Shareaza is a file sharing client that you can use to connect to the Gnutella 1, Gnutella 2, eDonkey, and DC++ networks, in order to download files.

Once you have initiated Shareaza, you will be asked to run a quick configuration wizard, whether you are a beginner or an expert user. The interface is extremely appealing and user-friendly.

In the main window you can view your connection status, notifications, interface customizations, library, and more.

We recommend you look over any alerts you may have. For example, if Shareaza detects you are behind a NAT router or firewall, it informs you this may cause poor download and search performance. In this case, there are some simple steps you must follow, and Shareaza guides you every step of the way.

Besides the Home tab, there are five other ones - Library, Media Player, Search, Transfers, and Chat.

Once you have selected a network connection, you are free to search for any file type (Shareaza has some extensive file formats you can choose from), and download it.

Results may take a while to be displayed, but you can view extension, size, rating, status, host count, downloading speed, client, duration, bitrate, and other details.

Selecting a file to download will automatically send it in the Transfers tab. Here you can, for example, add music to the built-in media player and create a playlist. If you want to cancel a downloading file, Shareaza asks you if you wish to delete it completely.

While waiting for a file to be downloaded, you can chat with Shareaza users from across the world and share a few laughs.

The application has a few impressive features, and its downloading time is actually good, but system memory is significantly used.

Overall, we liked playing with Shareaza, and we definitely recommend you give it a shot. It's free, anyway.