Frost03.05.11

Frost is a Java-based frontend for Freenet, an anti-censorship tool designed to permit anonymous communication between its users, file sharing and browsing and publishing websites that can be accessed only from the Freenet network.Considering the above, before installing Frost users should make sure that both Java and Freenet are present on the system.

Simple, effective interface

Looks are not impressive but the layout of the options makes jumping from one section to another a simple matter.The upper part of the application window offers access to the list of downloaded and uploaded files, the search area and the panel with the files that currently shared on the network.Thanks to the layout inspired from email clients the program provides an easy way to check new messages and replay to them.

Functionality

Messages are neatly organized into conversations so that communication on a specific subject can be browsed with no effort.Searching among the files shared on the network is just a matter of typing in the query and hitting the search button; however, the look up can be refined by restricting it to a specific type of data.Working with Frost is not a difficult thing and it can be configured so that only the latest news is displayed and there aren’t too many download/upload jobs to affect performance.

Finally

Frost makes using Freenet more comfortable by providing a clear separation of the main areas and by making available a suitable set of options for controlling the flow of data.Some experience with newsgroups is necessary for better handling of the application, though. Also, it must be taken into consideration that Frost is a frontend for Freenet and, as such, glitches that may occur may be on account of the network.