--- /dev/null
+# Ares - P2P filesharing - http://aresgalaxy.sf.net
+# Pattern quality: good veryfast undermatch
+# Protocol groups: p2p
+
+# This pattern catches only client-server connect messages. This is
+# sufficient for blocking, but not for shaping, since it doesn't catch
+# the actual file transfers (see below).
+
+# Original pattern by Brandon Enright <bmenrigh at the server known as ucsd.edu>
+
+# This pattern has been tested with Ares 1.8.8.2998.
+
+# To get or provide more information about this protocol and/or pattern:
+# http://www.protocolinfo.org/wiki/Ares
+# http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/l7-filter-developers
+
+ares
+# regular expression madness: "[]Z]" means ']' or 'Z'.
+^\x03[]Z].?.?\x05$
+
+# It appears that the general packet format is:
+# - Two byte little endian integer giving the data length
+# - One byte packet type
+# - data
+#
+# Login packets (TCP) have the following format:
+# - \x03\x00 (the length appears to always be 3)
+# - \x5a - The login packet type.
+# The source code suggests that for supernodes \x5d is used instead.
+# - Three more bytes. I don't know the meaning of these, but for me they
+# are always \x06\x06\x05 (in Ares 1.8.8.2998). From the comments in IPP2P,
+# it seems that they are not always exactly that, but seem to always end in
+# \x05.
+#
+# Search packets have the following format:
+# - Two byte little endian integer giving the data length
+# A single two letter word make this \x0a
+# The biggest I could get it was \x4f
+# - Packet type = \x09
+# - One byte document type:
+# - "all" = 00
+# - "audio" = 01
+# - "software" = 03
+# - "video" = 05
+# - "document" = 06
+# - "image" = 07
+# - "other" = 08
+# - \x0f - I don't know what this means, but it is always this for me
+# - Two bytes of unknown meaning that change
+# - Some number search words:
+# - \x14 - I don't know what this means, but it is always this for me
+# - One byte length of the first search word
+# Between 2 and \x14 in my tests with Ares 1.8.8.2998
+# It ignores single letter words and truncates ones longer than \x14
+# - Two bytes of unknown meaning that change
+# - The search word (not null terminated)
+# This was all investigated by searching for strings in "all". Searches
+# can also be performed in "title" and "author". I'm not going to
+# bother to research these because I new realize that searches are done
+# on the same TCP connection as the login packets, so there is no need
+# to match them separately.
+#
+# File transfers appear to be encrypted or at least obfuscated. (The
+# files themselves, at least, are not transmitted in the clear.) I
+# haven't found any patterns.