Direct download link (DDL), or simply direct download, is a term used within the Internet-based file sharing community. It is used to describe a hyperlink that points to a location within the Internet where the user can download a file. When used in conversation, DDL distinguishes itself from other forms of peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading architectures in that it uses a client–server architecture, where 100-percent of the file is stored on a single file server or in parallel across multiple file servers in a server farm.
Originally, P2P was used to distribute large sized files without requiring much bandwidth on the part of any one node. However, because of sharing issues, such as the lack of seeding of torrents, throttling of a node's file sharing ports by an Internet service provider, or lawsuits because of uploading copyrighted material, direct downloads has become a popular and legal alternative among Leechers. There is also an increase in businesses offering gigabytes of free bandwidth and storage space.
Subverting a site maintainer's policies
DDL has also taken on a meaning of providing direct links within a site where the original site's maintainers impede a user from accessing a file directly. Typical impediments include:
Requiring the user to log in before being provided a link to the content they desire.
Using ECMAScript or similar programming along with altering the DOM so as to initiate a download instead of clicking or right-clicking directly on a link.
Downloading a trampoline stub program which, when executed, downloads the complete file.
Downloading a "download manager" application which then downloads the desired file (which is similar to downloading a stub, but is used for more than one file or package from the same site).
The maintainers of the site may have arguably good reasons[according to whom?] for these impediments, such as:
being able to inform (email) users of available updates so as to reduce the time software is vulnerable
attempting to bind the user to a legal agreement (license, terms of use, acceptable use policy, etc.) before dispensing the files or software (a form of shrink wrap contract or browse wrap license)
always downloading the latest version and therefore reducing their software's extant vulnerability
reducing their Internet bandwidth requirements by only transferring files the user is likely to need
However, many users see this as quite unnecessary, because they generally know what they need and do not want to go through the site's mechanics (such as filling out forms over and over) to get said file. Also, there may be bugs in the site's detection or download methods (or both), thus forcing the user to obtain the file directly. Another example is when the site maintainer tries to identify the user's platform, and the user is simply using something other than the target platform to download the file (for example, using a Microsoft Windows system to download a Linux program, where the same program is built and offered for both platforms).
Therefore, some users may collaborate on sites other than the one offering the desired files, and post URLs which they have identified as being for the desired file. Thus a user wanting the same file does not have to endure the impediments encountered from the original site's maintainers, and simply obtains the file directly.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network, forming a peer-to-peer network of nodes. In addition, a personal area network (PAN) is also in nature a type of decentralized peer-to-peer network typically between two devices.
Warez is a common computing and broader cultural term referring to pirated software that is distributed via the Internet. Warez is used most commonly as a noun, a plural form of ware, and is intended to be pronounced like the word wares. The circumvention of copy protection (cracking) is an essential step in generating warez, and based on this common mechanism, the software-focused definition has been extended to include other copyright-protected materials, including movies and games. The global array of warez groups has been referred to as "The Scene", deriving from its earlier description as "the warez scene". Distribution and trade of copyrighted works without payment of fees or royalties generally violates national and international copyright laws and agreements. The term warez covers supported as well as unsupported (abandonware) items, and legal prohibitions governing creation and distribution of warez cover both profit-driven and "enthusiast" generators and distributors of such items.
Uploading refers to transmitting data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients, and terminals (SCP/SFTP). Uploading can be used in the context of clients that send files to a central server. While uploading can also be defined in the context of sending files between distributed clients, such as with a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing protocol like BitTorrent, the term file sharing is more often used in this case. Moving files within a computer system, as opposed to over a network, is called file copying.
eDonkey2000 was a peer-to-peer file sharing application developed by US company MetaMachine, using the Multisource File Transfer Protocol. It supported both the eDonkey2000 network and the Overnet network.
WinMX is a freeware peer-to-peer file sharing program authored in 2000 by Kevin Hearn in Windsor, Ontario (Canada). According to one study, it was the number one source for online music in 2005 with an estimated 2.1 million users. Frontcode Technologies itself abandoned development of WinMX in September 2005, but developers brought the service back online within a few days by releasing patches. WinMX continues to be used by a community of enthusiasts.
