Description: “Pidgin-Encryption” is a plugin for the open-source IM client Pidgin that provides for secure instant messaging sessions encrypted with the RSA protocol.

Here’s news for you: relatively speaking, your IM sessions are not secure. In an office environment your instant messages are probably fairly easily attainable by your network admin if they really wanted to see them, and there’s even software offered out there that does exactly this. The good news is that if you use Pidgin you can install this simple plugin for instant encryption of your chats. One caveat, though, is that both yourself and the person you are chatting with have to have this plugin installed (and by implication both need to be using Pidgin).

How it works:

• Download and install “Pidgin-Encryption”
• Launch Pidgin, go to Tools > Plugins from the main console and then check the box next to the “Pidgin Encryption” plugin to install it.
• Once installed, you should be able to see 2 visible changes in Pidgin as follows (a) an “enable encryption” command in the within the chat session window, and (b) a “turn autoencryption on” context menu entry for each buddy on your list (see screenshot above). Note that these options only work when the person you are chatting with also has the plugin installed.
• To invoke encrypted chat, either click on the “enable encryption” button in the chat window or turn on the autoencryption for your buddy. What’s cool is that the program will automatically detect someone who has the plugin and transmit your key to them (they will be prompted to accept). It will also save the keys for known users and warn you if the keys change.
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Rating: 4.5

Version tested: 1.0.0

Description: Torrent Swapper, dubbed the ’social bittorent client’, is an open source torrent client that aims to use and manage the interconnected networks which underlie P2P torrent downloads in two distinct ways (1) by using these as a recommendation engine, and (2) by making it possible for users to designate other peers as ’friends’ and to use each other’s unused upload capacity. Other features include the ability to view what others are downloading and their city-level location.

By now everyone is familiar with the concept popularized by Amazon.com whereby an item of interest is connected to other items through the "customers who bought this also bought" recommendation engine. Torrent Swapper is a bittorrent client that has taken that concept and implemented it on torrent downloads (i.e. people who downloaded this also downloaded). Here are more notes on this program:

The pros:

• The user interface: is nice, clean and straightforward.
• The recommendation engine: works fairly well. However, I am not sure about the extent of value-added that the recommendation engines provide (see ’cons’ section below).
• Torrent Search: pressing a ’search’ button on the main interface opens a torrent search ’portal’ which can be used to search Google, Torrent Spy, Torrentz.com, BT Bot, and ISO Hunt. Simple but handy, I thought, especially for Torrent novices.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: beta release 8

Description: Civil Netizen is a P2P file sharing platform that can be used to share large files up to 4 Gigabytes in size privately with friends. It does not host your file or upload it on your server, but allows you to share files straight from your hard drive using your and your friends’ bandwidth for upload and download.

Want to share large files with your friends? While there are dozens of free file sharing/hosting websites that have sprung up all over the place, very few of those allow for the uploading of really large files (e.g. 700 megs+). Civil Netizen, on the other hand, offers a very nice maximum file size of 4 gigs.

How it works: download the Civil Netizen local client from the website, then use it to upload your file. Upon completion you will be prompted to download a “receipt”, which is a file that contains a code that your friends/recipients that will need to be able to download. Any recipient(s) have to download the Civil Netizen client and use the receipt (or code) you provide them in order to download (you can email it to them, IM it, or use whatever means you like). You have to have Civil Netizen running on your internet-connected machine to have file transfer enabled.
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Rating: 4

Version tested: 1.3.0.2

Description: Quickeo provides a simple and easy way to share your media files (images, audio, or video) with multiple people by email or on a website/blog. It consists of a local client that you can use to upload files of any size to your account up to a maximum of 1 gig of total storage capacity. Quickeo will then provide you a link that it can email to your intended audience. Shared media is streamed/viewed in the browser and without needing to download files locally (although that is also possible). Quickeo also provides the option to record audio or video straight into the local client using a microphone or webcam.

