File sharing is a method of distributing
electronically stored information such as
computer program
A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes software documentation, documentation and oth ...
s and
digital media
Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ...
. Below is a list of file sharing applications, most of them make use of
peer-to-peer file sharing
Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program t ...
technologies.
This comparison contains also
download manager
A download manager is a software tool that manages the downloading of files from the Internet, which may be built: into a Web browser, or as a, usually more sophisticated program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
...
s that can be used as file sharing applications. For pure download managers see the
comparison of download managers
Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...
, and for BitTorrent-only clients the
comparison of BitTorrent clients.
Table
* Note that several applications had
adware
Adware, often called advertising-supported software by its developers, is software that generates revenue for its developer by automatically generating online advertisements in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the ...
or
spyware
Spyware (a portmanteau for spying software) is software with malicious behaviour that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user—for example, by violating their priv ...
tied in during the past and may have it again in the future. The same goes for
forks
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods eit ...
of open source apps, e.g.
eMule
eMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. Started in May 2002 as an alternative to eDonkey2000, eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network. The distinguishing features of eMule are th ...
. This list attempts to display the current status only.
* No longer available from their websites: Acquisition,
Audiogalaxy,
Bearshare,
Bitblinder,
CuteMX,
edonkey2000,
Grokster,
iMesh,
Kazaa,
Kazaa Lite,
Limewire,
Manolito,
Morpheus,
Napster,
Pando and
Scour Exchange
*
Opera web browser
Opera is a multi-platform web browser developed by its namesake company Opera. The browser is based on Chromium, but distinguishes itself from other Chromium-based browsers ( Chrome, Edge, etc.) through its user interface and other features. ...
no longer includes P2P functionality.
See also
Other comparisons
Notes
{{File sharing protocols
File sharing applications
File sharing software