Easy installtion and configuration

Installing Ares only takes a few minutes and the interface is simple enough that anybody will feel comfortable with it. When you start Ares, it lets you auto-scan your PC to find files you might like to share on the network. Beginners will be relieved to know that there is no complex configuration</strong> process - all you need to do is select the search tab and type the name of the file you want. Once it appears, double click to begin downloading. You’ll be able to check progress in the transfer tab. The recent update adds bittorrent support, opening Ares up to loads of new content.

Chat client

If you enjoy communicating with other users, click on the chat tab and connect to one of the thousands of channels available. You can pick up tips on how to use Ares better, ask which files other users recommend or just talk about your life in general. You can even insert emoticons into your conversation and keep a list of your favorite chat channels.

Detailed previews of files

Of all the P2P programs, Ares probably features the widest preview screen. You can set it to fit to screen or adjust it to your preference. This is a great way of making sure you’re downloading the right movie or to get a sneak peak at your downloads.

Unlike WinMX or FileNavigator, the two other spin-off Gnutella projects, Ares did not drop into obscurity and unites a flourishing community of users. However, the same old problems seem to arise. According to many Ares users, the application suffers from connection problems that make it difficult to properly search for a file or successfully complete downloads. Others will worry that Ares is a smaller network than the globally used Gnutella and does not offer as many download sources.

Conclusion

Ares is an ambitious project, and the fact that it still remains standing while eDonkey has fallen is characteristic of its reliability. Thanks to a strong community of users, a simple interface, a great preview page and multichat service, it's a sharing app that's still going strong. Ares is the P2P app of choice for anybody interested in sharing files over the internet.

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On the surface, iMesh looks polished and easy to use. The program features a tab bar that gives you access to different areas: Library, with all the media stored on your computer; Home, which is the main screen on iMesh; Search, where you can find, download and buy music and video; Discover, a tool do find new artists and music genres; and finally DJ, which plays music you may like based on a song or band of your choice.

The iMesh community is a great place to make friends, exchange messages and also share media libraries. You can also upload photos to your profile, and send songs over to friends. On the downside, we missed a bit more integration with other social services such as Twitter or Facebook.

iMesh also includes a powerful built-in player for audio and video – featuring a 10-band equalizer – plus a built-in CD burner to create custom media CD and DVD on the spot.

iMesh is a complete P2P client with which you can discover new bands, buy the music you like and make new friends.

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Similar to Limewire

In fact, FrostWire has more than just a few similarities to Limewire, although unlike the latter, it does not carry advertising and there are no annoying pop-ups. Just as Limewire was, FrostWire is straightforward and easy to use. A simple search bar, divided by category, makes it a breeze to browse for a file, whether it is a video, image, audio, or program. FrostWire also has a What’s New button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged.

One particularly handy feature of FrostWire is a special direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and FrostWire will browse to that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone you know although it would be even better if you could enter the username of a user rather than the IP address.

Built in media player

In terms of speed, much will depend on the speed of your own connection. It definitely helps though if you've correctly opened your router's ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. To avoid the risk of downloading copyrighted or adult material, FrostWire also allows you to apply content filters. Another handy feature of FrostWire is a built-in media player. Video and audio can be tested using Frostwire’s media player, which gives you an immediate preview of your file.

Not for profit

It should be noted that FrostWire is basically a stripped-down version of Limewire, but is a not-for-profit project. The developer claims it will never support Digital Rights Management (DRM) or any type of advertising. However, the demise of Limewire due to legal issues mean that FrostWire may well be targeted in the future for closure.

Conclusion

FrostWire for Mac is a hugely popular alternative for anyone who misses Limewire.

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Unlike similar apps where you can find all sorts of stuff – including adult material and viruses – BearShare only allows video and music file formats to be shared, and has done an excellent job in protecting users from viruses and other possible threats.

The program's installation changes your browser homepage and installs a toolbar unless you select the custom installation option. On the upside, BearShare features a clean, easy-to-use interface that you’ll immediately get to grips with. There’s a top tab bar with access to the program’s main functions and a handy built-in player to preview the files you’re looking for. As an extra, BearShare is fully compatible with iPod and other MP3 devices.

