WASTE is a peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend protocol and software application that features instant messaging, chat rooms and file browsing/sharing capabilities. WASTE is a decentralized chat, instant messaging and file sharing program and protocol. It behaves similarly to a virtual private network by connecting to a group of trusted computers, as determined by the users. This kind of network is commonly referred to as a darknet. It uses strong encryption to ensure that third parties cannot decipher the messages being transferred. The same encryption is used to transmit and receive instant messages, chat, and files, maintain the connection, and browse and search.