uTorrent has quickly become a favorite among torrent users worldwide thanks to an innovative interface, minute CPU usage and extensive download details.

The program is undoubtedly one of the most reliable torrent clients on the market, thanks to an ultra quick installation process and a minimal use of PC resources. You can have a good number of torrents downloading and still be able to use your PC without suffering any lags.

The interface is simple to use and is divided into the list of torrents and extensive details like peer data, download and upload speeds, file pieces and blocks, or a graph of your current speeds. In an attempt to help you structure all your torrents, the application allows you to set labels to your individual downloads. You can also view the torrents according to whether they are downloading, completed, active or inactive. If you download a good deal of torrents at a time this is a good way of keeping track of the progress of them all. Furthermore, you can easily set up the web interface for uTorrent, which allows you to check your torrents from any PC connected to the internet. All you need is to have one PC taking care of the downloads and set up access to the interface of your uTorrent session.

uTorrent makes it easy for you to look for new downloads without opening up your browser. You can search the main torrent sites by typing the name of the file you are looking for in the box on the top right corner of the interface. uTorrent also includes an RSS downloader to receive feeds of your favourite torrent sites. This little feature is great to check out all new torrents in one click.

The first time you launch uTorrent it lets you check your connection settings online and verify whether your ports are functioning properly. The preferences menu is also replete with tweaking possibilities. You can customize queuing, scheduling and downloading. Setting the location of downloaded files is the only bit that could confuse users as uTorrent makes a difference between new downloads and completed downloads.

You might have guessed it, here at Softonic we have a soft spot for uTorrent. Not only does the mini torrent client use up very little memory, it also comes with loads of information and customization features to make your downloading experience as simple and automated as possible. If you’re tired of the bandwidth hogging Azureus or bored of the basic Bittorrent client, check out uTorrent.

Download uTorrent (µTorrent) 1.8.1 in Softonic

Limewire, one of the world’s most popular peer-to-peer filesharing applications, has received a lawsuit from the RIAA, who are demanding $115 million in damages, claiming the application promotes the infringement of copyright. Similar applications like Grokster and Kazaa have been forced to go legal and there is speculation as to just how long LimeWire will resist until they have to buckle and pay up. The existence of the popular P2P application is not under threat, but if you haven’t given it a try yet, here’s just what makes it a standout program.

In terms of file sharing, LimeWire is the cream of the crop, offering the essential peer-to- peer tools in what is probably the friendliest interface of applications in its class. Beginners will appreciate the search bar, which allows you to select the type of file you’re looking for, video, image, audio, program or file. LimeWire has a “what’s new” button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged. We also enjoyed the direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and LimeWire will browse that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone else and can come in handy when working on a project and exchanging documents. The only little snag we have with direct connect is that it doesn’t let you enter the username, much simpler than looking for your friend’s IP address.

Downloading with LimeWire is very intuitive. After you’ve searched and found the file you are looking for, double-click on it to start the downloading process. The speed of your download depends firstly on the quality of your connection (broadband is a minimum), if you’ve correctly opened your router’s ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. We would like to point out the effort that Limewire takes to make itself accessible to beginners. Not only does a tip pop up every time you launch the application, the help option also leads you to LimeWire’s support centre, FAQs and a forum to get in contact with other users.

The lawsuit carried out by the RIAA is all the more surprising because of the measures LimeWire takes to keep you in the realms of legality. If you decide to download LimeWire from its website, you will first have to agree you will not use it for copyright infringement. When you’re configuring the application, you can set content filters, to avoid downloading files that copyright owners do not want you to share. To avoid embarrassing situations, make sure you tick the “block adult content” box, which will filter out any pornographic files from your searches.

The best way of checking the quality of the audio or video you’re downloading is via LimeWire’s mini player. It’s fairly basic and to par with the players you find in similar filesharing applications, but we appreciated the way it was integrated in the application.

If there’s one thing that we’re still expecting from the LimeWire team, it’s that it finally decides to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. Torrents are the way forward when it comes to peer to peer file sharing because of the speed, the security and freshness of downloads. Large files like movies or complete seasons of TV series are much easier to download via BitTorrent. We were also annoyed by the “buy the PRO version” window that popped up every time we started LimeWire.

For its wealth of possibilities and huge base of users, (more than 4 million simultaneously on the Gnutella network) we encourage you to give LimeWire a test drive. Because of the controversial nature of the application, you should always make sure that you aren’t using LimeWire for illegal activities like copyright infringement. However don’t be scared off by the legality issue. LimeWire, like most P2P applications is one of the most exciting possibilities that the internet gives us. It would be a shame not to give it a try. You should also check out Frostwire, the not-for-profit project of the LimeWire development team.

