Step-by-Step eMule Setup

[barracute]

ah just done some checks and realised the problem was i hadn't got the path set correct in Emule, now i have got it typed in correctly the preview works on both! Thanks

FANTASTIC!!! I am so glad you figured it out!! I just finished typing a response where I admitted that I was befuddled, but was guessing that might be the problem. Out of curiosity, did you have to edit the Preferences.ini file? Or was that NOT part of the solution?

It is great to be able to Preview a file and see if you actually want to continue trying to download it if you find that it is taking a LONG time.

no didn't have to do anything else just changed the video player command - if only i had known how easy it was lol

[jasifrank]

Using eMule in 2022
*For images to load please sign in.

First of all, I highly, highly recommend using a paid VPN. Not only will it prevent your ISP from seeing what you do online, it also makes port forwarding incredibly easy. No messing with routers. For this guide a VPN is required. Optional steps are hidden by a spoiler.

The most important thing when it comes to choosing a VPN is trust. If you don't trust your VPN then stop using them. For me personally, and for many, Mullvad is currently the most transparent and trustworthy VPN service. It costs 5 euro p/m and makes port forwarding incredibly easy. If you're looking for something a little cheaper, AirVPN often has sales with the biggest one happening around black Friday.

*Important*
Depending on how paranoid you are, you may want to pay for your VPN via cryptocurrency. If you're going to do that, use Monero. If all you have is Bitcoin or some other currency, it's easy to convert it to Monero. I won't explain this more than that since this is about eMule, not the banking system, but it's worth mentioning.

Once you've got your VPN ready, let's start setting up everything!

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|Step 1. Configuring your VPN|
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VPNs are known to be slow, but over the past few years this has changed. There are many different VPN technologies, each with their own pros and cons, but the newest VPN technology is Wireguard. Wireguard is incredibly fast in comparison to OpenVPN, so always make sure you're using it! It has very little overhead, meaning you wont notice much of a drop in speed if at all.

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|Step 2. Opening your ports|
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The setup will be different depending on your VPN provider, I'll explain how to forward ports for both Mullvad and AirVPN, since these are the two I feel comfortable recommending. If you're using a different VPN they'll likely have a guide on their website, if they support port forwarding that is.

Mullvad \
There's a short video on Reddit that perfectly shows how easy it is to forward your ports. You can view it here; https://reddit.com/rufv7u
OR you can view it via a private Reddit frontend here; https://libredd.it/rufv7u

AirVPN \
First, head to the AirVPN website and pop into the Client Area, find the "Ports" area and click "Manage". In here you'll want to click on the "Request a new port" button, leave the text field bellow it blank unless you know what you're doing. Take note of the port in a text editor, we'll come back to it soon.

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|Step 3. Setting up "eMule" |
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Before setting anything up, I'd like to mention a few things about different clients. Currently the main two are aMule and eMule. While I personally prefer aMule as I'm a Linux user, it's currently broken. Downloads freeze after downloading 15MB~ and remain in queue for minutes to hours. At the time of writing, do NOT use aMule. Once aMule is fixed I'll remove this notice. As a workaround for Linux users, I've created an extra step on how to get eMule working just like it does on native Windows, it's actually rather easy, if you aren't very technical then follow the steps to a tee.
If you're a Mac user and have a working Mule setup, please let me know what it is so I can add it in here.

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|Step 3.1 Windows Setup |
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Head over to the eMule download page (https://github.com/irwir/eMule/releases/) and download either the file eMule0.60d-Installer.exe if you're using a 32-bit computer, or eMule0.60d-Installer64.exe if you're using a 64-bit one. If you don't know what your computer is using, choose the 64-bit download, if it fails, retry with the 32-bit one. If you're reading this in the future, long after it was originally posted, the files may be named something like "eMule0.70c-Installer64.exe" - that's fine, just means it was updated since the time of writing.

Go ahead and install it, leave all the options as default and continue clicking next until it's finished.

For the next few steps I've included images in case you get stuck!

