Yet another Peer to Peer utility has come into my possession.

Most of the more popular P2P utilities currently on the go just now have one major disadvantage……………..they include what’s known as spyware. In other words, they download various other things as well as the P2P you want to run. Now , most of them can be disabled courtesy of Ad-Aware, which I wrote about a few issues ago.

However, this is one of the strengths of Xolox, the latest P2P to inhabit my drive.

Xolox can be found at (amongst other places) http://xenomorph.net 

Downloading is the usual simple procedure and once downloaded is easily installed, simply by double clicking and answering simple questions.

The actual files I downloaded were the 1.12 version and the 1.15 patch . These come in at  641kb and 99kb respectively. So, even allowing for the fact that I’m still using a modem (many thanks………for sod all, BT), it doesn’t take a while to get them.

Once its installed, you can run it.

Now you can set the preferences, you can use most of the defaults, as per usual, but I’ll go through some of them anyway. Unlike Kazaa, morpheus, Audio Galaxy etc , you don’t need a user name or password. Xolox doesn’t care who you are……….

First up, the network. I just left these on the default setting. Xolox uses the Gnutella system, and the list of servers automatically updates when you go online. You can add your own here if you so desire.

Another good point about Xolox is that  you can ensure that the kids don’t get bothered by adult content and here is where you password it to prevent access to it. Since it uses the Gnutella servers, there is quite a lot of adult content , so this is a very good option if your kids do get their hands on your computer. I’m lucky in our house, in that the kids’ computer isn’t  networked to mine and the only P2P on theirs is Audio Galaxy.

You can choose where the shared files are stored and also which types of file you wish to share.

As per usual, you also get the chance to say where you want your downloaded files to reside and also where the part files are stored until they complete. You can also switch off the automatic updating of Xolox, and with the recent furore over Morpheus and their updates, this may be no bad thing.

Ok, we’re done with the preferences, so let’s go online and check out what’s on it.

Meet your normal bootup screen.

The developers have deliberately left the interface as simple as possible. To be quite honest, there’s very little need for any of the rest of the options on the other P2P’s.

If you really want to chat to folk , why not use an instant messenger…..there’s plenty of them. As another point, if you can chat to someone you’re sharing files with, you know where they are, which kinda defeats the purpose of Gnutella !

Xolox also brings up on startup tips on how to use it, I left these switched on, but you can disable them as well, using the small box in the left hand side .

Ok, since we’re on the search window, let’s have a go at searching. Xolox recommends that when you have searched for particular files and you have selected them, you should shut down the search as it will then automatically download it whenever someone comes online that has the file. See the tip above……..besides it saves your bandwidth for downloading.

Xolox allows you to search for any type of file and here’s some examples……..

As you can see from the above, an eclectic collection can be found.

The transfer window looks like this , and shows the download status of your choice of file, and any uploads happening. The download status shows how many people currently online have the file you want and how many you are actually downloading from e.g. on the Lynyrd Skynyrd download, I was actually downloading from one person, and 3 other people had the file but their connections were busy.

The files window shows what files you have on offer to everyone else.

The reason for the split window is that you can specify two different directories, one for shares and one for downloaded files.

So, give this one a go if you want to try out another P2P. It can be slow sometimes depending on how popular the file is that you want and the search isn’t the fastest. Having said that, if there are lots of users with the file you want, you could find it downloads from quite a few of them at any instant, which bumps your download rate considerably. I have found the program nice and stable and Ad-Aware hasn’t squealed once since it was installed.

With the row over the Altnet system happening at this moment in time…….that’s no bad thing.

Try it out………what do you have to lose!!!!