But BearShare is not just about browsing audio and video files; you can also use the Discover tool to play music genres according to your mood, or discover new artists and bands you didn’t know. BearShare’s social side lets you make friends with other people who share similar musical tastes, and includes a personal profile page, a contacts list and even a built-in messaging system.

BearShare has become a powerful, reliable LimeWire alternative since its shutdown. Good proof of this is that all LimeWire users can easily import their music library into BearShare and continue sharing music and video files – all legal, free and without risks.

BearShare is an excellent free application to legally share songs and videos, without the usual risks associated with such programs.

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Similar to FrostWire and LimeWire

MP3 Rocket is very similar to FrostWire and the now-defunct LimeWire, so if you are familiar with them, using the app will be a piece of cake. Even if you are not, it’s an easy-to-use application and suitable for anyone who wants to start downloading movies, music and other content – as long as there are no copyright issues, of course!

Managed Via Tabs

MP3 Rocket is based on tabs that allow you to quickly access the search engine, lists of popular files and torrents, your library of shared files and even online TV, radio, games and chat. The downloadable content is all free, but the ones suggested by MP3 Rocket are often links to pay-access web pages.

Poor quality audio and video player

MP3 Rocket can also be used as an audio and video player, but judged on these features it’s not very interesting and offers nothing that really make it stand out.

Conclusion

Ultimately MP3 Rocket is a solid app, although we’ve heard complaints in recent times that it’s no longer as reliable as it once was. Also bear in mind that as MP3 Rocket is Java based, it’s not suitable for older PCs. Overall, MP3 Rocket is a solid, if not awe-inspiring, P2P network client.

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If you're using a BitTorrent client, you're going to want to ensure your PC is adequately protected against viruses that might be included in torrents.

uTorrent Plus gives users a few added perks above and beyond the basic uTorrent program. In addition to maintaining all the standard features in uTorrent 3, uTorrent Plus includes a number of unique features, notably integrated antivirus protection. This feature analyzes the incoming torrent and prevents malware infections before they can become an issue on your PC.

uTorrent Plus also includes a video format converter that comes with the ability to move files easily from device to device, as well as a great media player.

uTorrent Plus is a nice way to offer added protection and a few extra features to your uTorrent experience.

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A simple user interface goes a long way to making eMule a cinch to use. This doesn’t mean it lacks depth though, and its features are some of the most advanced we’ve seen in a P2P client. For instance, eMule lets you view all manner of information on machines you’re downloading from, call up charts outlining downloading stats and check download status through an advanced progress bar.

The fact that eMule uses a large network of servers means the search results are abundant, but there’s one major annoyance with the client – it’s very slow at downloading files. This is largely because of the way it handles download priority, which takes into account the number of servers you’re connected to, the connection speed, and size of the file. eMule also relies heavily on a ‘credit scoring’ system, whereby people who use the service a lot are rewarded with faster downloads. While some may champion this as being in the true spirit of file sharing, the system makes it awfully frustrating for users new to eMule who are penalized with ultra slow downloads.

Having said this, it’s not difficult to see why eMule has become the most popular P2P app, and if you’re prepared to break the law and download music over a network it makes for the perfect accomplice. If you love downloading, you'll love eMule.

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Ares was originally spun-off from the Gnutella project in 2002, and since then is one of the most widely used P2P apps. The Ares Mod interface is almost exactly the same as the original and simple enough for anyone to use although it claims to be quicker.

Like Ares, Ares Mod automatically scans your PC for files that you might want to share on the network although you don't need to complete this. You can search the Ares P2P network for files, choose the files you want to download and a transfer tab will display the progress of each.

There's also a chat tab to connect you with other users which includes a choice of emoticons and the ability to keep a list of your favorite chat channels. There's a wide preview screen which you can set to fit the screen or adjust it to your preferences which is useful for avoiding downloading of fake files.

It's hard to say whether Ares Mod really is faster than Ares but it does claim to support a greater number of seeds and sources when downloading files.

If you like Ares, then Ares Mod is definitely worth a try.

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The good thing is that this program requires no installation. Simply decompress the file and run the program and you're off. The next step is to select the hub that you want to connect to. The hub looks very much like DC++ but with some important improvements. For example, you can now download from simultaneous multiple users without corrupting the file, it can distribute the parts of files that are not completed and can assign the download speed according to the sources available and the dozens of possibilities in customization of the interface. The improvement of the simultaneous downloading makes a significant improvement to download times and it's much safer than normal single source downloading. The developers point out that segment position and size are decided by file size and chunks speed. You can also set sounds, change the colour scheme or icons, show popup balloons, see emoticons and much more.

