
#REDIRECT File sharing
File sharing is the activity of making computer files available to other users for download over the Internet, but also over smaller networks. Usually file sharing follows the peer-to-peer (P2P) model, where the files are stored on and served by personal computers of the users. Most people who engage in file sharing are also downloading files that other users share. Sometimes these two activities are linked together. File sharing is distinct from file trading in that downloading files from a P2P network does not require uploading, although some networks either provide incentives for uploading such as credits or force the sharing of files being currently downloaded. ==History== Napster, originally a centralized service, was the first major file-sharing tool and popularized file sharing for the masses. Napster was an MP3-only sharing system and was successfully shut down by legal attacks from the music industry. It was openly attacked by some artists (notably Dr. Dre, Metallica) and supported by others (Limp Bizkit, Courtney Love, Dave Matthews). There was widespread media coverage of unreleased Madonna songs leaking out on to the web prior to the official commercial release. Napster was a localized index for MP3 files shared by the users logged into the system. It included Internet Relay Chat-like chat and instant messenger features. Almost all new major clients now follow its example in design. Even before its legal problems, the community created an alternative: OpenNap. A reverse-engineered version of the Napster protocol (computing), it was released as the open source server alternative for Napster users. These networks continue to exist even after Napster's collapse and many clients using this protocol have appeared, particularly with the help of the Napigator server list - an effort to centralize all of the different servers and networks. Afterward, a decentralized network known as Gnutella appeared. This service is fully open source and allows users to search for almost any file type; users can find more than just MP3s on these networks. It was created in response to the threat posed toward any centralized body like Napster. The purpose behind decentralization is to prevent any single broken link from compromising the entire network. Napster and Gnutella continue to define file sharing today, forming the extreme at both ends of the law in the wake of a series of civil lawsuits filed against computer users by the RIAA (which began in September, 2003). Gnutella is a free and open protocol and service while Napster has been resurrected as a commercial online music service that competes with other commercial services like iTunes and Rhapsody. Most file-sharing systems since have sought to ride the line between these two extremes. Today a variety of file-sharing programs is available on several different networks. Availability depends partly on operating system, and different networks have different features (for example, multiple-source downloads, different sorts of search limiting, and so on). It is common for commercial file sharing clients to contain abrasive advertising software, or spyware. ==Network architecture== There are several major issues surrounding file sharing. Of these, the two most important are centralization vs decentralization and the privacy and anonymity of users. The latter takes on added importance when the legality of some file-sharing practices is challenged by copyright owners. A third issue is the collection and sale of data about users, using software referred to by its detractors as "spyware". In the early days, client (computing) software was protocol-specific, so you had "Napster" clients, and you had "Gnutella" clients. There is an everpresent push towards making the GUI-side of things capable of using multiple protocols. It is argued: why should a user have to load up several different applications to do what is, in their mind, the same thing? In cases where there is perceived value in collecting, some people will have lots to share and will find themselves surrounded by eager people. This can cause problems when the collector cannot keep up with demand. Decentralization is one means to alleviate this problem, especially in cases where it is possible to ensure that multiple copies of a popular item are available from multiple sources (even simultaneously, as with multi-source downloading). Decentralization has also been pushed as a means of overcoming the threats posed to a centralized network, either by legal disputes or hostile users. A decentralized network has no body to attack; only its individual active members may be targeted, and even if a small portion of them are removed the remaining peers on the network will still be able to function. Concepts like leeching or hoarding come about where the one centralized person will collect files and later refuse to make those available to others. Trade and ratio systems evolve in order to reduce the impact of leeching. Under these systems, a person shares when he can expect to get something in return. KaZaA, for