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N. Nagaraj

Peer-to-peer file sharing services have their place in the Internet but need to be used with discretion. Here are some reasons why.

IF you have heard of more than one of the following names - Morpheus, Kazaa, Grokster, BitTorrent, Napster - you probably know what peer-to-peer file sharing services are. Peer-to-peer or P2P services are usually based on applications that let two users connected through a network transfer files independent of a server or a central computer (as with the client/server model).

What does this mean? This means that people who share the same interests, let's say people who enjoy the same kind of music, get together on a P2P file-sharing service to share their favourite music.

Before P2P services came into play, what these people would have done was to upload their favourite tracks onto a server, from where other members of the group can download the music they'd like.

In the P2P model, all that the members have to do is to place the tracks they want to share in a special folder in their own computer that can be accessed by all the other members of the group.

Concerns for the user

P2P services raise a few concerns for the end-user of the services.

To start with, most P2P services allow a member better facilities and access only if the member also shares some of his or her files with the other members of the community.

This means that one cannot just download all the stuff one needs, but also pay for the service by contributing one's own files to the network.

There are a few services that do allow members to only download, but these come with some strings attached, like mandatory ads or sometimes that one should share at least what one has downloaded.

The networking and community aspects mean a lot more than the give-and-take relationship. It also raises concerns on the security of one's files and computers, and at a higher level, the trust you place in others.

It is easy for one to mistakenly move a personal file on to the P2P shared folder.

It is also possible that one does not configure the P2P software correctly and may compromise the security of all the files in the computer.

You also need to trust the other members of the P2P service that they do not host objectionable material.

Sometimes, hackers deliberately host files that are Trojans - files that are innocuous but harbour a dangerous payload, sometimes a virus, sometimes a backdoor to your system. Not all threats to your system come from deliberate attempts to compromise your computers and your data. Sometimes the threat may come from an ignorant or careless member not running a virus check regularly on the host computer.

In this case, a file that you wish to download from a member may contain a virus.

While personal security is important, you have to ensure that you keep on the right side of the law.

Essentially, this means that you give adult material the go-by and also make sure that you do not download pirated music and movies. You also have to consider the copyright of the material you download, and make sure that you don't infringe on copyrights.

Concerns for the administrator

First of all, P2P activity consumes an enormous amount of network and Internet bandwidth. This is basically because someone who downloads a lot of material will also be offering the content for download from his or her machine.

This means that you will have a lot of in-bound and out-bound traffic to that member's computer. The traffic is bound to be higher if the member happens to host a lot of rare or original material. This can also go up if the technical quality of the material offered is better than other members' versions.

More seriously, there is a direct threat to the business and the network as a matter of computer security.

As discussed earlier in this article, a person may, out of negligence, place a confidential document on the P2P service shared folder. Or the computer system may be compromised from outside the network by malicious hackers using the P2P files. A compromised computer may be used as a base for an attack against the other systems connected to the same network or against other computers connected to the Internet.

Finally, every business needs to be on the right side of the law, and has to discourage the use of pirated music, videos and other copyrighted material.

Contrary to perception, not all material available in P2P networks is pirated or illegal. Some works are genuinely rare and original and conform to copyright laws.

There is a lot of original material that is generated by hobbyist members, especially in the art and illustration, photography, short movies and garage-band music areas that the artists distribute for free just for the joy of sharing and sometimes, because they cannot afford to publish their material in the traditional channels. P2P has its place in the Internet, but needs to be handled with care.

Picture by K. Ananthan

nagaraj@thehindu.co.in

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