Tribler

I came across an article recently about Tribler - I have been following its development for a few years and thought it worth raising on this site as it appears to be a new generation of file sharing software.

Tribler is a decentralised file sharing system that uses the BitTorrent protocol to scan the internet for downloadable files - alleviating the need for indexing and tracker sites. The developers of Tribler suggest that it is impossible to stop file sharing now with the entire internet needing to be shut down to prevent it from happening.

Mark Gregory, Senior Lecturer Electrical and Computer Engineering at RMIT in Melbourne argues however that it will still be possible for the content industry to upload spoof files and for downloads to be tracked using watermark technology, still allowing for the prosecution of copyright infringement. Filtering and site blocking would also work as a means to prevent file sharing and graduated response systems would still make it possible to disconnect users of Tribler.

Further Information
The Conversation, An invincible file-sharing platform? You can’t be serious (6 March 2012) < http://theconversation.edu.au/an-invincible-file-sharing-platform-you-cant-be-serious-5343 > at 13 March 2012

p2pnet.net, Tribler 3.6.0: 4th gen file sharing (23 March 2007) <http://p2pnet.net/story/11746> at 27 March 2007

The Register, Tribler takes P2P to the ' Web 2.0 generation' (5 June 2007) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/05/tribler_bittorrent_client_mimics_youtube/> at 16 June 2007