January 02, 2008 by sharky
A list of P2P Networks and Clients
A P2P Network is a network consisting of other connected users, implemented for file sharing and transfers. To access a P2P network, users simply download and install a suitable P2P client application. P2P clients require a network to connect to, in order to join all of the users to each other that are using the same client (or other network-compatible clients). A common example would be Limewire - when you run the Limewire program, it connects to the Gnutella network. It is through the Gnutella network that all Limewire users are connected and thus all available files and searching. It would be fair to say that the network is actually more important than the client program - remove the network and the client has nothing to connect to.
Most P2P networks support multiple clients - that is, clients are created for the networks and not the other way around. For example, if the Limewire program were to disappear or stop working, there are numerous other clients available that will connect to the existing Gnutella network. Many new P2P programs are just adaptations of existing ones (for better or for worse) which will connect to those same networks.
A common misconception among most file sharers is that the quality of P2P file sharing (importance) relies heavily on the client program. For instance, lately I’ve seen comments in online forums from people who argue about which P2P program is better: Limewire, Frostwire or Addax P2P. I actually laughed out loud at the redundancy - essentially they are completely identical in every way - including the most important part: they connect to the Gnutella network. Thus search results will be the same as will the download speeds and available sources. (If you can’t find a particular song on Limewire, you sure as heck won’t find it on the other two, either).
Variety in P2P searching
It’s important to wrap one’s head around the significance of the network, not the program. Most tech-savvy P2P users already know this - and thus use more than one P2P program that connect to different networks (with a whole new group of users sharing different material). This is particularly important to users who are searching for specific files, hard-to-find stuff, or genre-oriented tastes and preferences - whatever it may be. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on Limewire, try Direct Connect, Ares or eMule. This is not new information to IRC and Usenet users - they join specific channels or newsgroups that cater to exactly what they’re after.
About our List
Our list of networks/clients is anything but complete. We’ve purposely omitted many P2P clients that contain adware/spyware, cost money to use, or don’t connect (i.e. “dead” projects). This list is for MS Windows (XP) although many clients support multi-platforms. See the Wikipedia links at the bottom for more comprehensive results, including P2P networks and protocols.
P2P NETWORKS
| P2P Network (or Protocol) |
Supporting active P2P Client Programs |
|---|---|
| Aimini | Aimini connect to its own network |
| Ares | Ares Galaxy, KCeasy |
| ANts P2P | ANts P2P, JetiANts, itsdargens.com |
| CSpace | CSpace, RetroShare |
| Direct Connect | DC++ (Among others) |
| eD2K (eDonkey) | eMule, aMule, Emule Plus, MLDonkey, Shareaza |
| ExoSee | ExoSee connects to its own network |
| FastTrack | (old KaZaA network) Only one known to work - Torrent Searcher |
| FileTopia | FileTopia |
| Freenet | Freenet, Frost |
| giFT (OpenFT) | KCeasy, AudioGnome |
| Gnutella (G1) | Limewire, Bearshare, Shareaza, Truxshare, KCeasy, Zultrax, Addax P2P, Cabos, Fusteeno, Mastermax, MP3Rocket, Phex |
| Gnutella (G2) | Shareaza, Truxshare, Mastermax, MLDonkey |
| I2P | I2Phex, iMule, i2P darknet, i2pSnark |
| KAD | eMule, aMule, Emule Plus, MLDonkey, CSpace |
| Manolito/MP2P | Manolito, Blubster, Piolet (Adware/Spyware) |
| MUTE | MUTE, MFC Mute, NapShare |
| Nodezilla | Nodezilla |
| OFF Network | Off System |
| OpenNap | AudioGnome, XNap, WinMX, Napster (old version), Lopster, SunshineUN, JLop, Utatane |
| Rodi | Rodi |
| RShare | StealthNet |
| SoulSeek | Soulseek (Windows), SolarSeek (for Mac) |
| Tor | Tor, Onionland |
| WASTE | WASTE |
| WPNP (WinMX) | WinMX (old versions with the MXPie patch) |
| ZEPP | Zultrax |
P2P Networks & Protocols on Wikipedia.com
| P2P Network (or Protocol) |
Wikipedia Link |
|---|---|
| Ares | wiki/Ares Galaxy - Clients |
| ANts P2P | wiki/ANts P2P |
| BitTorrent (protocol) | wiki/Comparison Of BitTorrent Software |
| CSpace | wiki/CSpace |
| Direct Connect | wiki/Direct Connect/Client Software |
| eD2K (eDonkey) | wiki/EDonkey Network - Clients |
| FastTrack | wiki/FastTrack |
| Freenet | wiki/Freenet |
| giFT/OpenFT | wiki/OpenFT & /wiki/GiFT |
| GNUnet | wiki/GNUnet |
| Gnutella (G1) | wiki/Comparison Of Gnutella Software |
| Gnutella (G2) | wiki/Gnutella2 - Clients |
| I2P | wiki/I2P |
| KAD | wiki/Kad_network - Clients |
| Manolito/MP2P | wiki/MANOLITO |
| MUTE | wiki/MUTE |
| Nodezilla | wiki/Nodezilla |
| OpenNap | wiki/OpenNap |
| SoulSeek | wiki/Soulseek |
| Tor | wiki/Tor - Anonymity Network |
| WASTE | wiki/WASTE |
| WPNP (WinMX) | wiki/WPNP |
| ZEPP | wiki/Zultrax |
| Other Useful Wikipedia Links | |
| Category: | File Sharing Networks |
| Category: | Anonymous File Sharing Networks |
| Category: | Free File Sharing Software |
| Category: | BitTorrent |
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