Security Filter

For help with viruses, see AvoidingMalware.

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This page has been updated on 2010-09-21 for the release of Shareaza v2.4.1.0+. Plz note that all features on this page are also available on any later version of Shareaza, however there have been issues with the RegEX filters on some versions, so you might be experiencing bugs if you do not upgrade to the latest version.

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Shareaza's Security Features

Shareaza combines many filtering techniques to ensure that you get the best search results possible. You can add, remove, and edit these filters using shareaza's built-in Security Management window by pressing [F7] or using the menu item View > Advanced > Security. For help using the security management window see the Security section of the Shareaza Manual.

IP Blocking

If you just want to quickly ban someone then you can right click on the user and select "ban" from the context menu that appears. This will place a temporary ban on that user's IP address and any traffic from that user in the near future will be blocked. Shareaza also allows you to ban a range of addresses by combining the user's IP address with a corresponding netmask. For example if you wanted to block all addresses starting with 123.456.789.* then you would create the IP filter 123.456.789.0 and use the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. For more information on how netmasks work see the Subnets article on Wikipedia.

Content Filtering

Shareaza also allows you to block certain search terms from your searches. For example, if you wanted to filter out all search results pertaining to imesh you could add the content filter "imesh" to hide results containing the word imesh. Shareaza also allows the use of regular expressions such as "*", "$", "?", or "[]". See AdvancedFiltering for more expressions and examples.

Hash Filtering

Many spammers will take one file and change its name to fit every search query they receive. For these results the most effective method of filtering is to block the file according to it's hash value. A content filter blocking the results with that hash can be created using the following format:

urn:sha1:FILEHASHFILEHASHFILEHASHFILEHASH

Information

Security Filters are precompiled databases of users who place fake, virus infected or otherwise low quality files on the network. They ban these users from ever communicating with your client. They also blocks fake and unwanted search results from appearing.

There are lots of different filters available, all of which have their different aims and good/bad points. If you go to the Shareaza Forums you can view them all and choose the ones you want.

All-In-One AntiSpam Filter

Some forum members have created an All-In-One AntiSpam Filter, which is currently the mostly used filter around the Shareaza community. It is updated in regular intervals.

By default this blocklist filters all ".wm", ".wma", ".wmv", ".mov", ".vbs", ".url", ".htm", and ".html" files as well as bad IP addresses, bad terms(as "shareazav4", "shareazav5", etc.), and bad hashes.
You need to be using Shareaza 2.4.0.0 or later in order to take full advantage of this filter so it is highly recommended that you upgrade to v2.4.0.0 or any later version.

Example: All-In-One AntiSpam Filter Installation

This demonstrates how to import a security filter into Shareaza using the All-In-One AntiSpam filter as an example. Note that it is not necessary to clear all security rules before importing new ones, however it is strongly advised to do so in the case of the All-In-One filter, as an increasing number of security rues tends to slow down Shareaza considerably.

Download the security filter with Shareaza using this magnet link. (Help: Magnet links)
Click the "Security Filters" link under "Customize Shareaza" on the home tab (or hit the [F7] key on your keyboard) to open the Security window.
Delete any existing filters:
1. Select the first item in the list.
2. Scroll to the end of the list using your mouse (keep the first item selected).
3. Hold down the [Shift] key and select the last item on the list. All items should now be highlighted.
4. Click the "Remove Rule" button on the toolbar (or hit the [del] key on your keyboard) and click "yes" when prompted if you want to remove all selected security rules.
Click the "Import List" button on the toolbar (or right-click anywhere inside the white area and select "import..." from the context menu).
Browse to your Shareaza download folder and select the file you just downloaded using the Magnet link above.