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Peer To Peer Networks

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It is not always obvious what is still copyright protected, though you can be fairly certain that anything recent, such as recent chart hits or new computer games, cannot be legally copied using P2P software. Blockbuster films will also be copyright protected, but there are many films which have been specifically made for free distribution.

There are lots of new artists who use peer to peer networks to get themselves known. There are many computer games which are released on P2P networks to have them tried out prior to fixing the bugs and releasing them for general sale. This is the one aspect of the use of P2P services that makes me think of the morality of such networks rather than the legality.

The reasons for observing copyright restrictions are well known. Copyright is a protection of an artist's work from plagiarism and unauthorized copying. If everyone copied every piece of music or every film from a free online service such as peer-to peer networks, then the originators and the artists would make no money from them. This would result in the breakdown of the entertainment industry, and I can understand that line of reasoning.

So don't get me wrong. I am not proposing that people should be allowed to break the law, and I firmly agree that copyright violation should be illegal and should be punished. My argument is against the movie and music industry and their false morality in campaigning for such high fines for copyright violation by young kids while condoning, and in some cases positively encouraging, lawbreaking, obscene and improper behaviour and illegal drug taking by so called artists who are making them money.

What sickens me is the way many pop stars complain and bleat about us breaking the law, then have another snort on their line. Once they stick to the law they may be qualified to complain about others who do not. Many forget where they came from and how they got to be famous.

Have you ever heard something online that you found interesting? Have you heard a track by an unknown artist that inspired or stimulated you to find out more about the artist? I have. I downloaded something by a young girl called Amy Winehouse about three years ago. It was quite illegal, but I liked it and it prompted me to go out and find more of her work. I found she had an album called ?Frank', so I bought it ? bought it please note, not downloaded it!

The point I am making is that had I not heard her on a peer-to-peer network and downloaded the track, I would not have bought the album and all her work since. OK, she seems a bit of an alkie and perhaps into drugs, but she is a great singer. P2P helped her to get a fan and some sales so why should she want me arrested? Perhaps too many of these egotistical superstars forget who ultimately pays them and who helped them when they were unknowns! Lot's of people have downloaded a track or two then bought a ticket to see the act live.

Who is doing most harm: the superstar junkie keeping the pushers in a job or the school kid downloading a track from his favourite band that he can't find in his local music store? Even if he can find it, he probably can't afford it due the obscene prices being charged in order that the artists can afford their drugs or drinks or whatever.

This is where morality becomes an issue with me. Would the large recording companies not be better cleaning up their own act, and those of the superstars they employ, than targeting kids who are copying tracks from peer-to-peer networks? How can they bleat on about copyright infringements while they pay filthy sex and drug-ridden junkies and gun-totin' grunters to produce the rubbish that is called music nowadays?

Once they stop breaking the law themselves, and inciting others to do so in order to increase sales, I might listen to their whining and misplaced righteousness. Didn't many of these so-called stars use these internet services to advertise themselves until they became known? Why, then, give their approval to the RIAA and its tactics to prosecute school kids for using a service they themselves used to promote.

It would be understandable if the RIAA were prosecuting the big boys who are making fortunes by copying and selling thousands of movies and albums, such as are continually found on eBay or sold in practically every bar in the land. But no, these big guys are ignored. They are too hard to prosecute, so they target the kids for prosecution. Kids whose mums have to struggle to find the money to pay the fines. They can't afford to buy obscenely overpriced CDs for their kids' birthdays so where can they find the money to pay the massive fines ($30,000 - $150,000).

The morality of the movie and music industries is open to question, and we can all see the egotistical brain-dead drug-ridden examples of the people they overpay in the name of so-called entertainment on our screens every day. Once they start observing the law, acting with some decency and begin to set an example to the youth of our world ? once they start displaying some morality and become proper role models for our children, then that is when I shall erase my copy of MP3 Rocket or Limewire. In any case I only use them as they should be used: to find out what is new and popular, and if I find something I like I will download it, listen to it, then go out and buy the album. That should not be illegal, yet it is.

If they want people arrested, leave the kids alone and target the consortiums that are making a lot of money by copying and marketing material downloaded from peer-to-peer networks. It's not the law I have issue with, it's the hypocrites who run RIAA and MPAA and also pay their law-breaking artists.

RIAA: Recording Industry Association of America

MPAA: Motion Picture Association of America

Peer To Peer Networks

Several years ago when I was an Internet newbie, I had signed up for an AOL account. AOL was itself new at that time, having only been around for a year or two. One of the greatest benefits of joining was the instant community available: and the instant access to the file-swapping network that was built by its users.

