RapidPoints are accumulated to an account when a file that is uploaded to rapidshare from that account gets downloaded. Each download generates one RapidPoint.

Time to upload that hard-to-find file and earn a few rewards! And if you own a blog, now is the time to switch on comment moderation!

Users accumulate RapidPoints when a file uploaded by them gets a ‘hit’ i.e. each download of the file gives one point. Previously, these RapidPoints could be redeemed for premium accounts (10000 points for an account!) which encouraged a lot of spam on the internet. Spammers and premium-wannabes took to creating dummy files claiming them to be rapidshare passwords, hacks, working accounts etc. and bombarded blogs and forums with these files, hoping to accumulate rapidpoints. Now, this new ‘feature’ from rapidshare is bound to unleash new waves of spam attacks, with premiums joining the spammer bandwagon. The timing of this feature is highly questionable; a few days ago, rapidshare cut down on premium download capacity from 10 GB/day to 5 GB/day, upsetting its premium members. This new feature might be intended to appease them, while subtly encouraging them to spam.

Also, premium users can now ’save’ their download credit for the next day, and so on until it reaches 50 GB. As a consequence, the volume that was not used is transferred to the following day automatically, up to a maximum of 50 GB. If the complete download capacity is used up during one day, the premium-user is able to save another 10 GB the following day.

Noone knows when these happy hours are implemented. However, various tools exist which detect if happy hours are active and notify the user. Some of them are listed below:

HappyCat:

This handy little application sits in the taskbar tray and notifies the user when happy hours are active on rapidshare. It can also play a custom audio track or run a file when happy hours are detected.  This application requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.
Download HappyCat

HappyHour-Checker:

This is another application that checks for happy hours on rapidshare. Unlike the previous one, this checker does not require Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.
Download HappyHour-Checker

HappyChecker - Firefox Add-on:

This is a Firefox extension which checks for Rapidshare Happy Hours (for Firefox users). The extension lets Firefox users check for happy hours automatically or manually.
Download HappyChecker for Firefox

Various hacks exist to overcome these limits. If you have a dynamic IP address, you just have to renew your IP address to obtain a fresh download ticket from rapidshare and bypass the wait time. This can be done as shown below:

1. Click START
2. Click RUN
3. In the run box type cmd.exe  and click OK
4. Type the following in the command prompt:
   
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
exit

5. Erase cookies and restart download

The above hack works only if you have a dynamic IP address. Try the javascript hack given below if you have a static IP address:

1. Select FREE in the download page
2. In the address bar, type: javascript:alert(c=0)
3. Click OK and on the pop-up, click OK again
4. Enter captcha code and start download

If you are using Firefox, try the following hack:

1. Download Firefox and install (if not already installed)
2. Download SwitchProxy and install
3. Search Google for a free proxy server and use it in SwitchProxy
4. Change the proxy server once you reach download limit

Rapidshare premium link generators help you bypass these download limits. Just supply your rapidshare download links to the generator, and start downloading. Below given is a list of these premium link generators.

• RapiDL
• Rsfox
• RapidDownloader
• Rapid-Load
• Senditnow

“rapidshare.com/files” KEYWORD

where KEYWORD is replaced by your search term.

You can also use dedicated search engines which search for files on popular file hosting networks like Rapidshare, Megaupload etc. Here is a list of them:

1. Rapidshare1
2. LoadingVault
3. Rapidshare searcher
4. Filez
5. FilesTube
6. FilesBot