What is Freenet?Freenet is a completely anonymous protocol that allows anyone to publish and download anything they want with complete anonymity.
Ok, so what is Frost?Frost is a is much like a usenet bulliten board, except it is completely free and anonymous. Frost runs on the freenet network and requires freenet to be running to work.
Uhh, so why do I care?Anything you are looking for can potentially be downloaded on frost (as long as someone has posted it). And unlike usenet, you dont have to pay a monthy access fee and there are no download limit. Better yet, no one can even know what you download (or post)
Ok, I downloaded Freenet and Frost. What now?Install freenet and frost.
Then start freenet.
Start frost.
Go to the little I buttion in the blue cirlce in frost and look for the xbox board, click on it then click Add Board.
Click on the options, and select "auto update boards"
It may take awhile before you see any messages as frost searches the freenet network. Once you see some msgs you can download the file ppl have attached. Or you can go to the search tab and do a search for *. This will show you all the files that are available, click on what you want and download it.
I tried that but I cant find the board (or I cant find any files). Now what?It may take some time for your frost node to discover the xbox board. You can help this by adding other boards. You can also right click on the freenet rabit icon in the tool tray and select "open freenet gateway" This will open in your internet browser. On the gateway you will find links to some freenet sites. Click on the TFE link, which will bring you to a page with links to hundreds of other freenet site.
Ok, why do I need to do all that?The thing about freenet is that it performs better the longer you have it running and the more you use it. That is because it has to discover the other nodes on the network.
Freenet is slow, why dont I just use edonkey, irc, or usenet?Freenet is completely anonymous. If you upload or download on edonkey, irc, kazza, or usenet, people can know what you are uploading/downloading and who you are. Using freenet/frost you can be confident that your anonymity is protected.
Usenet cost money! Freenet/Frost is FREE!
Freenet isnt really that slow and it gets better the longer it runs and the more you use it. Plus, if a large number of the people on the xbox-scene move there it will be very fast for the files of interest
Ok, Im trying to download a file I found but it wont download?You didnt actually find the file, you found the key. The file may not be on the network any longer. The more popular a file is the longer it stays on the network and the easier it is to get (and faster)
Ok, I like Freenet/Frost (or at least the idea) what can I do to make it better?In order to make freenet perform better for you (and everyone else) you can do a few things:
If you have an always on connection, right click on the freenet icon, and go to setup. Click "static node". If you do this though you should not turn your computer or freenet off!!!
You can also increase the amount of space you give to freenet. HD memory is cheap, so be generous. Freenet uses everyones hardrives on the network as a large distributed server and needs space to store the files you want to download. The larger freenet is the longer files will last on freenet and the easier they will be to get. The files that freenet stores on your computer are only parts of whole files and they are encrypted, so you cannot know what they are and thus cannot be held responsible for them.
Maybe, most importantly, people need to upload files and spread the word about freenet and frost (feel free to copy my sig to help spread the word).
Also, both freenet and frost are open source, so if you are a talented programer you can feel free to help the development, or you could donate a little money to the developers.
Is there any spyware or adware in either freenet or frostNO, absolutely not. Unlike kazza, morpheus, and edonkey, there is no spyware or adware in either freenet or frost.