Web Savvy: Can't Find That File? Try a Little Sharing

I can usually find just about anything I look for on the Web: sports scores, news, Dwight Yoakam CDs. But sometimes I have trouble locating drivers, shareware, product documentation, and other files I need. Even my favorite download sites and search engines fail occasionally. That's why I've started snooping around other people's hard drives.

I access their drives with their permission, naturally--courtesy of Gnutella, a Napsteresque peer-to-peer network that lets users trade files across the Internet. Like Napster, it's mostly an MP3-music swap meet, one that's bedeviled by copyright lawyers and bandwidth constraints. But you can also find video clips, shareware, drivers, manuals...you name it.

In my dreams, peer-to-peer networks like Gnutella let millions of smart, helpful people serve up anything from music to utilities to Ph.D. theses on microeconomics. Suddenly I'm not forced to rummage through ad-infested Web sites to find the files I need.

We're not there yet, but Gnutella is still worth checking out. To get started, you need a Gnutella "servent" application, which turns your PC into both a server and a client. There are several free ones to choose from, including BearShare, Gnotella (my favorite), and LimeWire. See Gnutella for a boatload of Gnutella downloads and tips.

Unlike Napster, Gnutella lacks a central server: Your servent talks directly to other PCs. Letting strangers poke around your drive sounds like an open invitation to hackers, but it's not--other users can download files from your PC, but they can't upload anything. And you decide which folders (if any) you make public.

Searches can be slow--run them in the background--and you may even come up empty. But my ever-improving results tell me that more folks are joining the network and that they're sharing a richer array of files. Keep these Gnutella tips in mind:

Participate: Make useful items available on your own drive--media clips, pictures you've taken, drivers that work well, and the like. This isn't only fair, it's necessary: New technology may cut you off Gnutella if it determines you're a freeloader.

Beware of copyrighted material: Gnutella lacks Napster's new schemes for stopping users from trafficking in unauthorized copies of media clips. But entertainment companies have already descended on ISPs to get their help in ridding Gnutella of bootlegs. So be careful out there.

Get broadband: Despite recent speedups, Gnutella eats up bandwidth--a cable modem or DSL is almost essential.

Be safe: Any network that gives users access to each others' drives has its risks. You don't want to catch a virus, so don't download anything with a .vbs extension, and be wary of .exe files. Bear in mind that firewalls may prevent Gnutella from working. See Gnutella News for details.

Try again: If a download doesn't start quickly, it probably never will. Just restart it. If it fails again, move on. With Gnutella, there are always new places to look--and it can only get better from here.