Download LimeWire Basic 4.18.8 in Softonic

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

Shareaza started out life as the legendary Gnutella network but today is one of the most realistic competitors to eMule.

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.

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.

Download Shareaza 2.4.0 in Softonic

The torrent phenomenon is one of the most hyped about in the world of technology among Peer to Peer (P2P) users. It consists of sharing large files, like movies, software, or games anonymously and quickly with other peers. The file you want to download is cut up into small segments shared by users, creating what is called a swarm, and does not go through a central server, significantly reducing the bulk of file transfers, The Bittorrent client is actually the first P2P application to use this technology and became immensely popular when it was released. Torrents are considered by online users as a great way to download recently released movies or tv shows.

Thanks to a straightforward, uncluttered interface Bittorrent appears as a friendly torrent client that beginners will feel comfortable with. We particularly appreciated the integrated search box to look for files on the bittorrent website. Once you’ve found the torrent you want, download it to your PC, open it up inside Bittorrent and let the client do its job. The speed at which you download will depend on the number of seeds, that is people who have the complete file and are sharing it. The more seeds there are the quicker files will download.

You can set multiple torrent downloads and the downloading speed is fairly quick. It’s easy to configure the client and we suggest choosing the right port and setting upload and download rate limits to avoid hogging your bandwidth. It’s also good to set your downloads by priority to monitor more precisely how your torrents are doing.

Compared to the exhaustive Azureus, Bittorrent is very simplistic. It doesn’t provide half as many statistics and doesn’t let you customize the interface. Integrating a search box is a great idea, but it limits searches to the bittorrent website, not considered the most thorough source by torrent aficionados.

If you’re a newbie to the torrent world, Bittorrent is a good bet. It’s safe, stable and sharp. Associated with the huge database of legal torrents that is the bittorrent website, it makes for a very rich P2P experience. Advanced users will probably frown upon its lack of options but others should give it a try.

Download BitTorrent 6.1.1 in Softonic

LiveStation is a peer-to-peer application that lets you watch watch television online. At the moment the selection of channels is limited to international news stations like BBC World, EuroNews and Al Jazeera along with two radio services: BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.

The positive aspect of this software is that, being based on peer-to-peer technology, it virtually eliminates buffering time, meaning you won’t have to wait to watch the channels. The video experience is much more enjoyable than what you can get from a traditional streaming service because the data comes from many sources at the same time, reducing congestion problems. Every PC connected is both client and server.

Livestation requires Microsoft Silverlight to run, but don’t worry because during the installation it asks you whether you want to download it automatically.

The interface is simple but cool with smooth fade effects and once the channel is selected, the very high quality stream starts immediately. Unfortunately there is no pause button, nor any functionality for recording programs at certain times. That said, the application is still at a 'technical trial' stage so there is still room for these kinds of improvements.

If you have a fast internet connection you can always be updated on what’s happening around the world by watching the most famous international news channels with the light and usable LiveStation.

Download Livestation 2.1 in Softonic

Managing your financial affairs can be a real drag and, unless you’ve got piles of cash stored in your basement, it can be easy to lose track of where your cash is going and ensure that all your payments are made on time. Unless you can afford to keep paying an accountant, it’s a good idea to invest in a decent home accounting application to help you keep tabs on your cash.

AceMoney is one of a number of apps designed to make it easier to track your income and spending than using a spreadsheet (or writing it all on the back of a beermat). The software is very simple to pick up and start using, thanks to its clear icons and navigation bar. Unlike many of its peers, the program includes a facility for viewing all of your money at once through its accounts overview feature, where you can check accounts, investments and pending bills from one place.

The banking features of the program are simple-to-understand and besides allowing you to view your accounts, an online facility gives you direct access, allowing you to make transfers, deposits and consult live details through AceMoney. This sounds great in theory, but in reality there are only a few banks registered with the system and no credit unions. Besides its banking facilities, there’s a useful portfolio manager for keeping a check on your investments and nine different reporting tools to help you better chart your financial progress.

Although these features are well executed, there are areas where AceMoney is somewhat lacking. For instance, its financial planning section is very sparse and basically amounts to a calculator for working out loan repayments and savings plans, rather than tools for helping you plan all your finances ahead. There are also no tax options, so these calculations have to be done in another app and copied in, which could lead to errors.

