Everybody is looking something for nothing, and peer to peer file sharing programs are delivering, making anything digital available for free.

People who want to participate in P2P file sharing store the files they want to share in a specified folder on their computer, then connect the folder to the Internet by downloading and running P2P software, such as BitTorrent, KaZaA, Nutella, iMesh, Scour Exchange or CuteMX.

In elementary school, teachers tell us it’s a good thing to share, but if you configure the P2P program incorrectly, you can end up sharing a lot more than you expected.

And it’s not just your information. It could be other people’s information. A 2009 congressional hearing found that the location of the first lady’s safe house was available on file sharing networks, as well as the Social Security Numbers of every master sergeant in the Army and medical records of 24,000 patients of a Texas hospital.

Or you could be putting your computer at extra risk for acquiring viruses and other malicious software designed to destroy your computer as well as other s.

P2P software has also enabled the easy spread of child pornography on the Internet. A 2003 report by the Government Accountability Office found that juvenile users of P2P software are at significant risk of unintended exposure to child pornography.

The GAO report found that searches on innocuous keywords that juveniles are likely to use, such as the names of cartoon characters or celebrities resulted in a high proportion of links to pornographic images, including cartoon pornography.

When college students participate in P2P file sharing, there was so much additional traffic on the networks that colleges such as Loyola University in Chicago, are considering banning P2P.

The internet is a place that has opened the doors of communication and has allowed more nad more things to become accessible to the masses. A large part of the internet these days includes downloading and sharing files. A recent innovation to help in this process is called peer-to-peer sharing, or P2P and has changed the way files are exchanged over the internet.

P2P file sharing allows for multiple people to share their files for free with each other. It is a convenient way to share and download files and has risen in popularity all across the world. There are many different P2P software programs that you can download or purchase to help you in your file downloading. Be sure to select a type of software that allows for multi-tasking, there are many programs that add fun while you wait for your file to download like chatting as well as the ability to begin new downloads.

Consider each of the following file sharing programs for your own personal download experiences:

1. Shareaza: This program offers a powerful search engine, and a free download without any ads or spyware.

2. BitTorrent: This is great for videos and movies, although you can not surf the net while utilizing this client.

3. Ares: This a P2P network with quick connection times and a build-in chat service.

4. Bearshare: This is a popular P2P sharing program with free and paid programs.

5. Kazaa: This is the single most popular file sharing program in existence and is said to be fast and easy to use.

You can’t deny that free file sharing programs have taken the Internet world by storm. And right now, you may be wondering which file sharing program will work best for your needs. Here’s the thing…learning which sites are the best for free file sharing will largely depend on what you want to do. Every program has its own set of strengths. But, on the other hand, every program also has its own set of weaknesses. Spend a few moments thinking about what your needs are while reading the difference between the following platforms.

The first of the free file sharing programs is called uTorrent. It is considered a lightweight client with many features and is compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows. Downloads are fast and you won’t need to use a ton of resources to access files. uTorrent is a streamlined program that is not as large as several other file sharing programs, however its popularity is unparalleled.

The next is BitComet who is also compatible with MS Windows. One major benefit of BitComet is that its interface can be embedded in your Internet Explorer window. Searching for Bit Torrents is convenient and easier with this feature.

And finally consider LimeWire which is a Java program that can run on any platform using a Java Virtual Machine. The download speed is good and for even faster service, you can upgrade to the pro version for minimal cost.

The free versions supports firewall-to-firewall transfers and even iTunes integration so that you can easily share music. Even better, you will have built-in support for your BitTorrent. So, there you have it – a brief summary of the most popular free file sharing programs online. Remember to consider your needs when choosing a program.

When people think of file sharing, they typically think of the new age of peer to peer (p2p) file transfers of MP3′s, videos and any other type of digitally contained file. However, most people will be surprised that file sharing itself actually dates back to before the 1970′s when, though more primitive, companies and individuals would share keys to the files of customers and other data.

Since the days of hole punched keys that were accessible to only a few individuals within a large corporation, we have come a very long way. Now we are able to share anything and everything with just the click of a mouse button. This has led to the prevalence of people illegally pirating (stealing or copying without consent) copyrighted materials and distributing them, free of charge generally, to others. In turn, the government has been forced to crack down on these illegal activities in order to ensure a profit for those who worked so hard on the materials that are now being undermined.

The initial crackdown came early in the new millennium when Napster, a P2P based services started by Shawn Fanning to more easily find digital forms of music than what was available, was sued by Metallica, Dr. Dre, several major record labels and others. Soon after the lawsuits were filed, Napster was shut down temporarily. Since these lawsuits, and several others against Napster and other companies, many P2P networking sites that allow file sharing have included clauses in their terms of service agreements that they are not to be held liable for such illegal activities. This has made it safer for companies who offer these services, but has also made it harder for individuals to get materials that would be considered copyrighted.

Are you looking for a place to share and download music and other files? There are many places and other file sharing programs that are on the internet that you can download to get the files you are after. There are some warnings that you have to know before you just start downloading media. There are good things about these programs as well.

Some things that you have to be aware about before you start downloading media to your computer. There are viruses that you can get if you don’t have a great antivirus program to protect the files already on your computer. Viruses are everywhere so you have to monitor the files you download. Some files will partially download and say that the file is corrupt or file cannot be opened. Most of the time this means that there is a threat in that file. Do not try to reopen it or redownload the file. Get rid of it off your computer and get another file.

Some things that make these programs so good is that is a p2p file sharing program. For those people that don’t know what p2p is, it is a peer to peer file sharing program. This means that whatever you are looking for, other people that use the same software that you are using, you can get it from. Basically, people share the files on their computer with other people that use the same program. This is great because you can find what you’re looking for.