Technically, P2P programs aren't illegal, it's the stuff that's on it that's illegal. Since the record companies haven't given their permission to distribute their songs freely, it's illegal to do so. If you distribute a song you wrote and recorded on a P2P network, it's not illegal because you've given permission to share it. In essence, this sharing isn't illegal either, because it's the same as recording a song off the radio or letting a friend borrow a CD. The record companies are worried because they think it affects record sales, so they take legal action to stop it.
It's possilbe to get caught using a P2P network like Kazaa or Limewire, by tracing your IP to your service provider, and having your service provider give up your name. Or, they can find you by doing a whois search online and find your name and address. Of course, it's nearly impossible for them to do that with everyone. So they chose a few people here and there to pursue, hoping to scare off the rest.
Be sure to have a descent spyware and virus program or you can scan online free in multiple sources. Make sure you know about safety because many peer to peer networks have viruses. The link below has many resources including free antiviruses.
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html...
To BURN Music/Video CDs/DVDs Download this free
http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/...
http://www.download.com/realplayer/3000-...
http://offer.rhapsody.com/?pcode=srchrv&...
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=dvd%20burning%20software&tag=srch
Checkout these official ipod tutorials if you own an ipod
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?...
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/...
Be sure to have a descent spyware and virus program or you can scan online free in multiple sources. Make sure you know about safety because many peer to peer networks have viruses. The link below has many resources including free antiviruses.
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html...
Top P2P programs in order of popularity
1) eDonkey / Overnet http://compnetworking.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=compnetworking&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oldversion.com%2Fprogram.php%3Fn%3Dedonkey
eDonkey/Overnet is a state-of-the-art P2P file sharing software system. Especially popular in Europe, the two P2P networks eDonkey and Overnet combined support a large base of users and files. The eDonkey P2P client connects to both networks; the Overnet client is being merged into future releases of eDonkey. eDonkey runs on Windows, Linux and Macintosh computers. The free version of eDonkey contains embedded advertising but none of the dreaded "spyware" found in some free file sharing software.
2) Shareaza http://www.shareaza.com/
Shareaza is an up-and-coming 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. As the installed base of Shareaza client users grows, expect Shareaza to become an even better P2P file sharing program.
3) WinMX http://www.topshareware.com/WinMX-download-13747.htm
WinMX offers a large P2P file sharing network and a feature-rich client program that has evolved over years of development. True, WinMX has a reputation for being complex and more difficult to use than some alternatives. However, WinMX also provides power to users in managing their downloads, and it offers a wide selection of music (MP3) files. Some WinMX users report waiting in long queues to download popular files. WinMX software runs only on the Windows family of operating systems.
4) BitTorrent http://www.bittorrent.com/download
BitTorrent is another free P2P software application. It 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. A freely-available alternative BitTorrent client overcomes this limitation.
5) Limewire http://www.limewire.com/english/content/download.shtml
The Limewire P2P file sharing program connects to the Gnutella P2P network. Limewire client software is widely recognized for its clean user interface that does not contain adware. Sometimes billed as the "fastest file sharing program," Limewire claims to offer relatively good search and download performance. Free Limewire software downloads are available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh operating systems. Limewire Pro pay clients also exist.
6) Morpheus http://www.morpheus.com/download.asp
Morpheus P2P client application downloads exist in both free and paid Ultra versions. Compared to the free version, the Morpheus Ultra download additionally removes bundled advertising. Morpheus clients are capable of searching Gnutella2, FastTrack, eDonkey2K and Overnet P2P networks.
7) eMule http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/general.cgi?l=1
The eMule project started with the goal of building an improved free eDonkey client. eMule has achieved a large user base, connecting both to the eDonkey P2P file sharing network and a few others. It contains no advertising, and its software base is well-maintained by an open source development team. The chief limitation of eMule's P2P file sharing program is its speed: eMule typically performs downloading much slower than other P2P clients.
8) Ares http://aresgalaxy.sourceforge.net/
Ares is a full-featured free P2P network with its own file sharing programs including Ares Galaxy. Ares clients support decentralized music and other file sharing and include a built-in chat service. Ares strives to offer the simplicity of Kazaa clients with no adware and fast connection times.
