P2P

P2P or “peer to peer” is a type of file sharing technology. P2P consists of one computer downloading data from another computer using a connection. In most cases, data is downloaded from servers that store information but in the case of P2P, data is downloaded straight from the host computer. P2P since its creation has had a negative connotation to it since it is the primary method of file transfer for piracy. However, P2P is widely used in businesses for quick file transferring that is discrete.

One of the most famous cases of P2P file sharing is The Pirate Bay, which is mentioned in the New York Times article, Should Online Scofflaws Be Denied Web Access? P2P has become used primarily for illegal things such as sharing copyrighted material. The way that The Pirate Bay websites works and its use of P2P involved using torrents. A torrent is a file/certificate which is downloaded by the user, and when it’s opened it forces the host computer to start uploading the file to the user that wants it. Pirate Bay has users that are “seeders”-which is somebody who after downloading the file, keeps their connection active to let people download from them and “leechers”-somebody that ends connection after they are done. Although it is primarily used in a negative way, P2P is used heavily in the gaming industry. Almost all games on consoles are connected through P2P services where one players is the host and others are connected. There are of course some negative things to P2P hosting in video games, such as less stable connections based on the individual's performance.