First, a chat room would be established with the words "file," "FS," "file trade," etc. in the title. As AOL began to get wise to this and disallow those types of names, the names evolved into "warez" and other more slangish terms for file swapping.

In these chat rooms, individual users would post things like "I'm looking for…" and post the file type, description, etc. Usually these were band and song titles, pornographic picture types, specific files for applications (like DLLs), cracks for games, and so forth.

Someone who may have something the person wanted would begin a conversation to wrangle a trade. Files were usually swapped via email, but other connections (like private chat rooms with file upload facilities) were also made.

The world of file sharing took a big change when Napster came along. With the idea of direct connections over a network, came faster file sharing, more robust search options, and the ability to share multiple files with multiple users. All legal issues aside, this was considered a huge breakthrough. I remember the first few times I used Napster and how exciting it was to be able to trade files quickly (well, relatively quickly, I was still on a 33.6K dialup connection).

Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing has come a long way since then. There are hundreds of networks, thousands of software programs for connecting, and a multitude of ways to find trouble with them.

I haven't used P2P systems in a long time. Mostly because I was tired of the half-finished files, the bogus filenames that had nothing to do with what was actually being traded, the multiple legal problems, and now the more prevalent use of spyware and adware to "fund" these programs.

I have occasionally fired up Kazaa or a Gnutella program to surf for new music. For instance, recently during software testing of ES5 (see below), I was looking for tracks from the new album by the band Disturbed. I downloaded two or three, listened to them, and decided to buy the album. I did this with their last album and have done it with many other bands as well: I consider music files online to be a "try before you buy" opportunity.

I decided that for most P2P file sharing, there are really three categories of things commonly traded: music, porn, and software. So in testing each of the pieces of software below, I gauged them on speed of delivery (avg. download speed), number of items available (from those three categories), and how easy the software was to use. Ratings for these are given on an A-F scale (A being best, F being worst). In watching for spyware and adware, I used the latest version of AdAware (http://www.aaronzwebworkz.com/adaware.html) and SpyHunter (http://www.aaronzwebworkz.com/spyhunter.html), scanning before installation and after installation of the P2P software in question. I also downloaded five or six files per category from each system (where I could) to test for "schill" files (files that say they are one thing but are something else or just random data).

Each of the software titles below are available on CNet.com and TuCows.com for download. They are either freeware or shareware and are presented here in alphabetical order.

GNapster (v.0.2.1)

This one gets its name from…you guessed it, Napster. It's a pretty good utility and works fairly well, but the network is pretty empty compared to many of the larger networks available. I had a lot of trouble with downloads ending early (without completion), especially when downloading larger files. Most files smaller than eight megabytes came through OK, though. This might be a good starting point for the beginner.

File availability: music - B, porn - C, software - B

Speed: C

Ease of Use: A

AdAware and SpyHunter made a lot of noise upon installation of this one.

Grokster (v1.6)

There wasn't much here that couldn't be found through Google or Yahoo! and installing the software was an ad-driven nightmare. About the only good thing I can say about it is that it is easy to use once you've got it installed. Tip: don't install any of the "extras" it asks you about during install…they're all adware.

File availability: music - C, porn - D, software - C

Speed: B

Ease of Use: B

Both AdAware and SpyHunter went zonkers after installing this one.

Kazaa Lite

This version of the software for connecting to one of the top P2P networks (Kazaa) supposedly has no spyware. It is a modified version of the Kazaa Media Desktop (below), but without all of the extras (good and bad). Using this software isn't bad, but novices will probably find it somewhat confusing. The network was pretty good with fast download speeds and reliable connections. Many of the files downloaded, however, were schill files (not what they said they were) - especially music files. Overall, there is a ton of stuff available on this network, but don't be surprised if you have to download a particular file three or four times before you find one that is really what you're after. For this reason, I lowered the Speed rating below.

File availability: music - A, porn - B, software - A

Speed: C

Ease of Use: C

While claiming that this does not contain spyware or adware, AdAware immediately gave warning upon installation of this software. Travel at your own risk. It should be noted that this software has many patches available around the Internet that may or may not alleviate the spyware/adware problem.

Kazaa Media Desktop (v.2.5.1)

A much more robust version of Kazaa Lite, this software has lots of cool features, like improved privacy protection, multiple simultaneous searches, etc. This is easily the best way to surf the Kazaa network. As with Kazaa Lite, however, schill files abound.

File availability: music - A, porn - B, software - A

Speed: C

Ease of Use: A

AdAware popped up a few warnings, but SpyHunter found this one clean.

