eMule
eMule is a free peer to peer (P2P) file sharing application first released in May 2002. Since then, the program has been downloaded over 350 million times. The distinguishing features of eMule are:
- free of any adware, spyware or malware
- clients use several networks to create one reliable network (ED2K, Source Exchange, Kad)
- the use of a credit system to reward frequent uploaders
- the direct exchange of sources between client nodes
- complex Boolean searches available to make searches more flexible
- a wide range of search possibilities which include: Servers (Local, and Global), web based (Jigle, and Filedonkey), and Kad
- preview function to allow users to look at files before they are completed
- each file is checked for corruptions whilst downloading to ensure an error free file
- fast recovery of any corrupted downloads
- built in IRC client to allow users to chat with other downloaders and chatters around the globe
How it Works
All files are given a hash value that depends on the file's contents, but not its filename. This allows each user to find all sources to a particular file no matter what file name each user has given the file. Files are then broken into 'chunks' of 9,500 kilobytes and downloaded in parts, so that a recipient shares the fragments of the file already downloaded before the download of the whole file is complete.
Credit System
eMule uses a credit system to reward users that contribute to the network by uploading to other clients. The more a user uploads, the higher their rating and the less time they have to spend queuing for an upload slot. For example, a peer with rating of x1 would have to wait twice as long to get an upload slot than a peer with a rating of x2.
