As millions of people are using P2P file sharing software to swap music, movies and videos, books and various other files over the internet (like software or cracks for them). There are a lot of free peer-to-peer file sharing programs "on the market", some of them offers their users great numbers of files of different kind to choose from, some software u ses network resources. If your question is "what's the best P2P file sharing program I should use?" the answers is that depends on your needs and how you know and like to do things. You can find some programs easier to use than others, and more, each program has its own strengths and weakness. Some people uses two or three P2P softwares depending of easy to find are the files they are searching.
Even I don't recommend (loudly) the usage of the P2P software because the copyright infrigements that they can bring, they were very useful in some situation when they provided songs or other files that were otherwise unavailable. So I have a few recommendation about the programms I used or (mostly) I found about from others.
BitComet
It's a very popular file sharing program for Microsoft Windows that uses the BitTorrent protocol. It supports HTTP/FTP downloading and employs P2P to further increase download speeds. The BitComet interface has an interesting feature: an embedded Internet Explorer window to make searching for Bit Torrents easier. Too bad I don't use Internet Explorer except the extreme cases I really need it.
eMule
The eMule project started in 2002 with the goal of building an improved free eDonkey client. In time eMule has achieved a large user base, connecting both to the eDonkey P2P file sharing network and few others (like Source Exchange and Kad). It contains no advertising and its software base is well-maintained by an open source development team. The chief limitation of eMule is its speed: it typically performs downloading much slower than other P2P clients.
µTorrent
A lightweight client for Microsoft Windows that is fast on downloads and light on resources. µTorrent is an ultra-compatible program that works with all versions of Windows and uses less than 6mb of memory. It is feature-rich and has become one of the most popular file sharing programs in use on the Internet.
BitTorrent
BitTorrent is a free P2P file sharing software application that has attracted a loyal following among those interested in sharing movies and television programs. The offical BitTorrent P2P client generally does not support bandwidth throttling, meaning that it will tend to monopolize a network connection and not allow surfing the Internet or otherwise utilizing the network while files are being downloaded or uploaded. Various other alternative BitTorrent clients like Azureus, BitComet and BitTornado also exist. It works on Mac and Windows.
Shareaza
As the installed base of Shareaza client users grows, it has become an increasingly better P2P file sharing program. This client offers an extremely powerful search engine capable of connecting to multiple popular P2P networks including eDonkey, BitTorrent and Gnutella. Shareaza file sharing software includes intelligence for detecting fake and/or corrupted files. The free Shareaza download also contains no ads or spyware.
Limewire
Limewire is one of the best P2P file sharing softwares available, it's a client for the Java Platform which uses the Gnutella network to search and transfer files among users. Limewire is a free software, released under the GNU License, but it also has a Pro version which enables better optimized search results, faster downloads, tech support, etc.
Ares
Ares is a free open source P2P file sharing software that enables users to share any digital file (video, images, doc files, etc). Some of its feature are its powerful library organizer, chat rooms, built-in audio and video player. Ares automatically finds any new sources and downloads files from many users at once making it one of the fasters p2p softwares. It has support for BitTorrent protocol and Shoutcast radio stations.
Kazaa
Kazaa is one of the oldest P2P file sharing program and its still around, kicking butts! Kazaa has been around for a long time meaning it have many loyal users and lots of files being shared among them. It also features built-in virus protection as well as filters to avoid adult and dangerous files from being shown. You can also customize the toolbars as you like.
StrongDC++
StrongDC++ is another open source P2P file sharing software. It shares files through the Direct Connect Network. It is a modification of the program DC++ and it incorporates many other features not found in DC++. Its main features include Segmented File downloading, partial file sharing, download/upload limiter, and customization to the look and feel of the program.
As a conclusion, the following software I am recommending you is not a P2P file sharing program, but in can only help having it around when you are using such P2P software. As you already read, some of these programs have the tendency to use all the available bandwith, letting no chance for the user to browse the interne while he's downloading software. The next software can help you reducing the traffic without any problem from the P2P softwares point of view.
NetLimiter
NetLimiter is an ultimate internet traffic control and monitoring tool designed for Windows. You can use NetLimiter to set download/upload transfer rate limits for applications or even single connection and monitor their internet traffic. Along with this unique feature, Netlimiter offers comprehensive set of internet statistical tools. It includes real-time traffic measurement and long-term per-application internet traffic statistics. There are 3 NetLimiter editions available, Pro, Lite and freeware Monitor.