Koala DC (v0.4)

This software uses the Direct Connect protocol. It has some useful features and fast loading times, but the network itself is what's dragging it down. The software really would be better off if it could connect to a more-used network like Kazaa or Gnutella.

File availability: music - C, porn - D, software - C

Speed: B

Ease of Use: A

Not a peep from AdAware or SpyHunter!

LimeWire (v3.5.7)

This software utilizes the popular Gnutella network for sharing. It's very well-made and does an awesome job, including lots of cool features. While there are a few confusing aspects to the software, they aren't anything that will stop even novices from using it first-try with success. The Gnutella network is one of the best known P2P networks around. Watch out for schill files when looking for music, however, and be aware that this is one of the networks specifically being targeted by RIAA.

File availability: music - B, porn - A, software - A

Speed: B

Ease of Use: A

Both AdAware and SpyHunter gave no warnings after install.

Morpheus (v3.3)

This is one of the better of the P2P software I tried. It runs very well, is fast, easy to understand, and has cool extra features (like the ability to search for specific file types). With all of this, it's too bad their network is so pathetic. File availability is OK, but not great and good luck keeping your connection to a file host long enough to get it downloaded. Disconnecting users, slow speeds, and similar problems plague anyone looking for large files on this network.

File availability: music - A, porn - B, software - C

Speed: D

Ease of Use: A

Both AdAware and SpyWare gave no warnings after this software was installed.

OneMX (v1.06)

This software uses the eDonkey network, a protocol under the GNU public license. On the whole, I'm thoroughly unimpressed. While this was a pretty small download and fairly easy install, this software is clunky, crashed repeatedly, and the network is full of emptiness once you do get a search to work.

File availability: music - D, porn - F, software - C

Speed: D

Ease of Use: D

On the up-side, no worries from AdAware or SpyHunter on this one.

Phex (v.0.7.3)

This one was a disaster. It installed fine to start with, but I only got it to function properly once - and then I was confused by its primitive (old-school Mac-like) interface. It runs through the Gnutella network, but I wasn't able to run it well enough to give a rating for file availability or speed.

File availability: music - ?, porn - ?, software - ?

Speed: ?

Ease of Use: D

AdAware and SpyHunter found nothing wrong here.

Swapper.NET (v4.1)

This is a utility for using Gnutella. It's very fast, easy to install, and very easy to use. I would say that of all the software tested, this is the best one for beginners. It also does pretty well on local networks (like my in-office/home wireless network), which many of the others don't. Other than some of the occasional schill files you'll find on Gnutella, this is a pretty good piece of software for those who don't need a lot of bells and whistles.

File availability: music - B, porn - B, software - A

Speed: B

Ease of Use: A

AdAware and SpyHunter gave this one a thumbs up.

ThinDivide (v3.65)

This is a great Gnutella-enabled client with lots of good options. It will take a little time for the novice to master, but is worth the trouble if you plan to spend a lot of time swapping. It integrates with the largest number of Gnutella clients of any of the software reviewed as well, giving you a much higher availability of files on the network.

File availability: music - A, porn - B, software - A

Speed: B

Ease of Use: C

AdAware had a cow after this was loaded, so be careful. SpyHunter stayed silent.

WebMedia Spider Suite (v3.2.15)

This software is nothing short of awesome. It uses the Gnutella network, but has some really cool extras. This suite is three separate programs that each of the three pieces of software specialize in a specific activity or file type: one for searching (massively), one for pictures and video (with a built-in player), and a media manager (for sound, video, etc.). All three are very cool and can be used separately or in tandem.

File availability: music - B, porn - B, software - B

Speed: B

Ease of Use: B

AdAware and SpyHunter gave clean bills of health - not surprising as this is shareware, not freeware.

XoloX Ultra (v1.57)

This one uses the Gnutella network, but seems to have a specialty in porn. It is ad-driven, but not maliciously so (ads only appear on some screens and are almost all some kind of adult content). While this software supposedly has parental controls, they don't work all that well. It does have a nice external virus scan utility, though.

File availability: music - C, porn - A, software - C

Speed: B

Ease of Use: B

AdAware and SpyHunter had nothing to say after I installed this one

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Aaron Turpen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Networking, Software and SEO Search Engine Optimization. Aaron Turpen is the proprietor of Aaronz WebWorkz, a web services company providing consultation, development, and more to small businesses online. Aaron publishes several newsletters regularly and is the author of many ebooks, including "The Layman's Gui. Aaron Turpen's top article generates over 9900 views. Bookmark Aaron Turpen to your Favourites.

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