One of the most important parts of the bit torrent network is obviously the trackers, cause without them, there would be no bit torrents. However, over the last couple of years, much change has occurred to the bit torrent client software, one of these changes is the DHT, or the ability to download a file without an actual tracker. Unlike other P2P networks, the bit torrent network relies on the torrent file which contains a sort of roadmap to the other computers in the network that maintain parts or whole files of that particular file you are looking for.

Although by technicality, you can download without the need of a tracker, the hardest part, is getting others to access the same file without some sort of centralization. This comes more into play when dealing with a file which for any number of possible reasons, may become no longer available. In this case, if the bit torrent file has been set up to allow DHT, the remaining computers can still connect with each other and continue the full download. So the DHT, is more fundamentally for the longevity of a bit torrent file rather than the ability to completely download without a centralized bit torrent indexing website.

Other forms of trackers, which are not as appearent is the us of an RSS feed style connection in which any and all clients in the network broadcast the files that are open for share to the other clients in the network. This allows you to search within the client side software to find the file you are looking for. Although this is more accurate as far as the number of available sources, it also leads to a higher level of legal responsibility on the developer of the P2P software.

One such program that utilizes this RSS style feature is the Ares P2P network. In this network, which is also capable of downloading torrents as well, you can also preview the file that you are downloading. For example, if you are downloading a movie file, you can preview it by pushing play, but instead of seeing the whole thing, you can only see the parts that you have already downloaded. The program itself, splices the pieces together to allow you to preview it.

But Ares is a P2P program and not technically a bit torrent protocol software seeing as it uses a different line of protocols more similar to that of eDonkey.

It is, no matter how you look at it, important to have some means to communicate between the various nodes, or client computers in any bit torrent or P2P network. It is within this communication that allows you to be able to connect with other computers to ensure that you can download the file that you are looking for. Unfortunately, just as the software needs these communications, or “road maps”, any person who is of a dubious nature can also access these IP addresses that the clients utilize in order to take advantage of your own personal computer as well as ISP.

Popularity: 11% [?]

When peer-to-peer sharing of files first started, they utilized a centralized server to maintain the files. This was to become known as the first generation of P2P networks and is known as the server-client-protocol. When a client wanted a file, they would search the centralized server and in return the server would facilitate the client with a list of other users who have that file.

The two biggest examples of the first generation server-client-protocol P2P networks are that of Napster and eDonkey2000. Although eDonkey decided to become decentralized to update with the times, Napster instead chose the other option which was to become a paid-for service.

In general though, server-client-protocol networks were in existence long before Napster and eDonkey2000. Since the dawn of the internet era, small private communities could use a web server to store their files and facilitate the downloads to other members, but it was Napster who did this on a large enough scale to be noticed by the various copyright authorities who in-turn shut Napster down then began legal proceedings against various teenage youth who often used the network.

There have been numerous server-client-protocol networks throughout the hay day of the first generation of P2P networking. Some of these networks included Audiogalaxy who shut their doors in 2002, Napster who closed in 2001 then reopened as a pay-service, Scour Exchange who was Napster’s biggest competition but has been completely shut down as well as Soulseek which is still up and fully operational with over 120,000 members world-wide.

Although the first generation of P2P networks is considered to be out-dated, they still exist just like the old Atari consoles, their strong following and large community has allowed them to stay around for much longer than most people would have figured.

P2P networks are very popular with not just the young teenage crowd, but many people who you would never expect are involved with the various P2P file sharing networks around the world. You seriously have to think about it though. How would the average teenager get an advanced screening version of a movie before it is available in the theaters? Many of the pirated films of movies in theaters may even have been made right from the projection room.

Regardless of your age, you are always welcome to join in the P2P file sharing revolution and be part of one of the largest communities in the world, the bit torrent community. There are some internet service providers who might go as far as saying that more than 75% of the world is already active in the bit torrent P2P file sharing network. So why aren’t you? The more time goes by, the more you fall behind in the technology. It is changing almost daily and if you wait too long, you may just find yourself on a website looking up a term that is used by the program that you have no clue as to what it means.