AceMoney is a good value program that offers a simple way to track your financial transactions in order to keep your head above water. However, if you’re running a business or need to plan your finances in great detail then the software is somewhat lacking and it’ll be worth splashing out for a more powerful application.

Download AceMoney 3.10.3 in Softonic

Thanks to the constant improvement of broadband connections, watching TV over the internet is now possible. The current trend is to use Peer to Peer (P2P) technology to stream media quickly to consumers. TVU Player allows you to watch major cable channels over the internet, by sharing your bandwidth with other users.

TVU Player usually streams around 20 different channels, from a large American sports network to the major Chinese television channel and you can watch everything from gossip to movies or sports. TVU Player is extremely simple to use, you only have to double click on the channel of your choice, wait a few minutes for it to buffer, and start watching. Refreshing every now and then lets you check whether new channels are on offer.

TVU Player is a bit unstable, so you shouldn’t be surprised if it fails to initialize or if the channel you are watching tends to lag. If very few people are connected to the same channel you might get poor streaming quality, but if you are watching a popular program there should be a good number of peers sharing the load and the transmission will flow. Always remember to check the number of peers before watching a channel.

TVU Player doesn’t let you set your preferences, like your preferred bandwidth speed or which port to use and there is no way of getting extra information on the channels. There is a command button, but we couldn’t figure out what it was meant for, and TVU Player lacks help files to guide you out of problems. The interface window is mid-sized but you can’t enlarge it, though even if you could, we believe you would end up with a pretty poor quality image.

In other words, TVU Player is far from polished. However it’s an exciting application, which opens up the possibilities of television on Internet. While not everybody might be interested in watching Koweit TV, TVU Player still streams big American and Chinese channels and the other eclectic content. Don’t get taken aback by the instability of the application. If you have a solid broadband connection and a keen sense of curiosity, we suggest giving it a try to get a glimpse of the near future of television.

Download TVUPlayer 2.3.7.1 in Softonic

Boasting the ability to improve the speed of your downloads by an incredible 300 percent, Download Accelerator Plus features multi-server connections to let you squeeze the best possible performance from your Net connection.

The beauty of the software lies in its simplicity, you just choose the file you want to download, tell the program where you want it to be filed away then forget about as DAP does all the donkey work for you. What’s more, if you get booted offline for any reason the software will automatically resume the download from the place it had already reached.

DAP even searches for “mirror sites” for you and this serves to make downloading a pretty painless process, with the app sucking up files fairly quickly. DAP is a veritable feature-fest making the whole process much easier by including functions like automatic hang-up on completion of a download, download scheduling, and dial-up configuration – a handy tool for anyone not yet blessed with broadband.

The only slight niggle for some people may be the fact that it is nigh-on impossible to turn the thing off, unlike most of its peers, where you can choose to manually download something fairly easily. Having said this, because the program is so easy to use and integrates beautifully with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera browsers, there really is little reason why you wouldn’t want this great utility keeping watch of your downloads all the time.

Download Download Accelerator Plus 8.7 in Softonic

You can download the program and use Zultrax for free. With Zultrax you can share any kind of files with millions of users around the world. Zultrax makes filesharing fast, easy and secure. Zultrax offers stable, clean software that is easy to use, works fast and does a lot to protect your privacy. With the ZEPP protocol Zultrax introduces a way of sharing and downloading files in which your privacy is protected.

Download Zultrax P2P 4.26 in Softonic

PowerFolder is a program to synchronize folders over the internet or on a local net. It uses peer-to-peer technology to exchange the files. This means you do not need a hosting server. Every client holds a local copy of the folder. It can be used to exchange every type of data for example music, photos, own documents or videos. PowerFolder automatically detects changes and synchronizes.

Download PowerFolder 3.1.1 in Softonic

WiPeer enables sharing files directly among computers, playing multi-player games, chatting, and collaboration over both Wi-Fi and home/office networks. These networks are not centralized on a single computer and do not need Internet access.

The only thing you need to enter the network is a username. Then you can start sharing files, chatting or even playing chess, reversi, connect four and checkers. Chat rooms may be public or private, as well as file sharing, which can be done individually or with more than one user simultaneously. Network users can have their own personal profiles including data such as name, location, language, age, sex, etc.

Download WiPeer 0.72 in Softonic

Soulseek(tm) is a unique ad-free, spyware free, and just plain free file sharing application. One of the things that makes Soulseek(tm) unique is its community and community-related features. Based on peer-to-peer technology, virtual rooms allow you to meet people with the same interests, share information, and chat freely using real-time messages in public or private.

