Morpheus is the name of a file sharing and searching peer to peer client for Microsoft Windows, developed and
distributed by the company StreamCast, that originally used the OpenNAP protocol, but now supports many peer to peer protocols.
History
In 2000, Morpheus changed protocols, from OpenNAP to FastTrack. Morpheus was the most used P2P application of its time with over 4,500,000 users online
at any one time, Morpheus was also the most downloaded product on CNET Download.com and managed over 24,000,000 downloads in just
9 short days after March 10 2002.
On February 26 2002, all Morpheus clients suddenly stopped
working when the FastTrack protocol was updated and Morpheus users no longer were allowed to log into the network. This was
apparently because of a licensing dispute between StreamCast and the owners of FastTrack.
On March 2, 2003 a new, less-robust Morpheus client using the
Gnutella network and the networking core from the Gnucleus
servent was released. When challenged on their decision not to abide by the terms of the GPL,
under which Gnucleus had been released, Morpheus switched to a very outdated Jtella core, and after the disputes had been worked
out, Morpheus switched back to the Gnucleus core. Since then, the network core has been updated to include Gnutella2, and StreamCast has created their own network, 'NEOnet,' and has
included support for MLDonkey plugins, allowing access to EDonkey Network,
Overnet Network, and, once again, FastTrack.
In April 2003, Grokster and StreamCast (providers of the
Morpheus P2P software) obtained a ruling by a Los Angeles federal court judge,
Stephen Wilson, in its favor against the RIAA and the
motion picture industry which stated that their file swapping software was not illegal.
On August 20 2003, the decision was appealed.
On August 17, 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a
partial ruling supporting Grokster and StreamCast. This appeal presents the question of whether distributors of peer-to-peer
file-sharing computer networking software may be held contributorily or vicariously liable for copyright infringements by users.
"Under the circumstances presented by this case, we conclude that the defendants are not liable for contributory and vicarious
copyright infringement and affirm the district court's partial grant of summary judgment."
In December 2004, the Supreme
Court of the United States agreed to hear the case. Oral arguments began on 29 March
2005.
On June 4 2005, Streamcast Networks released a completely
redesigned Morpheus 5.0. Connecting to NEO Network, Gnutella & Gnutella2, and with its lack of bundled software, Morpheus
started to regain userbase.
On June 27 2005, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Morpheus and Grokster may be held accountable
when their users pirate music. (See also MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster,
Ltd.)
The latest version that supports unlimited downloads is 5.3.0. Versions after this are effectively restricted.
Download Restriction
Currently, Morpheus redirects a user attempting to download pirated music and movie files to a site with purchase links for
music.
Presence of Adware/Spyware
The current version of Morpheus, version 5.4.1 contains no adware or spyware; no additional software is bundled with Morpheus.
When Morpheus is open and running, the interface contains online ads that support the application.
During installation, an optional peer-to-peer Morpheus Toolbar is offered. Both the Morpheus application and the Morpheus
Toolbar are easily uninstalled with Windows Add/Remove Programs commands, however this is not the case with previous
versions.
The previous version of Morpheus, version 5.3 does not install adware or spyware to your computer, but it does install some Desktop shortcuts to adware websites and the Morpheus Toolbar
against your own will. The desktop shortcuts can be removed, however the toolbar cannot be removed via Windows Add/Remove
Programs.
Morpheus offers optional parental filters and allows easy use of your anti-virus software to prevent malicious files from
being downloaded. For $ 19.95, StreamCast offers Morpheus Ultra with no banner advertising.
External links
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