Easy-to-use P2P file sharing client for beginners

Tribler is an extremely easy-to-use P2P network aimed at file sharing newbies who haven’t been able to handle applications, like eMule and Limewire.

Tribler has an extremely clean and simple interface, which displays only the search box, your ‘sharing reputation’ (based on how many files you’ve shared) and search results. Despite its simplicity, Tribler is capable of retrieving large amounts of material including video, audio, pictures, and more. The reason for this is that Tribler is integrated into large media sites such as YouTube and Liveleak. Parents will be reassured to hear that an effective family filter is activated by default which is quite effective at blocking adult search terms.

As with most major P2P portals, Tribler allows you to browse simply by media category, and the most popular content is displayed first. What I really liked about Tribler, however, is the preview function. When you select a file, you can choose whether to preview or download it. Preview it by clicking the big Play button and Tribler will search for other users with the file so that you can see whether it’s worth downloading. The disadvantage of this though is that the previews take ages to load as it searches for other users with the same material.

The settings are very limited. You can configure a nickname for your profile on Tribler, a maximum upload and download limit, the router port you want Tribler to use, and a default download location. It doesn’t save your search terms, so you have to retype them if you want to search a subject regularly.

Overall, Tribler is an excellent P2P file sharing client for those new to it, although seasoned users will find it more than lacking in certain areas.