When you first launch eMule you'll be greeted with a setup wizzard, I'll walk you through it.
Click Next on the first slide.
[Image]

Here you can change your nickname, if you'd like to be a little lowkey you can leave your nick as the default, but if you'd like to let yourself be known feel free to change it, just don't make it something personal like your real name or email. Add in an [FLM] to show other uses where you came from. If you'd like you can start eMule when Windows starts, I recommend enabling this since it means you'll always be giving back to the network, but feel free to leave it off.
Click Next.
[Image]

On this part we'll put in our port number from earlier, click on "Test Ports" - if it fails, that's fine, just make sure to check the firewall step later on!
Click next.
[Image]

Leave all the options on this part as default, just click Next.
[Image]

Again, leave this as default and click Next.
[Image]

Click Next... :
[Image]

Click Finish. eMule is now set up!! But we've got one last thing to do - add some servers for us to connect to.
[Image]

in eMule, go ahead and click on the "Servers" icon, third from the left at the very top. It's got a donkey beside a server. On the right side of the eMule app you'll find some text that says "Update server.met from URL", go ahead and paste this link in the text field right under it and then click "Update." http://upd.emule-security.org/server.met
This will add a handful of great servers easily!
[Image]

Let's repeat this, but this time click on the "Kad" icon beside the "Servers" icon.
On the right side of the app you'll find text that says "Nodes.dat from URL", paste this link into the text box right under it and hit "Bootstrap". http://upd.emule-security.org/nodes.dat
[Image]

Now for the very last step, adding in an IP filter. Click on the orange cog icon named "Options" and click onto the "Security" tab. Once you're there, find the text saying "Update from URL: (filter.dat- or PeerGuardian-format)"
Paste this link into the text box right under it and then hit "Load"
http://upd.emule-security.org/ipfilter.zip
[Image]

At this point, eMule is completely up and running! Now all you need to do is hit the lightning bolt at the top left and connect to the network!

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|Step 3.2 Setting up eMule on Linux (Optional) |
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Spoiler: In the future when aMule is working again I recommend you switch to it, but for now, let's get eMule working through WINE. To do this, we're going to need to have flatpak installed and setup, if you already have it installed skip this step, if you aren't sure you have it or not run "flatpak list" in a terminal - if you get output then you have it. The reason why I'm recommending using flatpak is that it will create a sandbox for all your Windows apps, increasing security and making them much easier to manage and uninstall. Using your distros package manager, install flatpak. On Debian/Ubuntu the command will be "sudo apt install flatpak", for Manjaro it'll be "sudo pacman -S flatpak" and for Alpine it should be "doas apk add flatpak". Once installed, run this command to connect it to Flathub; Code: Select all flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo That's it - fully installed! Note that, if you're using a Hardened Kernel on Arch for example, you'll need to enable unprivileged user namespaces in order to launch Flatpak apps. To do this, issue this command in your terminal; Code: Select all sudo chmod u+s /usr/bin/bwrap **A reboot may be required after installing Flatpak** Now, install the app "Bottles" via this command; Code: Select all flatpak install flathub com.usebottles.bottles Now that it's installed, let's run it by either launching it from our apps list, or via a command if you'd like to see all the things it's doing, the app currently doesn't have loading bars but they show up in the terminal if you launch it this way; Code: Select all flatpak run com.usebottles.bottles It'll download some things, so be patient. Once it's done, go ahead and click "Create a new Bottle", choose an "Application" bottle and name it something like "Donkey", it'll install and configure some things, which may take a while. Once created, click on your newly added bottle. You'll start out in the "Details & Utilities" tab, while you're here, click on "Utilities", a drop down will come out, click on "Browse C:" - this will open your Windows directory where all your Windows files will be. Bottles isolates Windows into it's own area, so no app you run through it can see your real files - only what's in this C: drive. This can be a little inconvenient though, as you need to move whatever exe you're trying to run in here. Here in the C: drive, create a new folder named "donkey", head into it. Now, download eMule from here; https://github.com/irwir/eMule/releases (Choose the file ending with 64) Once downloaded, cut/copy paste it into your newly made donkey folder. Back to Bottles, head into the "Programs" tab and click the + button in the top right, from here, navigate to your "donkey" folder and add the eMule exe. Annoyingly, when you click this + button it doesn't bring you to your C: drive, so you'll have to navigate there. It should be in Code: Select all /home/YOURUSERNAME/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/Donkey/drive_c/donkey/ Go ahead and launch the newly added eMule setup exe. Check the Windows setup for images and a guide, TLDR; smash the next button. Once installed, click that + button to add another program, this time navigate to; Code: Select all /home/YOURUSERNAME/.var/app/com.usebottles.bottles/data/bottles/bottles/donkey/drive_c/Program Files/eMule Once in this folder, add the "emule.exe" file. Now just launch that and eMule should be working!! Head back to the previous step for Windows users - it's an identical setup for Linux, however, automatic link handling probably wont work. To workaround this, once you've finished setting up eMule, head over to the "Options" menu, which is an orange cog, third from the top right. Go into the "Files" tab and find the option that says "Watch clipboard for ED2K file links". From now on, when you copy an ED2K link eMule will detect it and ask you if you'd like to add it. You can copy dozens of links at a time and it'll add all of them, pretty handy. If you get stuck, confused or anything else don't be afraid to ask for help here. I can also add images if the process is too confusing.

