What is Peer-to-Peer File Sharing?

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using Peer-to-Peer networking technology. It allows users to share almost any form of digital media, including MP3s, videos, PDFs, or software, with one another.

In the P2P software program, usually, there is no centralized server to upload, store, and download content. Instead, each user’s system acts as a server. When a user searches for a specific file or content, it is searched in the network of connected computers, and when the file is found in some computers, the file is downloaded from the computers. The ease of use and the lucrative amount of downloadable data are the main reasons why it is so popular.

If we look through the history of P2P File Sharing Software, it was first introduced by Napster. It started as an MP3 file-sharing software. However, due to the increasing amount of consumer demand, many services followed Napster with the sharing of almost any type of digital media.

Security Risks of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

Many of us are well-aware of the security risks of these P2P File Sharing Software. Many of us know that there is a considerable amount of security risks with this software, but we do not know exactly what those risks are. Let’s understand what actually the security risks of P2P File Sharing Software are.

No centralized software to monitor downloads

As I said earlier, P2P File Sharing Software is a decentralized software, which means there is no single server to upload, store, or download contents. Any user can upload a file, and that uploaded file can be downloaded by any user. The software provider does not have any responsibility for the actual content of a file being shared. If a user knowingly or unknowingly uploads a malware or spyware-affected file, it will keep distributing over the network and will affect any computer that downloads that file.

Sometimes, malicious users, for the purpose of attacking more computers, upload virus-infected files. Sometimes, even users do not properly check the content of files and upload them. As a result, it becomes very easy for computers with P2P File Sharing Software to get infected by malware.

The risk of IP addresses getting revealed

P2P File Sharing Software sometimes reveals the real IP addresses of its users. And that is an even bigger threat. With a user’s real IP address, an attacker can spoof a user’s IP address (What is IP address spoofing?) and sniff data or even make more …