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The eDonkey P2P file sharing network began quite simply as a first generation server-client-protocol network, but became eDonkey2000 as part of its decentralization process. It no longer uses a centralized service as it did in the past, but unlike Napster who stayed centralized as a pay service, eDonkey became a totally different machine.

When eDonkey first began, it was sponsored by the MetaMachine Corporation who has since gone out of business, but the network still remains as a proprietary freeware based network that still runs on the original protocol developed by the MetaMachine Corporation. eDonkey2000 is a C++ based file sharing client application which was slightly modified from its original form to accommodate the decentralization process. The original server set-up used a closed-source C coded program that was developed by Lugdunum. Although the network is decentralized, it still utilizes its own servers to store the meta data much like the bit torrent indexing servers do.

Basically, the major difference between eDonkey and bit torrent, is that unlike bit torrent which you can get the .torrent file almost anywhere, the eDonkey network requires their tracker to be on their servers. Likewise, rather than the clients themselves making independent connections to each other autonomously, with the eDonkey Network, your client program first contacts the server who in turn will match your client up with another. All of the eDonkey file sharing is done in this “shaking hands” mannerism which basically requires the use of the servers.

Although it may be considered to be decentralized, the fact of the matter is that due to the necessity to shake hands with an eDonkey2000 server, it still falls under the first generation of file sharing networks, and may even be considered an out-dated technology by many. Unlike the bit torrent network, with eDonkey there is absolutely no privacy what-so-ever. Since each client has to shake hands with a server, these servers can then keep logs of all the clients around the world, as well as what files they have requested and what files they have completely downloaded.

Although eDonkey has a fairly good following that comes by means of many years of devoted users, eventually, due to the requirement to shake hands, their network will eventually disintegrate into an oblivion. eDonkey is considered by many to offer competition to the bit torrent network, but in reality, there is no competition because the number of users around the world is no where near being closely matched.

The truth is, that the bit torrent file sharing network is the largest community in the world. With literally hundreds of millions of users world-wide, this network is considered by many internet service providers to take up a large chunk of the world internet bandwidth usage.

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There are many peer to peer file sharing protocols out there and even more variations of the original open source code, many of these are anonymous, while still many are not. One of the anonymous peer to peer file sharing programs out there is known as ANts and is written in Java back in 2004.

The ANts peer to peer file sharing program and protocol is an open source peer to peer file sharing protocol that encrypts all incoming and outgoing connections between clients in the network which makes the detection of the originating IP Address extremely difficult. The Java based peer to peer file sharing program is automatically updating and features not only point to point encrypting, but also end to end encryption as well. The software also makes multiple connection paths in order to route packets of data easier encase a node is lost. This makes the network redundant and less prone to failure and bottle neck incidents. It will automatically give preference to faster connections allowing them to be more than equal and to become part of the network’s backbone as a super node.

ANts is also capable of supporting the eDonkey links for downloading and features a built-in automatic searching capabilities. Like many other peer to peer file sharing protocols, is can support has and can fully index your files if you want t to. The network can also use a chat service; however, this chat capability is not anonymous.

All of the queries are asymmetrically encrypted so that only the original query source can view the results. Although anyone can read the query strings, the asymmetric approach means that anything another node reads, can not be interpreted by the average human mind.

In order to ensure that a node stays anonymous, all files are transferred across several nodes and the system never allows a direct download from another. All of this has been done in order to prevent another client from figuring out your client’s true location. Furthermore, ANts allows you to run a proxy such as TOR along side of the client side Java program to help further the inability to determine the originating IP address of any user.

Much effort has gone in to ensuring that not only is the network redundant in order to prevent failures, but is also completely anonymous in order to protect the various node from detection not only from their ISP, but from anyone who may be watching downloads. Unlike some peer to peer networks in existence today, their have been virtually no incidents reported in which an ANts user has had legal charges brought up against them for downloading or sharing copyrighted data.

This is not to say it is impossible, but it is not easy in the least.

Popularity: 7% [?]