instance, has a very simple rating system. The client calculates the user's priority and tells the sources what level of downloading priority they should give that user. Shortly afterward, however, hacked clients were released that told the sources that the user had one of the highest priority levels regardless of his actual sharing. Another client which has a rating system is eMule. The eMule client, which uses Multisource_File_Transfer_Protocol as its protocol, tracks how much downloading and uploading has been done from individual sources and if files are downloaded locally or if other peers download files. Sometimes it seems that this rating system does not have a big impact on the download speed. A reason could be the size of the upload queue and the chunk size. If there is a free upload slot, the client takes the peer on top, transferes 8 MB to it and moves it to the end of the queue. A peer with rating of x2 would have to wait to get an upload slot for only half of the amount of time of a peer with a rating of x1. Furthermore, after the client has received an 8 MB chunk, it should upload an 8 MB chunk to the other peer as soon as possible if there is a download pending for that user. Then the other client would upload one chunk to you and your download speed and the one from the other client will increase. BitTorrent also has a very good share rating system. The download speed is slow if a client does not upload, but it can easily be the fastest protocol if the size of the swarm is large enough. Today we are left with a slew of clients with functionality designed around making sharing files more effective, both in the real sense of uploading and downloading (like anti-leeching functions) and in the more ethereal sense of being bulletproof toward legal issues (as with anonymity and decentralization). ==Copyright issues== Anonymous Internet file sharing (such as Gnutella and Napster) grew in popularity with the proliferation of high speed Internet connections and the (relatively) small file size and high-quality MP3 audio format. Although file sharing is a legal technology with legal uses, some people (in practice, the great majority of users) have used it to download copyrighted materials. This has led to counterattacks against file sharing in general from some copyright owners. There has been great discussion over perceived and actual legal issues surrounding file sharing. In circumstances where trading partners are in different countries with different legal codes, there are significant problems to contend with. What if a person in Canada wishes to share a piece of source code which, if compiled, has encryption capabilities? In some countries, a citizen may not request or receive such information without special permission. Throughout the early 2000s, the entire file-sharing community has been in a state of flux, as record companies and the RIAA tried to shut down as much of it as possible. Even though they have forced Napster into cooperating against copyright violations, they are fighting an uphill battle since the community has flourished and produced many of different clients based on several different underlying protocols. The second generation of P2P protocols, such as Freenet are not as dependent as Napster is on a central server, making it much harder to shut down these systems through court actions. Another attempt (used by the maintainers of KaZaA) is to change the company's organization or country of origin so that it is impossible or useless to attack it legally. The EFF is a donor-supported group which protects the digital rights of mankind. It is one of the most influential online human-rights bodies, and it is involved in legislation, court cases, and campaigns to make the public aware of their rights. The EFF has opposed the RIAA in its onslaught of law suits against users of file-sharing applications. The foundation supports the idea that P2P file-sharing can exist while allowing users to compensate artists for their copyrighted material. ==Widely-used protocols== There are a number of filesharing protocols. Below are the most popular or most important ones. ===Ares=== Ares is a popular network that uses a protocal similar to Gnutella. The standard (and most popular) Ares Galaxy client had the sixth best household coverage of P2P clients in the US during March 2005 (see [http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_050607.html]). It is mainly used by people unaware of better networks, and those who wish to be on as many networks as possible. ===BitTorrent=== The BitTorrent protocol is the only filesharing protocol in widespread use that has been integrated into large-scale corporate distribution schemes. It tends to offer greater download speeds due to the fact that the tracker for each torrent contains client information for one specific file or set of files: there is a reduction in bandwidth utilization due to protocol overhead compared to other protocols, but because every peer connected to the tracker is sharing and downloading the exact same file(s) there is no search feature