Update: Grokster has created a Trojan-free installer as of January 1, 2002. If you installed a previous version of this program, fear you have a Trojan horse, or want more information, go to Symantec.

File-swappers familiar with KaZaA and Morpheus will instantly recognize Grokster, a peer-to-peer (P2P) application built on FastTrack technology. All three file-sharing programs look and function the same way, access the same network, and even encourage users to share their own music, movies, and other creations. But unlike KaZaA and Morpheus, Grokster plans to promote unsigned bands and independent artists.

Although it's willing to strike deals with record labels to promote major artists, Grokster's main goal is to help unsigned artists promote themselves. The company intends to prominently display information about unsigned artists on the home page of the Grokster client. At this point, all a band needs if it wants to get on Grokster is a hunger for exposure. Grokster expects no monetary compensation from unsigned bands, and wants to champion underground, independent, or otherwise obscure artists.

Just like KaZaA and Morpheus, Grokster connects to a serverless P2P network and gives access to a universe of media files, documents, and software. Grokster has not felt pressure from copyright holders, and does not plan on charging any type of fees "at this time." Links to shopping sites such as Amazon.co.uk as well as artist information from the likes of MTV and Sonicnet appear in the My Grokster view.

Grokster will be upgraded every few months. Video files are viewable through the embedded Windows Media Player. Files don't always download as fast as their download time specifies. And like most free file-sharing apps, Grokster will dump adware on your machine if you don't uncheck the box for the HotText plug-in before installing.

Grokster offers nothing KaZaA and Morpheus don't already offer. Assuming it doesn't start charging fees, Grokster is a nice contrast to major record companies' fast-approaching online music services. We give it four out of five stars.

Download report
We used these search terms with other Napster clones, such as BearShare. The purpose of this search is to get a feel for the availability of widely used search terms as well as more obscure bands and song titles. Note: Grokster allows 100 search results maximum, plus stragglers.

• 5:30 p.m. Pacific, 608,920 users online
• Apples in Stereo -- 68 MP3s
• Radiohead -- 110 MP3s
• Metallica: "Enter Sandman" -- 110 MP3s
• The Beatles: "Yellow Submarine" -- 109 MP3s
• Dr. Dre: "The Watcher" -- 96 MP3s