Download and install Shareaza
To begin with, let's find out how download Shareaza on the computer. To perform the operation in question, connect to the software website and click on the link Download Shareaza now (64-bit) (x.xx MB) (to download the 64-bit version of the program for Windows) or on that Download Shareaza now (32-bit) (x.xx MB) (to download the 32-bit version of the program for Windows) that you find in the section Direct download.
Then wait for the download of the program to complete, then open, by double clicking on it, the .exe file just got it and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the button Si to authorize the installation procedure.
In the further window that opens, press the button OK to confirm the use of the city language, select the item I accept the terms of the license agreementclick on your button NEXT four consecutive times on that one Install and, to conclude the setup and start the program, press the button end.
Configure Shareaza
Now that you see the main screen of the software on your desktop, click on the button NEXT in the welcome window to start the wizard for configure Shareaza and select your connection speed in the drop-down menu Choose the type of your Internet connection. Alternatively, set the maximum download speed and upload speed "manually" using the drop-down menus below.
Also indicate if you want to take advantage of automatic port forwarding (the function must be enabled on your modem / router UPnP) or not through the appropriate menu located even further down and click on the button NEXT four consecutive times.
At this point, put the check mark on the items Connect to Gnutella2, Connect to eDonkey e Connect to original Gnutella (to connect to all three types of offenders supported by the program), click the button again NEXT and then on the buttons end e OK, to start using the software.
If you think you made a mistake during the setup wizard, you can start it again by clicking on the menu Instruments located in the upper left part of the software window and then on the item Configuration Wizard.
If, on the other hand, you want to change only some parameters relating to the functioning of the program or you want to access the advanced settings of the latter, always click on the item Instruments located at the top of the Shareaza window, select the item Shareaza options from the menu that opens and, through the additional window you see appear, make all the necessary adjustments.
Depending on your needs and preferences you can, after selecting the reference section from the sidebar on the left, choose whether to start the program when Windows starts or not, adjust the parameters relating to the IRC network, choose whether to use or not Shareaza to open specific types of links, change the settings related to the connection, downloads and uploads, etc.
You can also change the skin used by the software and add or remove specific plugins, by clicking on the items respectively Skin e Plugin that you find on the left and selecting (or deselecting) the elements of your interest on the right.
After completing your changes, remember to click the buttons Apply e OK to ensure that they are confirmed and applied. In some cases, it may be necessary to restart the program.
Note that if during the initial configuration procedure you chose not to activate the automatic port forwarding function or in any case if your modem / router does not support the aforementioned function, you must worry about opening it yourself. If you don't, you won't be able to download your downloads or otherwise you may not be able to do it at the maximum speed possible for your Internet connection.
To do this, first take note of the port number used by Shareaza by going to the menu Tools> Shareaza Options, as seen together earlier, by clicking on the item Connection present in the menu on the left and identifying the wording Port To the right. The number you find next to us is, in fact, the port number used by the program.
Now, access the configuration panel of your modem / router by opening the browser you usually use to surf the net (eg. Chrome) and connecting to the relative IP address, which in most cases corresponds to 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. If prompted, also enter the combination of username and password to login (if you haven't changed it, it should be admin / admin o admin / password). For more details on what to do, you can read my tutorial on how to access the router.
Once logged in to the modem / router management panel, search among the various settings and items available for the function relating toport forwarding or to virtual server and create a new one rule (or a new one virtual server) by typing the port number used by Shareaza to accommodate incoming connections to the section Initial port e Final door (Or Internal door and external door), TheIP address location of the computer on which you want to use the program in correspondence with the wording Destination IP (o Server IP address), the value TCP at the item Door type (or Protocol) and the rule name that you are about to generate in correspondence with the field dedicated to entering the name.
To conclude and then to make sure that the changes made in the management panel of your modem / router are actually applied, press the button to save the changes (usually placed at the bottom). For more details, I invite you to read my article focused on how to open router ports.
Download the files
After setting up Shareaza on your computer, you are finally ready to start using it for download files of your interest. How you do it? Nothing easier! I'll explain it to you immediately. First, click on the tab Search located in the upper part of the program window.
Next, enter the name of the file you want to download in the text field Enter your search here placed on the left. Then select the file type in the drop-down menu Search for this type of file, further refine your search using the other fields that you see appear and click on the button Search.
In a few moments you will be shown, in the right part of the window, the complete list of files corresponding to the keyword entered and the filters set. For each file you will find indicated, in the relative columns, the format, the reference network, the dimensions and other information that may be useful.
To download a found file, simply double-click its name. Once this is done, the tab will open Transfers through which you can monitor the status of downloads in progress.
If, on the other hand, you want to start downloading a Torrent file, select the menu Instruments at the top of the program window and select the item Tools / Download torrent files. In the window that opens, click the button Open torrent. and select the reference .torrent file.
From the same window you can also start the download of any other online file, by typing the URL in the appropriate box and then pressing the button Download.
I also point out that Shareaza allows you to manage the downloads of files from the Web made with your browser. These are automatically "intercepted" by the software and added to the download queue.
When the downloads are completed, the downloaded files are accessible from the tab library of the program. In the case of multimedia contents, by double clicking on it you can start playback directly through Shareaza, through the integrated player also accessible by clicking on the tab Media.
Alternatives to Shareaza
You put Shareaza to the test but how it works did not convince you in a particular way. Consequently, you would like to know if any exist alternative program to the latter as well as to those you usually use to download files via P2P (and not only) to which you can appeal.
Given your needs, I have prepared for you a list of software useful for the purpose, those that in my opinion are the best in the category that you can evaluate to use. You can find them indicated right below.
- qBitTorrent - this is a well-known and appreciated free and open source program designed for downloading Torrent files. It is one of the best alternatives to uTorrent, it can be used on all computer operating systems and also integrates a convenient internal search engine to search for files on the BitTorrent network.
- Transmission - is another fairly popular and appreciated BitTorrent client. It's minimal, free, open source, and runs on all major computer operating systems. It does not integrate an internal search engine like qBitTorrent but it is absolutely not to be thrown away.
- Lacey - it is a program specifically designed for downloading audio files. It is practically one of the best around when it comes to the Windows side. It's totally free, requires no installation to work, and downloads can be done without queues. What more could you want?
- JDownloader - is one of the best known and most appreciated free download managers in circulation. It is able to take any type of multimedia content from the Web and download it extremely quickly. It works on Windows, macOS and Linux and is very intuitive. Seeing is believing!
For more information about the above software and to find out what other resources you have at your disposal to download the files of interest from the Internet, I suggest you read my tutorial on download programs and my post focused on BitTorrent programs.
Shareaza: Download and configure Shareaza in town
