File sharing alternatives ... what are they?

I was just curious as to what the various file sharing alternatives were currently. I am also concerned about privacy. I came up with the following list of FS methods with their associated benefits and risks. I was hoping someone could help myself (and possibly others) understand the benefits/risks of the methods they might consider to share content.

Method/benefit/downside/risk


USENET

Very fast downloads, almost complete privacy/limited availability of content/almost no risk


Bit-torrent

A lot of available content with fellow user feedback on quality of dl/dls can be fast or slow (slower than UN)/Inherent risk of being identified as your IP is being shared with the rest of the world


FS site such as Hotfiles, etc.

A lot of available content/dl limits unless you become a "premium member"/I would really like to know the risks of using these types of sites



Please add other methods here and correct my perceptions above.

I was just wondering if there is something better out there ...

Thanks all.

Off the top of my head, BT, Usenet, DC hubs, IRC, Gnutella, DDL, FXP boards, FTP topsites and/or dumps, Slsk, I2P, probably like a hundred other proprietary protocols similar to Gnutella, etc.

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Originally Posted by ca_aok

Off the top of my head, BT, Usenet, DC hubs, IRC, Gnutella, DDL, FXP boards, FTP topsites and/or dumps, Slsk, I2P, probably like a hundred other proprietary protocols similar to Gnutella, etc.

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OK ... but what about the risks inherent with using each of these methods?

The least risk comes from anything that is S2P instead of P2P. So DDL links, IRC, and Usenet. Then anything swarm based with the possibility for anonymity, so something like BT, I2P, or whatever else. Finally, the most risk is direct P2P transfer, which is stuff like DC hubs, Slsk, Gnutella, etc, because if you download from or upload to an anti-P2P spook, they can more easily ID you.

but don't you have to pay for usenet...=downside.?

No, you don't have to pay for usenet, all the answers to that question can be found on this board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by filedud

FS site such as Hotfiles, etc.

A lot of available content/dl limits unless you become a "premium member"/I would really like to know the risks of using these types of sites

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The only risk I can think of is the file hoster logging IPs and then handing them to the cops. But that's not very frequent, and even so uploaders would take more risk than downloaders.

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Originally Posted by esco123

but don't you have to pay for usenet...=downside.?

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I've been using Usenet quite a bit ever since I found out about Binload, a free server with good speeds and retention but which forces you to use their proprietary client. Read through this subforum a bit and you'll know how to use it on your favorite one, however. (I use SABnzbd)

Pointing out that like DDL, free usenet and paid usenet don't offer the same pros.

You could get into the scene... join a group.... get access to Topsites. You wont need bittorrent or p2p at all.

If it was that easy, everyone would be leeching from topsites.