A sophisticated P2P application although it's a shame there aren't more users as you won't get many hits on the files you're looking for.

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Cabos' interface will be instantly recognizable to anyone who's used Limewire before - you have your networks, downloads and uploads easy accessible on the left sidebar, above which sits the search bar and your current searches. The retouched Cabos interfaced looks simple yet modern, certainly an improvement over the aging appearance of earlier versions.

The results window allows you to order them by file type, artist, album, bitrate and so on. This 0.8.2 Cabos release features a nice new filtering system, that as well as filtering file types allows you to filter by keyword within your results, and four slides to further filter by size, bitrate speed and number of sources. This makes trawling through the sometimes odd results found in P2P searches much easier.

The Gnutella network is big enough that most people will be able to find anything they want in it, and while it may not be the fastest way to download, it's fast enough. Limewire and the other big P2P programs are more advanced, but Cabos has the advantage of speed. Compared to most programs like this it loads much faster, and is less of a draw on your processor, so your other applications shouldn't grind to a halt. That it's totally free and features no adverts or requests to 'go pro' make it even more attractive.

Cabos is a highly recommendable lightweight P2P client.

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Shareaza is a completely free peer to peer (P2P) file sharing system. The program features Multi-Network Support which basically means it can connect up to 4 separate Peer-to-Peer networks at the same time meaning more hits and faster downloads.

You can download and upload from the EDonkey2000, Gnutella, BitTorrent and Gnutella2 (G2) networks. The latest release features something called "Collections" too. Collections basically group previews of album covers, descriptions, and song lists all in one complete package. It's designed to help you discover similar music to that you already like although in reality, it's not that useful.

The interface is very simple to use - very much like eMule. All the search results are displayed clearly including file type, size and estimated download time. You can also choose to filter searches by file type such as picture, video or software. Searches return a huge number of results although there's no way to preview files before they download which is frustrating as many files are fakes.

Shareaza is one of the best P2P networks out there although it still pales in comparison to eMule in terms of results and download speeds.

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Morpheus (support has now been discontinued) once aimed to turn the P2P client into the ultimate multimedia application. The application window is divided into 4 tabs: search results, my files, podcasts and Morpheus Online. A pane on the left side allows you to create playlists or keep track of searches and videos. Morpheus also lets you sync all your downloaded files to import them automatically to iTunes. Oddly enough, the chat tool is hidden at the top of the interface, next to help and preferences.

Morpheus wants to be a multifaceted app, not just a simple P2P program. It includes an embedded browser, Morpheus Online, from which you can check out the internet or find new files to share while you’re downloading. This is particularly useful when you’re looking for new podcasts. By clicking on the podcast page button in the podcasts tab, you will be taken to Morpheus’ own podcast library. While it’s not as star-studded as the iTunes library, it’s full of varied and original content.

Morpheus' podcast tab is wisely divided into podcast and episodes, so you can browse through what you’ve downloaded. However we were quite confused by the podcast downloading procedure, as the progress bar is hidden in the file window of the My Files tab.

Morpheus has also beefed up its security. You can now select your antivirus application to automatically scan downloaded files. The program also includes solid parental control. You can also add a password to make sure you control who has access to Morpheus. The application also introduces UDP technology to improve the performance of downloads and allow secure file sharing between 2 firewall protected PCs.

Morpheus comes with interesting enhancements, but not enough to get us overexcited. Add to that the many drawbacks we found in the application. The interface is way too clunky. The My Files tab has an additional file window at the bottom, which adds to the confusion on the interface. The one-click burning function is something we were eager to try out, but it was nowhere to be seen.

However hard Morpheus tries at integrating cool features like web browsing or podcasting, we figure the application should only be used for what it’s good at i.e. P2P downloading. The program gives access to all the P2P networks, even Bittorrent, and the new version introduces safer and quicker transfer thanks to UDP technology. The other extra features in the application like the library structure or web browser feel a bit awkward, and therefore failed at turning the program into a true multimedia application.

Morpheus is a solid P2P application, but doesn't make the jump to multimedia super-app.

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