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|Step 4. Adding a killswitch (To prevent traffic leakage to your ISP, Optional) |
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Spoiler: *Note; this may or may not work with port forwarding, if anyone tests this please let me know how it went. While not everyone cares about leaking their traffic, for those that do, here's a way. Note that this only works with Mullvad and will add a slight speed penalty. Mullvad offers a SOCKS5 proxy for all of its servers - if you don't know what that means, it basically routes your Mullvad traffic a second time, to another server. What has this got to do with leakage? Well, it only works when you're connected to Mullvad, so if you aren't, the proxy wont work, and eMule won't be able to connect to the internet. Head to the "Proxy" tab and check "Enable Proxy", set the "Proxy type" to SOCKS5. Now head over to the Mullvad website and click its "Servers" tab (or mullvad.net/en/servers) From here, untick the boxes "OpenVPN" and "Bridge". Choose the server you'd like your connection to be routed to (choose one close to your VPN server location for optimal performance) and click on it, a drop down menu will unfold, copy the "SOCKS5 PROXY ADDRESS" and paste it into the "Proxy host" text field in eMule, delete this part from the address ":1080". In the "Proxy port" field input 1080. That's it, done! A neat fallback mechanism. It's worth noting that, since your connection is being routed a second time, a speed penalty will happen, I'm not sure how big it will be, but it probably wont be noticeable since eMule isn't the fastest thing around. :p

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|Step 5. If you're behind a firewall (Optional) |
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Spoiler: For Linux users, I'm assuming you know what you're doing. Most distros have a firewall app nowadays, should be simple enough to navigate through that and configure what you need. Common apps are Ufw, Yast and Firewalld. If you don't have a firewall app, consider installing one. For Windows users, if you're using Windows Firewall head to your control panel, then click on "Windows Firewall", or something to that extent. There should be an "Exceptions" tab, enter a name for the exception, "eMule" for example, then type in your port number. Do this for both TCP and UDP. If I got this wrong please correct me! If you're using your own firewall, I'll assume you know what you're doing. If you're using an antivirus (hot take alert) uninstall it - antiviruses suck, they're terrible for privacy and often WORSEN security. Windows Defender isn't as bad as people think it is, I recommend you use it instead. And of course, don't install or click on suspicious things, your mind is the greatest antiviruses money can buy. If you've got a file or movie you think could be dangerous, scan it with Virus Total online.

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|Step 6. ??? |
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Everything should be working now, so go like some posts and SHARE them too!! This website wouldn't exist if people didn't share - it's the most important thing to do and the biggest way to give back. If you run into any issues, have any edits to suggest for the guide or anything else, please let me know!

Thank you FLM community <3
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| Extra: FAQ |
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Spoiler: Click the spoiler button to view the answers. I don't have a VPN or my VPN provider doesn't provide port forwarding - can I still use eMule? Spoiler: Yes! You can use eMule even without port forwarding, however your speeds will be slower. In certain cases, some files won't be availble to you. I don't use a VPN and would like to port forward from my router, how can I do that? Spoiler: Follow Phuzzys original guide if you'd like to do this. My antivirus is interfering with eMule/port forwarding and I don't want to switch to Windows Defender. Spoiler: The best thing to do would be to look up a specific guide for the antivirus you use. If you're using Kaspersky, look up "How to port forward Kaspersky" for example. There's simply too many antiviruses out there to create a good guide for them all. How can I make eMule connect automatically when I start the app? Spoiler: Click on the orange cog in eMule labeled "Options", select the "Connections" tab and look for the text "Autoconnect on startup" - there's a box right beside it, just tick that and hit apply. The port I use to port forward changed, how can I switch the port eMule uses? Spoiler: Click on the orange cog in eMule labeled "Options", select the "Connections" tab and look for the text "Client Port". Here you change change both the TCP and UDP ports, once you're done click on apply. Can I use eMule on a phone? Spoiler: An Android client does exist named "Mule", however it seems to have a lot of restrictions. If you've only got access to a mobile device it's certainly better than nothing. Mule is available as a direct APK download from github, or on the Google Play Store Github; https://github.com/a-pavlov/jed2k/releases/tag/3.3 Google Play; https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... .dkf.jmule I noticed an error or important omission from the guide. Spoiler: Please let me know! I'm no expert and would appreciate feedback. ^w^

