Pando (application)

Pando was an application which was mainly aimed at sending (and receiving) files which would normally be too large to send via more "conventional" means. It used both peer-to-peer (BitTorrent protocol) and client-server architectures and was released for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.^[1]

Pando shut down its servers and ceased business on August 31, 2013.

As of February 24, 2014 the Pando Media Booster has been hijacked and unsuspecting persons who install a prompted update have their internet browsers hijacked and a virus called the "Sweet Page" browser virus is installed on their machine.^[2]

Details

Pando functioned as a normal BitTorrent client. Pando used the BitTorrent protocol to transfer files.

Using Pando was very similar to using any BitTorrent client. A Pando upload began with meta-data stored within a file with a .pando filename extension. Also like BitTorrent, this file could be sent via e-mail or published on a website or exchanged with the recipient in some other way (such as via IM). And, like BitTorrent, the downloader had to first install the Pando software.

Pando used a 256-bit end-to-end encryption^[3] method to secure communication among peers.

The primary difference with traditional BitTorrent file transfer operation was that a copy of the shared file was uploaded to Pando's servers^[4] and remained there for a limited time, seeding it. In this way, the file remained available even after the original sender goes offline.

Features

A non-subscription version is ad-supported (i.e. it offers to install the SmartShopper malware on the computers of its users).^[5][6][7][8] A subscription version extends the capabilities. Beyond the features listed below, there are additional service offerings for high-volume publishers and subscription content delivery^[9]

Its common features are:

• Server-assisted delivery provides increased file availability and delivery speeds (subscribers receive faster server-assisted speeds)
• 7 or 30 day file retention on Pando's servers, depending on how you share (14 or 60 days with subscription).
• Statistics about number and time of downloads are provided to the sender.
• Fully supported client software for both Windows and Mac OS X.
• An assortment of software to add on to popular web browsers, instant messaging or e-mail clients
• Unlimited number of uploads.
• 1 GB maximum file size (3 GB with subscription)

Pando Media Booster

Pando Media Booster (PMB) is an application by Pando Networks that is used by game and software publishers to ensure safe, complete and speedy downloads of large files. PMB is primarily used to download MMORPGs. Users of PMB participate in a secure, closed peer-to-peer network where users receive pieces of the download package from a Content Delivery Network (CDN) as well as other active users (peers). PMB is usually packaged and automatically uploaded to a PC without the knowledge of the user. Many times users experience drastically slower downloads of these MMORPGs while PMB is installed.^[10] Unlike Pando, PMB cannot be used to send files from the user's computer. PMB is only activated to deliver Pando-enabled downloads from commercial sources such as TV networks, software publishers and gaming companies.^[11]

Conflicts

Pando Media Booster (PMB.exe) listens on TCP ports 443 and 563. People having trouble getting web servers such as Apache, IIS, or others working should consider removing Pando Media Booster.

Pando Media Booster runs at startup and takes priority to other downloads. Slowness in downloading or general network performance issues may be related to this product.

See also

• DropSend

References

External links

• Official Website at the Wayback Machine (archived September 27, 2013) With notice of termination of services