searches return about 300 results. That makes no sense... I assume we both misunderstood jestheonlyone post.

Anyway, as jestheonlyone wrote, this is not really crucial for understanding the guide.
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#12 User is offline   niclights 

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Posted 19 November 2005 - 07:09 PM

I think he was saying that, when using Global, if a server finds a match with more than 100 sources (or sources total?) then it stops the search? I was not aware of this.
This was not related to the number of search results.
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#13 User is offline   Valentina 

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Posted 21 November 2005 - 10:20 AM

Hello,

:) I am helping to create a glossary thread for newbies, would you mind if I transfer your definition of Fake files into it?

It is in the new user help section...
:worthy:

thanks.
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#14 User is offline   s01o 

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Post icon  Posted 21 November 2005 - 11:06 AM

niclights, on Nov 19 2005, 10:09 PM, said:

I think he was saying that, when using Global, if a server finds a match with more than 100 sources (or sources total?) then it stops the search?
View Post

:huh:
strange, never would have noticed that one... are you, guys, sure about it?
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#15 User is offline   niRRity 

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Posted 23 November 2005 - 08:15 AM

@Valentina: I don't mind you quoting me :+1:

@s01o: I'm absolutly not sure he is right. Thats why I haven't change the guide.
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#16 User is offline   tijnenzo 

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Posted 30 November 2005 - 04:09 PM

Thanks niRRity, very clear guide :+1:

And yes make it a sticky :clap:
“Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.”

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#17 User is offline   bandit224 

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Posted 01 December 2005 - 08:25 AM

Newbish question :( Anyways, I downloaded the fakes.rar, but inside it only has a .dat file, and I don't know what to do with it. I tried putting it into the config folder, but nothing seems to be happening yet (I haven't restarted e-mule yet).
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#18 User is offline   tijnenzo 

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Posted 01 December 2005 - 08:47 AM

Excuse me this is a GUIDE? :-k

You tried to put a fake file into config folder :huh:

Tried the SEARCH function already?
“Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.”

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#19 User is offline   s01o 

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Posted 01 December 2005 - 11:28 AM

bandit224, on Dec 1 2005, 11:25 AM, said:

I downloaded the fakes.rar, but inside it only has a .dat file, and I don't know what to do with it.
View Post

:confused:
what's that fakes.rar, you're talking about? where did you get it? what for? read the guides: xnorf's and this one. everything is explained - how to avoid and deal with fakes.
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#20 User is offline   bounty vb 

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Posted 01 December 2005 - 11:58 AM

s01o, on Dec 1 2005, 12:28 PM, said:

:confused:
what's that fakes.rar, you're talking about? where did you get it? what for? read the guides: xnorf's and this one. everything is explained - how to avoid and deal with fakes.
View Post


fakes.rar holds the fakes.dat.

which is available on donkeyfakes.net (if i remember correctly)
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