Do you want to send a file to a friend, or receive a file from a friend, but fear his lack of tech-savvy is impossible to overcome? Linux program BaShare surmounts that difficulty by giving your friends and family two simple links to send a file to you or receive a file from you. Just fire up the program, copy a link and send it to a friend in need. Best of all: your friend doesn’t need to install any software to receive or send files.

BaShare is perfect for transferring files during instant messaging conversations. It works regardless of the software your friend is using to chat, essentially turning your computer into a simple web server. BaShare will require some knowledge of routers on your part to get working. Get everything set up, however, and you’ve got a great tool for quickly sending and receiving files from anyone with an Internet connection.

Linux users can download BaShare from LaunchPad, with an Ubuntu package for easy installation. Once they do, the fun begins!

Port Settings

Before you can use BaShare you’re going to need to properly set up your port settings. This is only relevant if you use some kind of router in your home, but these days who doesn’t? You’re going to need to log into your router’s configuration panel and find the port forwarding option. On a NetGear router, it looks like this:

The ports 65000 and 65001, as you can see, need to point toward the computer that you’ll be using BaShare from. Set this up once and you should be fine, particularly if you give your Linux computer a static internal IP.

That wasn’t so bad, was it? Feel free to ask questions in the comments below if it was.

Sending a File

With that out of the way let’s send a file. Fire up BaShare and you’ll see the main interface:

Sending a file is as simple as clicking “Select File,” then copying the “sending” link for your friends. If they click the link the download will start, and you’ll see the progress they’re making:

The link will only work, and the download will only continue, if you don’t shut down BaShare. Don’t shut the application down until you’ve confirmed your friend has the file in question!

Receiving a File

So your friend wants to send you a file, but has no idea how to? No problem. Just copy the “URL For Receiving” and give it your friend. The link leads to a website that looks like this:

All your friend needs to do is click “Choose File“, find the file in question and finally click “Send“. Once that happens, your download will pop up on your screen like this:

Make sure you save the file somewhere or your friend will see an error message and the transfer will have to start over.

I should mention that this application has two modes: one for local transfers and another for Internet transfers. By default Internet mode is enabled, but if you want to send a file to someone on the same network as you, switch to LAN mode.

Finally, notice that you can limit the upload/download rates at will. This is particularly useful if you need to reserve your bandwidth for high-priority programs, such as Skype.

Similar Services

There are plenty of programs out there that make file sharing easy. There are websites for sharing files without signing up, if you know where to look. Heck, Dropbox makes all kinds of file sharing easier. But if you want a quick way to send or receive a file I can’t think of anything better than BaShare off the top of my head. This program leaves the hard work to you, and your friends are the ones that benefit.

Feel free to try it out and let me know how you like it. Also feel free to recommend any other software for easily sharing files!