The idea behind Quickeo is to have a single place where you can upload your music/video/image files of any and simply send a link to friends if you want to share these with them. hat’s cool about Quickeo is that it enables you to share your media files with others in such that they can view these straight from their browser without having to download a whole bunch of files onto their computers first (as would be the case, for example, with a hosting service like Rapidshare). Here are some notes on this service:

• Available Storage: Quickeo offers 1 gig of storage space on their servers. They recently removed upload file size restrictions, so in theory you should be able to upload any size up that you can fit in your account’s available storage space.
• Encoding Media: Quickeo uses flash video (FLV) format to display your videos and your audio. When uploading, Quickeo seems to use your computer resources to re-encode your media files into FLV on the fly, resulting in a much slower upload process. The re-encoding process means that your files, once uploaded, will differ in size and quality from the files on your desktop. I uploaded a 2 hour long audio book that took 150 megs of space on my hard drive only to find that it was 100 megs larger once uploaded into my Quickeo account.
• The Quickeo local Client: this has a nice look-and-feel and rather resembles an email client. Once uploaded, you can drag and drop any uploaded file(s) into any albums. You can mix-and-match different types of media . The client includes a media player that you can use to view your media if you need to. You can add tags and descriptions to your files when uploading. The Quickeo client actually includes a search box to help you find what you’re looking for (and that can search filenames, tags, and descriptions).
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I’ve come across a number of free Torrent related resources recently that I wanted to mention: BitTyrant, Bitlet, ShareControl Classic, I2P, and Tribler.

BitTyrant: this one is a torrent client based on Azureus. Dubbed a “strategic BitTorrent Client that improves performance”, BitTyrant promises an average of 70% faster downloads based on testing on “more than 100 real BitTorrent swarms”, and in some instances has achieved a threefold increase in download speeds. It does this by being picky over which peers to interact with; it gives more of your finite uploading capacity to those users provide more bandwidth. Note that BitTyrant does not change how much data is uploaded, just which
users receive the data. I’ve been testing it for a while now and while I’m certainly happy with its performance, its far from clear whether/how much its performance is better than my previous client (Azureus).

You might have sensed a Darwinian “survival of the fittest” aspect to BitTyrant that threatens to leave users with low bandwidth in the dust, which is something to think about when using this program. The makers of BitTyrant content that it is merely fair (”if a user is downloading at 30 Kbps, they should upload at 30 Kbps”), and that by rewarding more efficient users the entire community achieves faster downloads.

BitTyrant was developed as a University research project. Its developers have written a research paper the subject of maximizing performance and conserving upload contribution, and its effects on the community of users that is downloadable here: pdf.

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BitLet: this is a web-based Torrent client that can download a Torrent file for you if you provide it with the Torrent URL. The obvious benefits of doing this are:

• If you are using a computer that doesn’t have a Torrent client installed
• You can point Torrent-challenged friends who can never figure out how to download torrents to this web service and it just may be the solution to their rare Torrent-downloading needs
• You can use it to download torrents in places (work, school) where p2p and/or Torrent clients are blocked.

Bitlet requires that your browsers has the JAVA VM plugin installed.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 0.55.1

Description: AllPeers allows you to share files of any size with your friends individually or collectively. It employs a peer-to-peer technology very similar to bitorrent and currently comes as a Firefox extension, with an Internet Explorer extension in the pipeline.

Ever wanted to share files of any kind (pictures, videos, etc.) with a group of your friends. AllPeers allows you to do just that. What it does is essentially create a private torrent which you can share with your network of peers. Here’s how it works:

• Everyone in your network must download and install the Allpeers Firefox extension. There is an IE version planned if you do not want to use Firefox (if you want to download Firefox you can find a link at the bottom of this post).
• Clicking on the Allpeers icon in the toolbar will display the Allpeers sidebar. This is where you can see a list of your all people in your network. You can add files to share simply by dragging and dropping these files onto the sidebar.
• You can only share files with the people you know who are on your list. You can check the names of all the people whom you want to share with in order to do so all at once.
• Your files are not broadcast globally in the same way that torrent files usually are.
• Allpeers also features a real-time chat function. It is somewhat rudimentary compared to some IM messaging clients out there, but promises to be secure.
• Security: Allpeers is supposed to be secure for both file transfers and chats. To quote the Allpeers website “all communications are encrypted using industry standard SSL”.
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Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0

Description: Collanos Workplace is a free online collaboration software for teams with members working from different locations. It offers a suite of streamlined online tools, including virtual workspaces, file sharing, online group discussions, messaging, and a handful of virtual objects such as notes, shared URLs, and tasks.