in any of the existing clients. BitTorrent is also less flexible and is not a purely peer-to-peer application since the tracker URL must resolve and the tracker must provide filesharer information before any file data can be found and transferred. During early 2004 CacheLogic found that this network carried far more data than any other internet filesharing network [http://www.cachelogic.com/research/slide3.php]. Many people believe this is still the case. === Direct Connect === Direct connect file-sharing application is a protocol commonly used on peering networks and in university residences. It is particularly good at sharing files in these and other "small network" environments. DCPlusPlus is the most common client. === eDonkey, Overnet and Kad Network === EDonkey Network is one network used by the popular P2P clients eDonkey 2000 and eMule. It is used to transfer a large amount of data, second only to BitTorrent [http://www.cachelogic.com/research/slide3.php]. It's main advantage over BitTorrent is that a comprehensive search engine is built into clients. A much broader range of files can be found with it than can be on any BitTorrent search engine. It's main disadvantage against BitTorrent is that file transfers are generally slower. Overnet was designed as a replacement for the eDonkey network, and many eDonkey clients simultaneously use it. Unlike eDonkey, it is decentralised - there are no stand-alone servers. However, it has yet to surpass it. The Kad Network is very similar to Overnet, and is also almost exclusively used by clients that primarily use eDonkey. Similarly, it's popularity is relatively low. === FastTrack === FastTrack, often referred to by the name of its first client, Kazaa, utilizes a protocol similar to Gnutella2. For a period around 2002-2003 it had roughly the largest userbase of all networks. However, as of 2005 it is presently third and dropping. This drop in popularity is due to the protocal not being able to handle large numbers of users, and the network being clogged with corrupted and dummy files placed by rights-holders to disrupt the trade of copyrighted songs. The Kazaa client installs spyware onto the user's machine. The creators of the spyware-free Kazaa Lite were ordered to cease distribution after a judge ruled that it violated copyrights held by Sharman Networks. Whether or not the presence of spyware outweighs the benefits of the client software is a decision for each individual user to make, and reading about spyware and the related security and privacy risks can only help potential users make the best choice based upon their own needs. The popular iMesh client also uses FastTrack as it's primary protocal. The open source GiFT plugin is another way to connect to the FastTrack network. ===Gnutella and Gnutella2=== Developed by Justin Frankel of Nullsoft while Napster was undergoing legal battles, Gnutella was the first truly decentralized client. Since then many advances in the protocol have been made, and Gnutella has been a predominant influence in the world of filesharing. Originally intended as a means of extending and improving upon Gnutella, Gnutella2 was developed by Michael Stokes, creator of Shareaza. It added an extensible binary packet format, User Datagram Protocol-based search algorithm, and many features originally proposed as additions to Gnutella, such as partial file sharing and packet compression, which alleviated many of the problems caused by outdated clients on the network. Nowadays, modern Gnutella clients support all of these features, and many more, including firewall-to-firewall transfers, are being tested. Popular clients for these networks include: * LimeWire * Bearshare * Morpheus (computer program) ===OpenNap (was Napster)=== OpenNap is a modified version of the protocol originally used by the Napster client, which was the first widely used peer-to-peer filesharing application. It is still developed and used in applications such as WinMX. ===WinNY=== This is an unofficial name for the protocol used by the WinNY and Share (p2p) clients. This protocol is the most popular in Japan (2005). It is rarely used outside Asia. ===WPNP === WPNP is the main protocol used by WinMX. This network offered the best results for finding obscure English language material for a period around 2001-02, but it's main use is for asian language material. In March 2005, The NPD Group found WinMX was used in more US households than any other P2P client or legal music download service [http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_050607.html]. According to some sources, it is also the second most popular client in Japan. == Popular web sites communities == * InfoAnarchy - File Sharing / Anonymity Tools - Reviews and forums. * ShareReactor - Was a Web Site that helped download confirmed, public files from the Multisource File Transfer Protocol used by such programs as Edonkey2000 and eMule. It was taken down by Swiss Police on March 10th, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. ==See also== * Darknet * Online file storage ==External