How to Add eDonkey Servers & Serverlists to eMule

March 26, 2008 by sharky

Alongside with IP Filtering, selecting proper eDonkey servers is crucial to eMule security. Wherever possible, it is recommended to connect to Kademlia exclusively (see our article) without using servers. However, this is not possible for everyone, and in some cases a server must first be connected to in order to generate KAD client connections. Thus, eDonkey servers are still an integral part of eMule.

Using a good eD2k server (in addition to KAD) can add variety to the search results, especially when switching between them. While KAD generally brings about more search results (with more sources), requests are somewhat predictable and static. Specific eDonkey servers may help you find a particular rare item that otherwise wouldn’t be available through Kademlia.

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Using eMule Safely & Securely - IP Blocking

March 25, 2008 by sharky

Several experts have rated eDonkey as the second largest contributor to Internet-based piracy, behind BitTorrent. Currently, with over 4 million users worldwide at any given time sharing roughly 500 million files, few can question its success.

The eDonkey (eD2k) network has forever been an easy target and a brunt of punishment for anti-piracy organizations. Anti-P2P groups (MediaSentry and MediaDefender - to name just two) have flooded the network with bogus files, and filled the network with rogue users that share nothing but misery. They’ve even managed to shut down high-profile eDonkey servers from all corners of the globe, and set up their own ‘fake servers’ in an attempt to marginalize the filesharing.

As a counterattack, eMule users can incorporate two preventative measures - IP Blocking, and the use of known good eDonkey servers (serverlists). When combined, they provide a high level of protection against most threats.

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Connecting to Kademlia in eMule

March 23, 2008 by sharky

Kademlia (KAD or Kad) is a serverless network used primarily to index files shared by eMule clients. Clients can connect to the eDonkey network and use it to find sources for files, without the need for mediary intervention (in this case, “servers”) to track down and find files among connected peers.

The Kademlia Network & its Significance

Since KAD is a decentralized (DHT) network, eMule users don’t have to rely on the validity of eDonkey (eD2k) servers. Think of it as a ‘direct connection’ to other peers on the eDonkey network - without the (otherwise necessary) interaction of a centralized eDonkey server.

KAD is a viable implementation, for the reason that it nullifies the dependency upon eDonkey servers:

1.If a server is temporarily offline, closed or even shut down (purposely or forcibly), users can still search, find and download files from other KAD-connected peers (nodes). Not only does this increase search results from nodes spanning across all of the servers, but it also significantly heightens the number of sources for files. Residual benefits include higher download speeds and access to otherwise unfindable “rare” material.

2.“Bad” eDonkey / eD2k servers have no ill-effect to the KAD network (directly), thus there are fewer decoy and spoof files. It’s safe to say that anti-P2P agencies have a much more difficult time polluting the network as a whole.

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