April 09, 2010 by sharky
You may have noticed a new banner here at FSF - we were so impressed by Gygan that we chose to sponsor them. We’d consider Gygan to be a hybrid filesharing app; something of a cross between a DDL hoster, a seedbox, a download client, and an internal indexer. Gygan effectively incorporates a number of great features that can be found through other filesharing protocols, and rolls them all into one primary service.
• Gygan is NOT ‘peer-to-peer’. In contrast to decentralized peer-to-peer based applications such as Limewire, Gygan users (uploaders, downloaders) do not share their IP addresses through the app (to each other), since users are uploading to and downloading from Gygan’s servers directly. Thus, Gygan is a peerless leech app - akin to DDL and Usenet.
• Easily beats out DDL filehosters like RS, MU - without the wait-times, file size limitations, and speed restrictions that are normally associated with them. Since Gygan is an application (and not web-based), users are able to download (and upload) at their maximum bandwidth from Gygan’s servers. That’s right - unlimited speeds, no throttling & no daily download limits! — "We will max out any residential & most commercial connections."
• Similar to a BitTorrent client, but safer. Gygan is complemented by a massive web database where users can browse files that have been uploaded by other users. Upon downloading these *.gyg files (Gygan’s answer to .torrent files), they are then imported directly into the application where the transfer immediately begins. But contrary to a BT client there are no peers, no seeds/leeches, no ratios, and no IP addresses being shared.
• Different than ‘online storage’ services. 1-click hosters & online storage sites (YouSendIt/Dropbox) all have one very annoying thing in common: limitations on allowable file sizes and amount of personal storage. Gygan does away with all this nonsense and offers unlimited uploading & no restrictions on file size; consider Gygan to be your own personal seedbox — "Upload thousands of files, or upload one. You never run out of storage space. Uploading is FREE!"
Getting Started with Gygan
First, you’ll need to download and install the Gygan client. You’ll also need to create an account and login (on the website) - this is where your files and account details are managed. As well, login to the Gygan application.
Searching Gygan
There are two methods for searching for files on the Gygan network - through the application itself, and online. You won’t find this feature on any filehosters: Gygan provides a real-time searchable database of publicly added uploads on the network; currently there are about 60,000 available downloads to choose from.
1. Searching on the website…
By default, files are sorted in terms of popularity - these are marked with a green Verified checkmark. Details for each release is also given (click "details") which includes a list of files in the download, as well as screenshots, user comments and uploader’s description.
Downloading — Clicking on the download button will launch the release into the Gygan app; you’ll be prompted to specify how to handle the *.GYG file (see below).
One feature that stands out is the expanded view as seen in the video and adult categories, where screenshots for each release are displayed in the browse.
2. Searching via the Gygan app…
Download links from the site can be pasted into the program directly, and searching the network via the app is also supported. Thus, Gygan is entirely standalone - although the website is necessary for viewing & changing account details.
Your Gygan Account
Back in your Account > Summary link, here you’ll find the "Bandwidth Meter" which shows how much bandwidth is remaining on the account. Your download & upload history are also displayed, in addition to:
- Bytes Used: How much data you’ve downloaded
- Bytes Uploaded: A total sum of all your uploads
- Bytes Shared: How much data (in GB) that others have downloaded from you (this is also displayed as a number for each upload [# DLs] in the bottom right corner)
Uploading to Gygan
Two options exist for uploading (public and private sharing), although it’s only possible to upload from within the application itself.
Public links — If you chose this option, your uploads will be indexed publicly on the Gygan download page, visible to all. You’ll still receive your own unique link for sharing it directly, in addition to it being listed on Gygan.
Private links — Your link will be private, but you can share it on blogs, forums or just privately with friends. Private links are not indexed on Gygan.
Generate Screenshots — This is turned on by default when adding video files.
Contains Adult Content — Select this if package is for the Adult category.
Title / Description — A proper title and detailed description will help to promote your uploads.
Back in your Uploads area in Gygan, users are able to find these share links for each individual upload:
TIP: Files/folders can also be uploaded using Gygan’s context menu - on your PC simply right-click on a file (or folder) to directly import it to the Upload Files tab in Gygan. It’s worth noting that your uploads are not automatically uploaded - you’ll be able to make whatever changes you wish to conduct before being actually uploaded (ie - they’re added to your upload queue where you can finalize the upload).
Is There a Catch?
All this sounds impossibly catchy - so what’s the catch? Something as amazing as this couldn’t possibly be free, right? Actually yes, Gygan is entirely free to use - but up to a point. Just like filehosters, Gygan comes in two flavors - free and premium. Free accounts are capped to a 4GB monthly download bandwidth limit (uploading is always unlimited, and not counted to the cap), and users can upgrade the account to premium in order to purchase more bandwidth. Irregardless of the account type, users are able to download at full unbridled speeds. Try it, you’ll see.
‘Free users’ can still enjoy the same benefits of ‘premium users’. There will always be members who’ll choose not to upgrade to a premium account. Fair enough; but Gygan offers a great solution for "free users" to increase their monthly bandwidth allowance - simply upload your own stuff to Gygan and share the links. When someone downloads your shared (uploaded) files, you’ll get a share credit added to your allowable download total. It’s really that simple!
Gygan has a forum: http://www.gygan.com/forums/
Gygan’s Affiliates Programs:
*Note: Gygan is still in ‘beta’. The interface to see your reward points and earnings is not yet viewable on the account, but they are tracking all the points earned and as such payouts have/are being honored. This feature is coming soon!
Rewards for Referrals — Here’s another option: Join Gygan’s affiliate program, where you’ll earn money for every referral who signs up for a "free user" account. Payouts range between $0.75 - $2.00 for each new registered free account, whether they opt to subscribe to a paid upgrade or not.
FileShareFreak / Gygan Exclusive Offer
Ongoing talks with the Gygan team suggest that they’ll be announcing a unique link available only to FileShareFreak readers who signup through this article - one that offers a substantial increased amount of ‘free’ download bandwidth, which is rumored to be an increase from 4GB to 20GB for the first month. We can’t speculate as to how many readers this will be available to (it could be just 50, maybe 100) but it’s possible that this will be implemented as early as Monday, April 12th.
Stay tuned; we’ll update this article with more information as it rolls in.
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