for a handy explanation of how gnutella works, see Arne Babenhauserheide's writeup at www.gnufu.net .

for broadband tests (java based) that also give you upload speeds, I like http://www.broadbandreports.com/stest

for more info on whether your ISP currently or plans to filter p2p traffic, you'll have to ask them. Others have posted their findings here http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...threadid=20678

for info on the US law and filesharing, see http://www.eff.com/share/

Welcome--it's a pretty good community here