9) BearShare http://www.bearshare.com/
The BearShare P2P file sharing program is a popular free software client for the Gnutella P2P network. Both free and pay downloads of BearShare file sharing programs exist.
10) Kazaa http://www.kazaa.com/us/products/downloadKMD.htm
The Kazaa software family (including the Kazaa Lite family of applications) has been the single-most popular P2P file sharing program / system of all time. Kazaa is fast and easy to use. However Kazaa software and the FastTrack network it utilizes appear to be declining rapidly in popularity and availability of files. Some have criticized the intrusiveness of "adware" embedded in free Kazaa clients. Others have complained about the frequency of encountering fake files on FastTrack.
Bit Torrent in Order of Popularity:
http://netforbeginners.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=netforbeginners&cdn=compute&tm=6&gps=84_789_1276_819&f=00&su=p284.5.420.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.demonoid.com/
Demonoid (a personal favorite of many About.com readers, Demonoid is also a major tracker database that supports thousands of swarms around the globe)
http://www.scrapetorrent.com/
Scrapetorrent.com is another torrent meta-search engine that is gaining popularity.
http://www.torrenttyphoon.com/
TorrentTyphoon.com (a unique bittorrent meta-search engine that searches several of the most popular sites. Unfortunately, it does not do a good job categorizing the torrent files themselves)
http://www.torrentbox.com/torrents-browse.php?news
Torrentbox.com Update: like Isohunt, Torrentbox is being sued by the MPAA as of February 28, 2006. The days for this fine search engine may be numbered.
http://thepiratebay.org/
The Pirate Bay (Pirate Bay, by readership size, is the most popular torrent search site today. Pirate Bay has an immense database of 360,000 torrents, the third largest database after Isohunt and Torrentspy.)
(May 31, 2006 update: The Pirate Bay has been shut down by Swedish authorities. Details are available on the Pirate Bay home page.)
(June 2006 update: The Pirate Bay has restarted operations, now that the police have duplicated the PB hard drives for forensic purposes. Enjoy this database while it is still around, folks!)
http://www.torrentspy.com/
Torrentspy.com offers over 420,000 torrents in its database, the largest torrent index that is readily available to the public. Enjoy it while you can.
http://www.torrentscan.com/
Torrentscan.com (a "meta-search" engine, which is a search engine that searches other search engines)
http://www.torrentreactor.to/
Torrentreactor.to (Torrentreactor has made a comeback from a hijacking and an uncooperative hosting service. They have moved to a different server setup and a Tonga country domain outside the USA. Read the details on their home page.)
http://www.mininova.org/
Mininova.org has 150,000 torrents indexed as of December, 2006. Mininova is the successor to Suprnova, one of the original big torrent databases of the Web.
http://www.isohunt.com/
Isohunt.com
January 22 update, 2007: Although Isohunt was suddenly shut down by its original ISP before the weekend, the administrators have relaunched the service on a new ISP with new hardware. There are still problems, but Isohunt does live for the time being. The MPAA lawsuit is slated for a March summary judgment, so make sure you use Isohunt now, while you still can.
January 8 update, 2007: Isohunt has nearly 400,000 torrents in their database. Also noteworthy: any Isohunt torrent listed as "ISOhunt release" means that it is a file verified by the administrators...a nice feature to help you locate authentic torrents and not fake files. On a sad note: Isohunt is being sued by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for copyright infringement. If you want to use this tremendous Canadian site, you better use it while you can.
http://www.torrentmatrix.com/
Torrentmatrix.com
http://202.21.32.130/nobyt/index.asp
ByTorrents Meta Search
http://www.torrentportal.com/
Torrentportal.com
http://www.snarf-it.org/
Snarf It! (born from previous Suprnova influences)
http://btjunkie.org/
BTjunkie
http://www.torrentz.com/
Torrentz.com (special thanks to reader, Jonathan R., for this link)
http://torrents.to/
Torrents.to
http://www.legaltorrents.com/index.htm
LegalTorrents.com (As the name implies, this is a database of public-domain content. Thanks to Anand S. for this URL.)
