Bittorrent and Gnutella might be hogging the headlines of the peer to peer (P2P) world, but close behind comes Ares, a successful P2P application that boasts of having its own decentralized network and a simple, quick access interface. Ares spun-off from Gnutella in 2002, and since then has been building a strong and dedicated community of users.

Installing Ares only takes a few minutes and the interface is simple enough that anybody will feel comfortable with it. The new version has a very sleek and dark interface, not unlike that of WMP 11. 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 process involved. Once Ares is installed, all you need to do is select the search tab and type the name of the file you want to download. Once it appears, double click on it to begin downloading. You’ll be able to check its progress in the transfer tab. The recent update adds bittorrent support, opening Ares up to loads of new content.

If you enjoy exchanging words 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 chit chat about your life in general. You can even insert emoticons into your conversation and keep a list of your favorite chat channels.

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 usually seem to arise. According to many Ares users the application suffers from constant connectivity troubles making it difficult to properly search for a file or to successfully complete downloads. Others will worry that Ares is a much smaller network than the globally used Gnutella and does not offer quite as much download sources.

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

Download Ares Galaxy 2.0.9 in Softonic

Ares Galaxy Turbo Booster (AGTB) is a powerful acceleration plug-in for Ares file sharing program. State-of-the-art software technology used by AGTB generates dramatically decreases of downloading time.

The add-on consumes very few resources from your computer and the nice and easy interface makes it a pleasure to use. AGTB is an essential accessory for any Ares user and is totally free.

Download Ares Galaxy Turbo Booster 4.8.8 in Softonic

If you’re not impressed by P2P heavyweights such as eMule and Limewire, you might find Warez worth a try. Warez is a P2P file-sharing network based on the Ares network and offers a service similar to that of Kazaa. In fact, up to version 1.6, Warez was an exact clone of Ares Galaxy but since then has branched out to offer some interesting features of its own. As a result, Warez claims to be the third largest decentralized P2P filesharing network in the world with over 1.5 million users.

The first thing to be aware of is that although the developers claim Warez contains no spyware or adware, many users have reported problems on Softonic of pop-up ads and browser hijacks. The installation itself takes less than a minute and once done, you’re taken through a small configuration wizard similar to that in eMule. The interface is also in classic P2P style – a search bar on the left, with search type below it. If you are searching for music, one nice feature is the three windows across the top which “divide-as-you-search”. So if you search for Judas Priest, the name of the band appears in one pane, the names of all their albums in another and finally the names of all their tracks in the last one.

It's obvious that Warez is very much designed to integrate with the web more than most P2P apps. Along the toolbar at the top is a web button which takes you directly to the Warez site where you can expand your search beyond its P2P network. There’s also a torrent button which, via an easy to use wizard, allows you to post your own torrents on the Warez website. Of course, you can also download torrents using Warez. In addition, there’s also a nice media player (although it does not allow previews of partially-downloaded files) and a convenient CD ripper button to put your favourite files on disc. Of course, the chat facility comes as standard.

However, these cosmetic improvements are hardly a giant leap in the P2P world. Warez claims that its major advantage is an “advanced queuing system” and “multi-sourced swarmed downloads”. It claims particular speed advantages over Kazaa and Gnutella networks. In tests, we didn’t notice any significant difference in either download or search times between Warez and these applications although much depends on your own personal configuration and broadband network.

User opinion is clearly divided on Warez. One disgruntled Softonic user reports it has, “port hopping technology designed to get around your network security” and that “you are a fool to install this software.” Another meanwhile says, “I like that there is no spyware…an easy to use interface.” Be careful that if you do notice spyware, it may be down to other programs you downloaded rather than Warez.

In summary, a very good looking P2P and web integrated program.

Download Warez 3.2.0 in Softonic

KCeasy is a windows front end for the giFT filesharing system. Plugins allow giFT to support different kinds of filesharing networks. KCeasy currently supports the following networks:

• Gnutella (Shareaza, Gnucleus, LimeWire, Bearshare, XoloX)
• Ares (Ares Galaxy, Warez P2P)
• OpenFT (A new network developed by the giFT project)

Download KCeasy 0.18 in Softonic