Here’s what you need to know about this program:

• Virtual workspaces: these are simply tabs that each user creates within the program that belong to the user. You can create a workspace for each project, for example, if that makes sense to you. These workspaces contain all other objects and employ a simple, explorer-like virtual folder structure.
• File sharing: once you grant someone permission to share any one of your workspaces, you can drag and drop any file to the folders within it and these will be available to the other person.
• Discussions: once you create a discussion within a workspace, all members who can access that workspace can participate (read or write). Discussions are essentially multi-way chats that are logged (with dates) and stored as an object. They can be deleted or kept for reference or as an ongoing conversation.
• Security: Collanos states that all data transfers are encrypted using “256-Bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)”. This program employs P2P technology and no data is ever stored on central servers. The makers state that they may introduce features in the future that may require some centralized data storage, but that they will ask for explicit permissions to do so, and they will guarantee its safety.
• Setup: this program works instantly through firewalls. Create an account and password, share your account name with your friends, and you’re up and running. Unlike other programs I have tested, I did not have to do any complicated router setup / port forwarding, or messing with IP addresses. Having said that I should also point out that the documentation states that “TCP ports 9700-9800 and 80 need to be opened to the outside to allow Collanos Workplace to operate behind firewalls”. Read more »

Rating: 5

Version tested: 1.0.3.1 beta

Description: LiberTV is a local client software that can download or stream films, videos, and podcasts from online sources. It promises quality “high definition” videos updated daily that you can browse through by category using a well designed user interface.

I am going to use a question/answer format for this review:

Q: What is this program about? Is it another one of those ’streaming TV’ programs that promise access to hundreds of TV stations from all around the world?
A: This program seems to be a sort of video uploading/downloading service similar to YouTube, but one that uses a local client. LiberTV can stream content from online TV stations if you provide the URLs (which you can easily do with your browser). Its main function is giving access to its own library of videos and films. It is similar to the Democracy Player, but is also different in many ways.

Q: Why would I use this instead of YouTube?
A: There are 2 reasons that I can think of: The first is that, unlike your standard YouTube video, the quality of the videos on LiberTV is quite high. The second reason is the nature of content that is on offer; I got the sense that there was some careful selection involved in the repertoire of videos available. Click here, here and here for examples of some of the films that are on offer, just to get an idea of the kinds of films you can find.

Q: Where does the content come from? Is it legal?
A: My guess is that it is not legal. LiberTV apparently allows users to create an account and upload content. To quote their website “LiberTV Player aggregates it’s content from various online sources, user uploads and podcasts”. When you do upload you also have to provide substantial information on the video you are uploading. The main question I wonder about is how they guarantee the promised high video quality if everyone is uploading random content. Do they have some sort of screening process, perhaps? I’m not sure what the process may be but I will say that the content submission feels like its deliberate and centralized.
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Rating: 4

Version tested: 1.0.0

Description: ExoSee is a decentralized, community-based filesharing program that allows for both public file sharing with the community and private file sharing with specific members only. It also supports its own XOC protocol that allows users to post links on the web for direct downloading.

This program will allow you to select up to four ExoSee “communities” to participate in at any one time. These communities typically have a theme, such as music, ebooks, or general filesharing.The ExoSee protocol allows you to both share a specific folder/folders with the members of your selected communities, as well as download any files that these users are sharing. I spent time inside some of these, browsing what people had on offer. It was mildly interesting but not much more; the value of these communities really depends on what the members are sharing, and whether or not ExoSee will ever achieve the “critical mass” that makes networks like Torrent or Gnutella successful remains to be seen.

If I had to I would guess that ExoSee communities will never take off in any significant way. If I am looking for a file I am a hundred times more likely to look for it (and find it) through Torrent or Gnutella P2P. Which is not to say that ExoSee isn’t potentially a great product; however, it is private sharing that I find way more exciting than the communities.
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Rating: 5 

Version tested:  0.9.3.0

Description:  Pando is a file-sharing platform that enables users to easily share large files over the internet. It connects sender to recipient by sending a tiny file from the former to the latter over email or IM.

Let’s say you would like to send a 100 meg video file to a friend. Emailing such a file is out of the question, since its too big and will clog most email inboxes. With Pando, however, you can get the file sent as follows:

• Sender and recipient both download and install Pando
• Sender uploads file to the Pando servers, provides email address of recipient
• Recipient receives tiny (4k) attachement by email (or IM or even an RSS feed)
• Once downloaded, recipient can click the pando attachement, which will proceed to download the file through the Pando software at a high download speed (my test download was >120k). Read more »