P2P

File sharing is the public or private sharing of computer data in a network with various levels of access privilege. File sharing basically means sharing files in a network, even if it is in a small local area network. This allows for a number of users to access the same file to read, view, modify, copy, or print it. P2P file sharing stands for peer to peer sharing. It is the process of sharing digital content like electronic books, multimedia through a direct connection between two peers or nodes over the P2P network. This helps of a P2P client software which allows a computer to get connected to a P2P network. The peer that hosts the connection is called a "seed" and the one that downloads it is called a "leech". There are several examples of P2P file sharing such as FileScope, LimeWire, and BitTorrent. LimeWire allowed for users to download their favorite music onto their devices to listen to at anytime they wanted. Another P2P sharing network is BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file transfer protocol for sharing large amounts of data over the internet. BitTorrent has become one of the most actively used file sharing networks. For an example, "If any one of them misses their favorite TV show, no worries. Surely someone has posted it as a "torrent." As for movies, if you can find it at Blockbuster, you can probably find it online somewhere - and use BitTorrent to suck it down," (The Bittorrent Effect). Overall, there are several advantages when using P-2-P file sharing is the incredible speed of downloading files and the free access in doing so. 


The BitTorrent Effect by Clive Thompson, Wired, January 2005.