links== ===Portals=== * [http://filesharing.bz/ The File Sharing Portal] File sharing programs reviewed, rated, and download links. * [http://www.mp3newswire.net MP3 Newswire] - One of the oldest digital media news sources with extensive coverage on file sharing and technology. * [http://www.findhash.com/ Findhash.com] - A Web Site indexing media content for many different filesharing client using quicklinks (AKA hashlinks) * [http://wmf.editthispage.com/ Hack the Planet] - Wes Felter comments frequently on P2P-related issues in his weblog. * [http://www.openp2p.com/ OpenP2P] - O'Reilly's Peer-to-Peer portal with news and papers. Interesting for developers and businesses. * [http://www.nanop2p.com/ Nanotechnology P2P] - Programs, News, Forums * [http://www.mac-p2p.com/ Peer to Peer guide for the Mac] with overview of p2p-clients for Mac OS X. * [http://www.planetpeer.de Planet Peer] - Planet Peer is a comprehensive portal for mainly anonymous file-sharing programs like MUTE, Freenet and Entropy. We are hosting the official MUTE Wiki also and have a forum which deals with everything concerning issues with anonymous file-sharing tools different filesharing client using quicklinks (AKA hashlinks) * [http://www.p2pinfo.net/ The File Sharing News] * [http://www.Slyck.com/ Slyck] - Covering file-sharing and copyright issues along with new and established clients by popularity, size, System platform, and more. * [http://www.sharelive.com Sharelive.com] - A Web Site that helps download confirmed, public files from multiple networks. * [http://www.zeropaid.com/ Zeropaid.com] - The File Sharing Portal - Programs, News, Forums ===Mailing lists=== * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decentralization Decentralization - Implications of the end-to-end principle] - A mailing list exclusively devoted to the architecture of P2P-systems, with a lot of traffic and interesting ideas passed around. Founded by Lucas Gonze, with lots of high-profile subscribers from the P2P field. Open since July 2000, and still running past Nov 2002. * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_gdf/ The GDF] - The Gnutella Developer Forum is a group for discussing extensions of the Gnutella protocol. It is the largest standards body for the Gnutella network, and anyone working on a servant should be a member. * [http://zgp.org/mailman/listinfo/p2p-hackers/ P2P Hackers] - A general mailing list about peer-to-peer software development. ===Newsgroups=== * news://alt.gnutella * news://alt.internet.p2p * news://franklin.oit.unc.edu/bluesky ===Papers, articles, and infant projects=== * [http://www.napsterresearch.com ''The Napster Experience''] - Critical consumer research (Markus Giesler, York Universisty) analyzing file-sharing as a form of gift giving and consumer emancipation. * [http://web.archive.org/web/20031217191730/www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/buycd.html ''Is MP3 Music a Perishable Product?''] - February 2000 essay from MP3 Newswire that first explored the theory that consumers shared files to sample music before purchasing. * [http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html ''Courtney Love does the math''] - An extensive article for Salon.com written in 2000 by Courtney Love, addressing music sharing, the state of the recording industry and artists' frequently poor relationships with their record label * [http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/madore/misc/freespeech.html A Method of Free Speech on the Internet: Random Pads] (by David A. Madore) - Discusses how information can be completely separated from its creators by XORing it with chunks of random data. The resulting "pads" can then be distributed across so-called "pad archives". A pad archive neither knows what it is hosting nor does it host provably controversial data, since the data cannot be distinguished from noise. It's mainly a legal question: If the courts would outlaw hosting random data, it wouldn't work. Other than that, it's pretty safe -- interesting read, and there are already quite a lot of pad archives (thanks to Slashdot). * [http://www.freehaven.net The Free Haven Project] - Similar goals to Freenet, with different solutions. Some interesting papers. Not much code yet. * [http://thebighack.org The Big Hack: Home of the OFF System] - A crusade to create a peer-to-peer system of file exchage where everything exchanged is legal. All that is sent over the net is random numbers. Files are then reconstructed on your computer out of the building blocks that you downloaded. Everything comes in multi-use blocks of 128 kb. Simply explained, everything online is a number (1's and 0's). Big numbers, granted, but a number nonetheless. To keep it easy, we'll pretend the numbers are small instead of large, and we'll use base ten, as opposed to base 2 (Binary_numeral_system). Now, if Britney Spears copyrighted the number 7, what are the legal procedures for someone who rips 7, divides it in two, and transmits the code 3.5 + 3.5 to his buddy? Or transmits 10 - 3? Can she copyright all numbers? If so, would that make Rob Zombie liable if he created the song 14 (which happens to be 7 + 7...)