Soulseek(tm), with its built-in people matching system, is a great way to make new friends and expand your mind. Soulseek(tm) does not endorse nor condone the sharing of copyrighted materials. You should only share and download files which you are legally allowed to or have otherwise received permission to share. By using this network you agree to this and the other rules which are linked to from this page.

The intention of Soulseek(tm) is to help unsigned and/or independent artists find a place in the ever-growing music industry, in a place where discussion and the creation of music can take place. Use of this network for what may be deemed illegal in nature may see users prosecuted by law, and the owners and/or operators of the Soulseek(tm) network do not offer protection from said incidents.

Download Soulseek 157 NS 13c in Softonic

Some anti-virus programs cause more problems than they solve. Avast! Home Edition anti-virus is thankfully not one of those as it exceeds expectations while remaining free. Lightweight, vigilant and most importantly, effective, this could be the answer to your prayers if you’ve had no luck finding a virus checker you like.

The developers make a point of stressing that this program is strictly not for institutional use – it is designed specifically for the threats most home users face daily. Their philosophy is that efficient home virus protection is essential in preventing users one day being struck by a serious global virus. What impresses you immediately with Avast! is its vigilance. It’s likely that within minutes of installation, you’ll receive a pop up alert due to a Trojan or virus that had been incubating on your PC. If not, rest assured that it won’t be long before Avast! sets off its trademark siren and alerts you that something has been detected. The latest version of

Avast’s antivirus kernel promises 100% detection of ‘In-the-Wild’ viruses (viruses already spreading between users) and excellent detection of Trojan horses. Avast! provides 24 hour protection via its ‘On-Access’ scanner but you can initiate manual scans via the fairly simple user interface. You can start additional modules from here, such as the Virus Chest, Updater or Log Viewer. Another great feature of Avast! is the option to change the skin of this interface. The developer website features practically hundreds of distinctive designs made by aficionados and even offers a guide to designing your own.

Something often overlooked by major virus checking packages is P2P applications installed on your PC but Avast! covers this with a P2P and Instant Messenger shield. Whilst chat applications themselves do not impose any serious security risks in terms of viruses, their less sophisticated file sharing methods can easily lead to virus infections if not properly monitored. With so many infected files on P2P networks such as Kazaa and eMule too, it’s also good to know that Avast! won’t let you open them without quietly checking them first.

The program also features both a Web and Network shield that constantly monitors traffic. The Web Shield acts as a transparent HTTP proxy and is compatible with all major web browsers. One of the truly outstanding features of Avast! is that unlike heavyweights such as Kaspersky or Norton, you hardly notice it working in the background. This is because of a unique feature the developers call ‘Intelligent Stream Scan’ that scans objects on-the-fly, without needing to cache them locally. Even the virus updates are unobtrusive. Avast! downloads the updates gradually and only those that are absolutely essential instead of the whole database. You receive a ‘Virus database has been updated’ voice message every time this has been completed along with a small popup which you can turn off if it annoys you.

There really is little to fault Avast! on in a market that is saturated with too many ineffective virus checkers. Although it doesn’t guzzle resources, if you’re running it on an older machine, you might find it slows you down. Some new users also complain that conducting a simple manual scan is more complicated than it should be but if you’ve spent anytime with virus checkers, you’ll realise that its more than worth your while getting to know this excellent program.

Download Avast! Home 4.8.1229 in Softonic

StumbleUpon helps you surf the web. It is a free tool which lets you browse, review and share great webpages while meeting new people. StumbleUpon is an intelligent browsing tool for sharing and discovering great websites. As you click Stumble!, you'll get high-quality pages matched to your personal preferences. These pages have been explicitly recommended (rated I like it) by friends and other SU members with similar interests. Rating these sites shares them with your friends and peers – you will automatically 'stumble upon' each others favorites sites.

In effect, StumbleUpon's members collectively share the best sites on the web. You can share any site by simply clicking I like it. This passes the page on to friends and like-minded people – letting them "stumble upon" all the great sites you discover.

Download StumbleUpon Plug-in 3.26 in Softonic

Microsoft seem to be taking file synching very seriously with File Mesh recently released and this older offering, FolderShare also belonging to the synchronisation line of software.

FolderShare gives you the ability to create a private peer-to-peer network that will help you to synchronize files across multiple devices and access or share files with colleagues and friends. This obviously removes the need to send large files via email, burn them to CDs/DVDs or upload them to a website - simply sync them with FolderShare.

