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Thursday 28th August 2008

Downloading files from the internet

Broadband providers often attach restrictions to your broadband connection. The most common restriction is on the amount you can download in one month – this is known as "capping" or service restriction. Broadband providers can also restrict the length of time you are allowed online each month.When your broadband package states that it has a service restriction it is useful to know what you can do within that restriction and whether it meets your needs.

FTP is the standard method for downloading, or transferring, files from one computer to another. People who create web pages use FTP to get their files to the server where they will be accessed. The software to use FTP is available to download for free on the internet.

Peer to peer (P2P) is a network of two or more computers that communicate with each other without using a central server. Peer to peer networks are often used by people to share files, such as music or video, over the internet. The resulting high volume internet traffic has lead to some broadband providers employing service restrictions (capping) to reduce this.

Streaming is a way of downloading large audio and video files without having to wait for them to fully download. Users can start watching or listening to the file while it is being downloaded. Streaming is also used for copyright reasons, as some streaming does not allow the file to be saved and stored.