? As you can see, things get confusing quickly. They're always looking for help at [http://thebighack.org TBH], so if you've the programming skill, head on over. * [http://oceanstore.cs.berkeley.edu/ OceanStore] - OceanStore is "designed to span the globe and provide continuous access to persistent information". "Data is protected through redundancy and cryptographic techniques. To improve performance, data are allowed to be cached anywhere, anytime. Additionally, monitoring of usage patterns allows adaptation to regional outages and denial of service attacks; monitoring also enhances performance through pro-active movement of data. A prototype implementation is currently under development." * [http://fling.sourceforge.net/ Fling] | [http://sourceforge.net/projects/fling Sourceforge page] - An attempt to provide anonymity on the protocol level (i.e. replace TCP/IP). Still in the planning stages as of Nov 2002. * [http://www.exocortex.org/p2p/index.html Ben Houston's P2P Idea Page] - Ben Houston has written a lot of interesting analyses of distributed systems, among them proposals for more efficient, self-organizing and self-optimizing networks. * [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/eternity/eternity.html The Eternity Service by Ross Anderson] - This paper is a rather simple suggestion for a redundant, anonymous storage system with payment features. * [http://www.intermemory.net/ Intermemory Project] - Aims to create "large-scale, self-organized, survivable, available, and secure widely-distributed storage". See papers. * [http://skuz.net/potatoware/wof/ Who's on First Proposal] - This page introduces the Who's On First (WOF) anonymous network, which is the working title of a proposal for a more flexible and reliable anonymous communication network than that provided by current Type I and II remailers. *[http://crypto.stanford.edu/DRM2002/darknet5.doc ''The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution''] (Microsoft Word format) by Peter Biddle, Paul England, Marcus Peinado, and Bryan Willman of Microsoft. *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4104827.stm ''Peer-to-peer goes legitimate''] (BBC News, 17 December 2004) – The article explains how some new and established artists are using file sharing to market themselves and then how they can use pay-sites to make a living, all without the involvement of record companies. *[http://slate.msn.com/id/2094336/ ''See You on the Darknet''] (Slate (magazine), 28 January, 2004). *[http://web.archive.org/web/20031207105918/www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2002/teentrade.html ''Research: File Traders Buy Records''] - MP3 Newswire examines pro-record industry research that claims file sharing threatens the industry and finds the numbers show just the opposite, that file sharing induces users to buy CDs. ==Sources== This article was partly based on public domain material from the infoAnarchy wiki. File sharing IRC Instant messaging
== EFF paragraph == I've added a paragraph about the role that the EFF plays in the file-sharing dilemma because I feel that it's important. Feel free to edit it. --User:BrandonHimes 19:34, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I think your paragraph is pro-EFF POV, but I work for EFF, so maybe someone else can figure out a way to tone down your praise. -- User:Schoen 17:35, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Multiple protocols == The documents current structure doesn't take into account that filesharing projects more and more strive to support as many filesharing protocols as possible in the same tool. There should be a division between filesharing storing data on a remote computer to be used by different people (Samba, AFS, exploited FTP), file sharing applications [partitially] using the ressources provided by equally important hosts, and the phenomenon of music/movie-sharing and their links to the warez-scene. : I can't comment on your first remark but I strongly agree with the second, i.e., that this article covers two distinct topics, with SMB, NFS, and the like belonging to the first while napster & co. to the second. Further, I'd much prefer seeing these two topics taken apart, the current article is long enough as it is, without covering at any decent depth the first of the two groups. I'm struggling to tell these two apart, though. Suggestions, anyone? --User:Jtg 10:15, Feb 16, 2004 (UTC) == IRC == I don't see how IRC can be listed as a "file-sharing utility". It's a chat network. (Internet Relay Chat) Furthermore I'm confused as to why CuteFTP are listed in the HTTP category rather than the FTP category. The "Operating System File Sharing Servers" also leaves me nothing but confused... Have I missed something fundamental, or is this list rather messy and partially wrong? User:Belgarat 23:19 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :It's in part a consequence of the mixture of file sharing and file trading concepts in one article. IRC includes file sharing tools (the