Disclaimer: I in no way am promoting the downloading of illegal copywrited files. This information is for educational purposes only. Neither I, nor Newschoolers.com are responsible for what the user does with this information.
The absolute sheer mass of retardeds using file-sharing programs incorrectly these days is absolutely astounding. Here's a quick run down on HOW TO NOT BE A FUCKTARD ABOUT FILE-SHARING.
Kazaa: Don't use it. I don't care what anybody says. Kazaa and the whole network itself is junk. It is virus ridden and half the files are dead. In fact, I bet a good chunk of you still use Kazaa because its good access to pr0n. I guarantee that every one of you that has Kazaa, Lite, K++, or whatever installed has some sort of malware/virus/spyware installed on their system from either the program itself, or from a file they've downloaded off the system. The same goes for WinMX, Bearshare, and all other similar P2P filesharing programs.
IRC: IRC used to be the quintessential source for files/music/whatever. Nowadays I find IRC another medium which has become innundated with virii and trojans, however, it is still usable. Though IRC is not really for the unexperianced user. You have to know what you're doing to effectivly find files.
You can download an IRC client from here Mirc.com.
You can search for files here.
Packetnews.com
Heres a good primer on IRC use for filesharing.
Downloading Files from IRC
Bit Torrent: Bit Torrent is one of my favorite ways to get files. It is very simple to use. Install Bit Torrent, find the .torrent file of the file you want to download, double click file, watch it download. This is a good source of files that are popular because Bit Torrent depends on users downloading that same file to upload the parts of the file they've already downloaded to other users.
You can download Bit Torrent from Here.
You can find many Torrent files from Suprnova.org
Or you can search for them at IsoHunt.
Newsgroups: Newsgroups are the original Internet. They require a very long explanation and it requires some practice to be able to use them efficiantly. You need to have an ISP that has a news server. I know mine does. news.charter.com i believe mine is. You need a Newsgroup client. I use Xnews which can be downloaded from Here. If you're decently advanced at using a computer you should be able to figure it out from there. If you search Google you can find some good articles about how to use Newsgroups.
Direct Connect: I'm new to Direct Connect, I just downloaded it the other day, but from what I get, it is a VERY good source of not only music, but movies, games, etc. It REQUIRES that you share a lot, and it takes some digging to download files, but it is very straightforward to use. The download link is right here. Neo-modus.com.
Legal Downloads:There is always iMusic or Napster, both which charge fee's but allow you to download music legally. I use iMusic every once and awhile and it works quickly and its only 99cents per song.
With all P2P and Filesharing programs, I'd scan for adware and viruses constantly. This should be a pretty good primer though to people looking to effectivly get untainted files.
-Andy
Sure, I coulda stayed.
I coulda been king.
But in my own way, I am king.
Hail to the king, baby!