BitTorrent, also referred to simply as torrent, is a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a decentralized manner. The protocol is developed and maintained by Rainberry, Inc., and was first released in 2001.
WASTE is a peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend protocol and software application developed by Justin Frankel at Nullsoft in 2003 that features instant messaging, chat rooms, and file browsing/sharing capabilities. The name WASTE is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's novel The Crying of Lot 49. In the novel, W.A.S.T.E. is an underground postal service.
An anonymous P2P communication system is a peer-to-peer distributed application in which the nodes, which are used to share resources, or participants are anonymous or pseudonymous. Anonymity of participants is usually achieved by special routing overlay networks that hide the physical location of each node from other participants.
Share is the name for a closed-source P2P application being developed in Japan by ファイル倉庫, a pseudonym translating as 'file warehouse.' Share was developed to be the successor to Winny. Like Winny, Share functions using a distributed data store referred to as a cache with each computer acting as a node in the network. Netagent published a survey in June 2018 suggesting that Share was the third most popular p2p network in Japan after Winny and Perfect Dark (P2P) with approximately 10,000 nodes connecting each day over Golden Week, down from 30,000 in 2015.
PeerGuardian is a free and open source program developed by Phoenix Labs (software). It is capable of blocking incoming and outgoing connections based on IP blacklists. The aim of its use was to block peers on the same torrent download from any visibility of your own peer connection using IP lists. The system is also capable of blocking custom ranges, depending upon user preferences.
The eDonkey Network is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network created in 2000 by US developers Jed McCaleb and Sam Yagan that is best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of files. Like most sharing networks, it is decentralized, as there is no central hub for the network; also, files are not stored on a central server but are exchanged directly between users based on the peer-to-peer principle.
Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network to locate the desired content. The nodes (peers) of such networks are end-user computers and distribution servers.
eMule is a free peer-to-peer file sharing application for Microsoft Windows. Started in May 2002 as an alternative to eDonkey2000, eMule now connects to both the eDonkey network and the Kad network. The distinguishing features of eMule are the direct exchange of sources between client nodes, fast recovery of corrupted downloads, and the use of a credit system to reward frequent uploaders. Furthermore, eMule transmits data in zlib-compressed form to save bandwidth.
Phex is a peer-to-peer file sharing client for the gnutella network, released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, so Phex is free software. Phex is based on Java SE 5.0 or later.
A seedbox is a high-bandwidth remote server for uploading and downloading of digital files from a P2P network. The bandwidth ranges generally from 100 Mbit/s to 20 Gbit/s. After the seedbox has acquired the files, people with access to the seedbox can download the file to their personal computers.
In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms. Torrent files are normally named with the extension .torrent.
Torrent poisoning is intentionally sharing corrupt data or data with misleading, deceiving file names using the BitTorrent protocol. This practice of uploading fake torrents is sometimes carried out by anti-infringement organisations as an attempt to prevent the peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing of copyrighted content, and to gather the IP addresses of downloaders.
Metallica, et al. v. Napster, Inc. was a 2000 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case that focused on copyright infringement, racketeering, and unlawful use of digital audio interface devices. Metallica vs. Napster, Inc. was the first case that involved an artist suing a peer-to-peer file sharing ("P2P") software company.
In computing, and specifically peer-to-peer file sharing, seeding is the uploading of already downloaded content for others to download from. A peer, a computer that is connected to the network, becomes a seed when having acquired the entire set of data, it begins to offer its upload bandwidth to other peers attempting to download the file. This data consists of small parts so that seeds can effectively share their content with other peers, handing out the missing pieces. A peer deliberately chooses to become a seed by leaving the upload task active once the content has downloaded. The motivation to seed is mainly to keep the file being shared in circulation and a desire to not act as a parasite. The opposite of a seed is a leech, a peer that downloads more than they upload.
WebTorrent is a peer-to-peer (P2P) streaming torrent client written in JavaScript, from the same author, Feross Aboukhadijeh, of YouTube Instant, and the team at WebTorrent and on GitHub, for use in web browsers, as well as a WebTorrent Desktop stand alone version able to bridge WebTorrent and BitTorrent serverless networks.
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