FolderShare allows you to share and sync important information with anyone you invite but the drawback is that they must have a Windows Live account. If you've already got a Windows Live Mail account, then this is no big problem but if you haven't, you'll have to go through the laborious signing up process to use FolderShare.

The FolderShare interface is extremely simple showing you at a glance, everything you need to sync devices, information with other people and even access your files remotely - a much better solution than carrying them around on an external drive.

FolderShare is a useful way to sync your devices and information with other users although Microsoft's Live Mesh is a much better product.

Download FolderShare 14.0.1383.0530 in Softonic

Blubster claims to not only offer you the ability to find just about any Mp3 song out there, but it also offers you the possibility to find professional quality streaming files. Once your client program connects to a gateway, you can search and download Mp3 music files from the MANOLITO protocol community. The secret behind the huge amount of Mp3's is that it allows an unlimited number of peers to connect. You've also got the option of “voice chat” to get in touch with other music lovers with the same tastes which you can keep track of in a "Hot List".

The interface is clean and simple with clear buttons and a navigation toolbar on top which makes it very simple to access your shared folder, searches and file transfers. The media player is located at the bottom and you have full control of how your music sounds without much complexity. The download speeds are quite impressive too which again, is partly due to the large number of users connected at one time. Probably the coolest feature is the ability to post web links of your music files which can be sent by email to be shared via Blubster. A fresh new way to share Mp3's.

Download Blubster 3.0.2 in Softonic

DreaMule is a nicely designed file sharing program which follows the format of eMule, the famous P2P application. The structure of the two applications is basically the same: the way you search and download files and also how you prioritize them. The plus of DreaMule is an easier searching tool and a more pleasant, user friendly interface, together with a hidden, vital enhancement which puts many people off file sharing programs.

DreaMule resolves the issue of having a ‘low ID’, which is the Achilles' heel of all eMule users and causes very slow downloads or very long waiting lists before a download can start. Usually this happens when users use a firewall or a protected router. They are still able to upload and download files but need the help of servers to be reached by other clients. Their IP/ports are not exchanged between other peers, limiting their possibilities for finding sources. You will have to decide for yourself whether this major issue is definitely solved or not, meanwhile I can say the programs had no problem in finding and connecting immediately to many sources to download copyright-free materials.

It’s an open source, ad-free application which improves eMule’s main features making file sharing friendlier and faster. It’s your turn now to give the last word.

Download DreaMule 3.2 in Softonic

Deluge is a popular Linux BitTorrent client that has now been ported to Windows while keeping its ease of use and excellent transfer speed, the two main features that have contributed to its success.

First of all, bear in mind that this app was originally written for another operating system, which means that the Windows version, according to the author's own words, is not as stable as the original one. In fact I got the odd error message while testing it, but other than that, the program worked fine. Transfer speed was excellent, along with the array of tools the program puts at your disposal to handle torrent files. Also, the program was totally unobtrusive for the user and very light on resources.

Deluge features a clear, uncluttered interface where you can easily manage all your file transfers and see information about each one of them. Also, the program's configuration settings enable you to tweak its behavior in great detail: you'll be able to limit bandwidth usage, configure a proxy server and also enable special plug-ins to add extra functionality to the program.

In all, Deluge is a powerful, easy-to-use BitTorrent client that's worth a try and will hopefully improve its stability under Windows in future releases.

Download Deluge 1.0.0 RC 3 in Softonic

Sharing video is becoming increasingly important with bandwidths and hard drives getting bigger.

It's about time then than someone harnessed the power of P2P technology to share video which is what the developers of SwarmPlayer have done. SwarmPlayer essentially combines three ways of video watching and sharing i.e. Downloading videos, streaming videos, and watching videos while they are being generated i.e. via webcam. Effectively, SwarmPlayer allows a single player to download movies, watch video-on-demand, and watch live video streams using one technology, while taking advantage of the popularity and maturity of existing BitTorrent clients.

At the moment SwarmPlayer is purely in testing mode and you can only watch two videos -
a BBC test program (a weather report) and something called the "Fabchannel" which is basically a webcam on a TV station rooftop in Amsterdam - not very interesting. However, the SwarmPlayer principle looks good - you can see how many people are watching a stream at one time via the stats page which is great for those that are learning to produce their own broadcasts and want to know how popular it is via SwarmPlayer.

SwarmPlayer is potentially a new and exciting way to share video over the net although it may be a while before the finished product is released.

Download SwarmPlayer 1.0.1 in Softonic