http://www.thinktorrent.com/
Thinktorrent.com
http://filelist.org/
FileList.org
Other alternatives
Here are different programs for you to choose from:
100% FREE access to the following:
http://www.minimalverbosity.com/...........
http://www.allofmp3.com
http://www.garageband.com
http://www.soundclick.com
http://www.mp3shits.com
http://www.manolito.com/
http://mubydram.blogspot.com
http://isohunt.com
http://torrentbox.com
http://www.emp3finder.com/
http://www.purevolume.com/
http://www.mp3search.ru/
http://musicremedy.com/
http://search.singingfish.com/sfw/home.j...
http://www.btjunkie.org/
http://www.emp3world.com
http://music.msn.com/
http://www.slsknet.org
http://www.isound.com/
http://music.download.com/
http://www.mp3dimension.com
http://www.yourmp3.net
http://www.mp3shits.com/
http://www.maxalbums.com/
http://www.emusic.com/rca
http://www.seekasong.com/
http://www.mp3-center.org
http://www.insound.com/mp3/mp3s.php........
http://cooltoad.com
http://somafm.com/
http://www.emusic.com
http://www.coolrip.com
http://www.mp3rocket.com/
http://www.musiconline.com (india)
http://www.papuyaar.com (india)
http://www.epitonic.com (india)
http://www.smashits.com/ (india)
http://www.mohankumars.com/ (india)
http://www.funmaza.com/ (india)
http://dishant.com/ (india)
http://www.m4mp3s.com (india)
http://www.megablast.us (india)
http://www.kazaa.com/
http://videopimp.org/
http://www.phazemp3.com/
http://firstlisten.ifihadadime.com/........
http://www.kohit.net/
http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloa...
http://www.riaa.com/issues/music/legalsi...
http://www.whatsthedownload.com/...
http://www.goingware.com/tips/legal-down...
Album based sites-
http://www.maxalbums.com
http://www.albumbase.com
http://www.free-mp3-albums.com/.........
http://www.1albums.com/
Network Clients-
http://developer.berlios.de/projects/app...
http://www.bearcave.com/misl/misl_tech/m...
Foreign Versions&Music-
http://j-pop-rock.com/rotation/jpoprockm...
http://jpop.bww2.com/
http://www.isc.u-toyama.ac.jp/~hamada/so...
http://community.livejournal.com/oranger...
http://jeritaku.multiply.com/journal.......
http://www.jckhost.com
http://cherryblossom-garden.com/singles1...
http://www.kpopmusic.com
http://www.kpop.bww2.com
http://www.muchmusic.net
http://www.mazikana.com
http://www.hellmakers.com
http://www.seslimp3.com/
http://www.papuyaar.com/music.php...
http://www.dishant.com
http://www.bollyfm.net
http://www.cooltoad.com
http://www.bollyexpress.com
http://www.raaga.com
http://www.okesite.com
http://www.musicmaza.com
http://www.downloadhindimp3s.com/...
http://www.indiaglitz.com/
http://www.indiamp3.com
http://www.desiweb.net
http://www.bollywoodmusic.com/
http://ww.smashits.com/index.cfm...
http://www.giitaayan.com/
http://hfgk.8m.com/
http://www.hindimidi.com/
http://www.musiconnet.com/
http://www.songs.pk
http://www.masti4india.com
http://www.harikamp3.biz/
http://www.mp3indirt.com/
http://www.mp3-muzik.com/
http://ww.mp3-tr.com
http://www.6arab.com
http://joctv.com
http://www.jckhost.com
http://meiyeechan.multiply.com/music/ite...
http://biwithrain.multiply.com/music...
http://mp3.baidu.com/
http://mp3.zhongsou.com
http://www.needpop.com
http://z9.invisionfree.com/bww2...
http://www.chinamp3.com/
http://www.99music.net/
http://music.tfol.com/
http://musichk.org/
http://d.sogou.com/?kw=
Cheap Music-
http://www.napster.com/
http://www.allmymp3.com/
http://www.ares.com
To BURN Music/Video CDs/DVDs Download this free
http://www.thefreecountry.com/utilities/...
http://www.download.com/realplayer/3000-...
http://offer.rhapsody.com/?pcode=srchrv&...
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=dvd%20burning%20software&tag=srch