In light of the growing MP3 market, Kazaa got its start as a simple peer to peer network for file sharing purposes. Mainly, MP3 files were swapped using this free Kazaa download. As its popularity grew, so did the types of files that were being swapped. Using the Fast Track network protocol, this application soon started getting its share of detractors because Kazaa was bundled with adware, which the company claimed helped pay for its free release.

Of course, heading into the mid 2000’s, Kazaa started getting into the same copyright trouble as many other peer to peer networks allowing the download of songs. When downloading and installing free Kazaa, there were no apparent restrictions or warnings about copyrights. People were taking advantage of the free Kazaa memberships and downloading as much as they wanted.

Unfortunately, the owners of Kazaa finally were handed a judgment against them to cease and desist downloads until they could modify their application to prevent the copyrighted material from being “stolen.” It took some time, but Kazaa modified their operations and created Kazaa Gold a “pay to download” music site. You actually pay a nominal membership fee and then you could download as many free Kazaa gold songs that you want.

Of course, you can still download the latest original version of Kazaa. It’s still free and has plenty of bells and whistles attached to it. Of course, the free Kazaa also still has the malware or advertising bundles attached to it. Unless you are a real tech head and can figure out how to download it without all the “extras” that this malware brings, you might want to try a search for free Kazaa Lite. While not a true modification of Kazaa, it is very similar and uses the same Fast Track network protocol. Only with Kazaa Lite, download is free and you don’t get the bundled advertising that goes with it.

Eventually, downloads of Kazaa Light stopped once modifications stopped continuing. However, it has morphed, thanks to other developers, into other versions of Kazaa Lite as well as something called Kazaa Lite Resurrection. While traffic has dropped considerably on these particular networks, people still use it. You can probably even find it for download on certain websites and it might come in different languages with Kazaa Lite in English being the most popular of course.

So while Kazaa is still up and running, it is not enjoying the same popularity as its early days. Some attribute it to the copyright lawsuits and other attributes it to the malware that is always bundled with the free versions.