How the Patch Works

Have you ever wondered how the patch works, well you can earn about it here. Many times this idea was fought over, but in the end patching WinMX was the right thing to do.

Cache Server History:

The Frontcode Era:

As you can see the system was plain and simple enough, with the client contacting the cache index (actually a DNS server - Domain Name System)
and receiving the address of an actual peer cache that delivered visiting clients with ten Primary node/IP addresses
that could be connected to on the WPN, whilst allowing expansion and replacement of caches at the indexer level to avoid requiring a rewrite of the client.

This was the basic system employed by Frontcode/WinMX Technologies to allow clients to connect to the network,
the Cache Indexer being the critical piece that allowed them to add a list of different DNS names to regionalize the WinMX clients based on the clients own settings.
This would of course help bring more local clients together allowing for faster transfers and improved chances of obtaining the popular
types of file content in any particular region.

WinMX Group Era:

When the operators of WinMX.Com shut down their service they closed the Cache Index and this in a single instance made the entire system useless,
as no system was in place to allow clients to continue to join the network,
this situation changed when WinMXGroup developed a patch and made many further improvements such as fake file filtering and blocking,
this then became the patch of choice for many file sharers and used the system shown here.

WinMX Group Closure:

After nearly two years of operation WinMXGroup made the decision many had feared and closed their
Cache Indexer and Caches, this then led to yet another effort to pick up the pieces by the community.

The Future:

Having relied twice now on solutions that involved a weak point, the community has learned its lesson and deployed a more robust system
that is not under the control of a single individual nor hosted in the same place,
the solution deployed is now based on a new architecture and hopefully will be more enduring than its predecessors.

In this system all caches are pointed to by all indexing servers and as such can be expanded fairly easily in an emergency,
you will notice there are now 3 separately located and operated Cache Indexers, each can be queried in turn if one is not accessible for any reason, also each is capable of accessing many tens of caches.
We hope you will agree this is a superior system of connecting to the network and hopefully will be trouble free for the foreseeable future.

How the patch operates:

DIl Injection:

The patch works by using dll injection on the Winsock dll. So when it is present in the WinMX folder it will use it by default instead of the system's one. This was used to patch the RTF problem, and chat attack.

The patch basically is like a bridge, anything trying to cross the river needs to go over it, or in this case through it. It simply analyzes the data and adds changes, filters, and other useful functions done by itself.

Useful functions:

Connection Filtering:

This feature uses the WinMXWorld blocklist  to block the RIAA and other companies from flooding the network, and from connecting to you.

Search Result Filtering:

Removes all fake files from your searches so your downloads no longer fail.

UPNP Support:

The patch automatically forwards ports on your router if it supports this feature.

Credit: Thanks to WinMX world for providing helpful information & pictures.