thx, you helped very much; explained in detail, it is enough to do step by step; and it needs not so much time, as i expected, the whole process of installing emule took, I don't know, half an hour, maybe less; something like that, because I don't speak perfect english; but it worked immediately; nice; and the download is going, depending on how old the files are, or how popular they are; thank you again;

[Maxxx]

I have questions please:

• When I click on an emule link it opens a new emule window - how to stop this so it adds the download to the already running window?

• What is an emule forum for mainstream releases? At the moment I simply use date 2023 and release group name such as ion10, proper
  rarbg etc.

• Is there a simple way to get HighID?

Thankyou for any of your help.

[Night457]

Sorry, but I am afraid I do not have an answer to your first question, it sounds strange to me. Maybe someone else knows?

• What is an emule forum for mainstream releases? At the moment I simply use date 2023 and release group name such as ion10, proper
  rarbg etc.

Honestly, torrents are usually faster than emule and if you are after current torrent files then torrenting is the way to go. FLM is the first and only emule-specific forum I have encountered, but others might be able to suggest others. Anyone?

Still, if it is a mainstream movie then information on the movie itself is readily available online, as are multiple sources. If you prefer to eMule it then go into the search tab and type searches like "Mission Impossible", "Fast and Furious", "Star Wars", "Avengers" etc etc.

• Is there a simple way to get HighID?

The simplest way is to use a paid VPN that offers port-forwarding. NOT all VPNs offer port-forwarding. The process is laid out step-by-step by Heyana here:

viewtopic.php?p=93814#p93814

[mimzy]

FLM is the first and only emule-specific forum I have encountered, but others might be able to suggest others. Anyone?

http://www.eselkult.tk/ ? I've never really visited them, because everything of interest is posted here, but I think several early FLM releases originated from there. I guess they are not very active anymore.

Now I remember also https://fileheaven.org/ has been mentioned here. Never visited them either.

[Night457]

Neato. I knew an oldtimer would know other sites. eselkult looks cool. (Not that I really need to download more movies that I will never have the time to watch.)

But with no forums and no registered users, fileheaven looks dead now. But then that could just be the public face for those who are not logged in, to keep out snoopers.

[rossrhodes]

OK Please understand i am a right computer thicko.
i think i need to download this emule thing to watch some of the films that are mentioned on this site. Am i correct ?
There is an awful lot of writing above about doing this is there not a simple press button option.
Thanks to anyone who replies. I'm to old to learn new complicated tricks.

[Night457]

i think i need to download this emule thing to watch some of the films that are mentioned on this site. Am i correct ?

Some of the movie posts include direct-download or streaming links, but you are correct that eMule is required to download the ed2k links. It does indeed take some work to set up, admittedly more than installing a torrent client. But eMule is a fairly old "complicated trick", started in 2002.

The first post in this thread contains the vintage setup guide, as well as a link to a later updated alternate setup guide. Everything else is various questions and answers.

Note: Heyana's newer guide focuses on using a paid VPN to get HighID when eMuling, specifcally mentioning the port-forwarding capability of Mullvad VPN. Mullvad has just announced that it is DISCONTINUING its port-forwarding service. However, there are other VPNs that port-forward.

See this topic: viewtopic.php?t=14963

However, HighID is NOT required to use eMule; it is just helpful in making more connections. VPNs are also NOT required to use eMule, but they do help make your Internet usage more private.

There is an awful lot of writing above about doing this is there not a simple press button option.

This is because FLM is not a file hosting site, nor does it earn advertising revenue. It is solely a privately-run fan site, and it mainly provides links to material shared by individuals peer-to-peer.