Downloading movies and music

Over the past few years, file-sharing - i.e., the sharing of files over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks - has become a popular way for music lovers to sample and gather music from a wide range of performers. Although other types of files such as movies, television shows, and video games can also be downloaded and shared in this manner, music file-sharing is more widespread due to its lighter storage and lower bandwidth requirements.

However, most of the music downloaded and shared by consumers is copyrighted and hence, subject to laws limiting the rights of consumers to reproduce and distribute it.  In an attempt to discourage file-sharing, the recording industry in many countries has launched a campaign against file-sharers, suing them for copyright infringement. This webpage focuses on all forms of file-sharing.

On this site you will find explanations of all the popular forms of file sharing and links to the appropriate software with guides to its use. 

But let's just be clear - it is not illegal to use file sharing networks or software to exchange any file for which you hold the copyright, and we do not endorse sharing any file over which you have no rights.

You connect  to the network by using your P2P software to communicate to an always on computer called a 'host cache' whose only purpose is to provide a an address for your P2P software to connect to.  Once connected to  the network via the host cache, you can search for files, which is the start of the file sharing process. Your P2P software sends out queries with the name of the file you want, when another computer on the network receives the query, it searches to see if it has the file and also passes the query forward to another connected computer, and so on.  Each query has a TTL (Time To Live - A number that determines how times your query is passed on), and so it doesn’t get passed on forever. When a computer on the network receives a query and it has the file, it’s IP address and port is returned to your computer as a “query hit”. 

Your P2P software will now display a list of users that have the file you have been looking for, you can then choose other users to download the file from.  Once you have chosen to download the file from another user, this download takes place outside of the network using a different protocol called HTTP.

Because of the amount of trafic that was being generated with queries (as apposed to transfering files) Ultra Peers have been introduced.  Ultra Peers, answer the queries for all the connected computers, because now when you connect to a network your entire list of available files are posted to the Ultra Peer.