I've been trying to get a P2P program like Ares to work on my computer for a while. I'm on a LAN in university halls and they block these kind of things. I've already tried changing the ports, and that worked for a bit before it was ultimately blocked! Is there any way around this???

Wouldn't that be illegal?

It sure would be...and if you get caught trying to bypass the security you're looking at possibly getting booted from university and criminally charged. Since the Univ. has a policy in place to block your kind of activity, be assured they're monitoring for people trying to bypass it. The upshot of it all....you're very likely to get caught if you even try.

P2P software is not in and of itself illegal, nor is its use. You can read about the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling on this at CNet and Wired news. That being said, use of P2P software is likely prohibited by your school's network's terms of service and/or acceptable use policy. Circumventing the firewall almost certainly is. Even without the "OMG p2p is illegal!!!" FUD, you would be well advised to avoid using such software on your school's network. Besides, there are much better alternatives these days ;)

Be aware that their are probably grad students who are working on ferreting out people like you.

You're probably right, ham30. It's the classic dilemma - the upperclassmen are always out to get the lowerclassmen!

Cheers mates. I signed a contract that said I wouldn't use any P2P software, and if I did, they would ban me from using the Internet, but it is nearly the end of the year now so it doesn't bother me too much. Postgrads are annoying. I know what you mean, but I guess I'll be trying to do the same in a few years time. I'll just have to stick to IRC!