Peer-to-peer File Sharing

Peer-to-peer file sharing is very common among teenagers especially for music downloads. This page highlights some security and legal issues relating to peer-to-peer file sharing.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) software is software that allows users to share files over the internet. Installing a peer-to-peer software allows your computer to act simultaneously as "server" and "client" leaving it vulnerable to attacks. Most P2P software are free and come bundled with spyware.

Many peer-to-peer networks are under constant attack by people with a variety of motives.

Examples include:

• poisoning attacks (providing files whose contents are different than the description)
• denial of service attacks (attacks that may make the network run very slowly or break completely)
• defection attacks (users or software that make use of the network without contributing resources to it)
• insertion of viruses to carried data (e.g. downloaded or carried files may be infected with viruses or other malware)
• malware in the peer-to-peer network software itself (e.g. the software may contain spyware)
• filtering (network operators may attempt to prevent peer-to-peer network data from being carried)
• identity attacks (e.g. tracking down the users of the network and harassing or legally attacking them)
• spamming (e.g. sending unsolicited information across the network- not necessarily as a denial of service attack)

Some of the major acts involved with filesharing are:

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
• NET ACT (No Electronic Theft)
• Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA)

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peer-to-peer"