ability to exchange files) and has been widely used for file trading. No idea why CUte FTP is listed where it was/is, except that it may also support HTTP transfers. The OS file sharing servers are the original meaning - sharing of files within a company via network file servers. User:Jamesday 16:30, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC) == Merge with P2P? == Should this be merged with P2P? --User:Delirium 23:47 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :No, P2P is different from file sharing. If anything, information about filesharing programs on that page could be moved here. :No. Peer to peer and file trading are different concepts, also context distinct from the peer to peer file trading networks which get much coverage in both articles. The file trading networks content is probably best split out into an article of its own, so these two articles can cover the technologies and both reference the file trading networks as one example of the application of the techniques. User:Jamesday 17:41, 29 Feb 2004 (UTC) Proposed split/merge of this and Peer-to-peer to form the following three articles: * File trading, concentrating on the wellgfgh known internet music and video exchange services and methods (whatever they are, peer to peer, IRC, newsgroups etc.). * Peer-to-peer covering generic peer-to-peer technology * File sharing covering generic file sharing technology, as in office file sharing via file servers or peer file servers or similar network services not primarily used for the exchange of music and video. Any objections or comments? I'll wait at least one week from now before acting, unless someone else wants to do it sooner... User:Jamesday 16:30, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC) :I am a bit late with this comment, but please, go ahead. This sounds like a good thing to do, especially regarding the now missing file trading article. Its subject is sufficiently different (includes even things like BBSes, floppynets, etc.). The only problem is that file trading is usually called "file sharing" in reality. Is there an alternative ''technical'' term for file sharing technologies? User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Directors on file sharing == When this transition to 3 separate articles will be done, this fact should be included in the file trading one: Many music artists and some movie directors have voiced their support for file sharing of their copyrighted works. For example, Michael Moore has repeatedly stated that he supports non-commercial sharing of his movies. Quentin Tarantino has encouraged viewers in countries where his films are not legally available, to get pirated copies. [http://www.sundayherald.com/43167] User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Move list to new article? == Any objections to moving the list of file sharing applications to List_file_sharing_utilities ? I will move it there for the time being, feel free to move it back if you think it should be there. I personally think it makes the article too gawdy :). --User:ShaunMacPherson 17:02, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) == Don't forget the other big guy == Kazaa was also emergent after the shut down of Napster. Recently Napster just launched a new revamped music download service where the user's can download for a nominal fee. There are still many debates over this in the music industry especially with RIAA [Recording Industry Association of America]. All industries are ever changing and must adapt to the consumer. Consumer is and always will be King. == Privacy text removed == I removed the following text from the article: :== Privacy concerns== :The concept of being tagged and tracked is one which has been a reality for some time. Personally identifiable information is legally associated with a person's actions in order to verify their identity. :Think credit cards: these have to be associated with the purchaser, otherwise the credit card couldn't send a bill for those purchases. This concept has also entered into the computer world, and many people are fearful of advertisers tracking their virtual "movements". While advertisers claim that this is to target more applicable or interesting ads, many people argue that they never want to see another ad again, and certainly don't want to be tracked without explicit permission. This desire for anonymity has spilled into file sharing such that some client have encryption and obfuscation functionality to protect their users. :Concepts such as decentralization and trust have also been used as a means of hiding the identity of users. The reason is that it seems very out of place there. If it is to be used at all, it should be included in some other article more directly related to privacy. User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) Hi! It seems that my edit (80.108.95.244) is deleted without any notice. I think that when talking about file sharing the inormation why the networks are so slow should not be hidden. Do you think the paragraph should be placed in the pages of the edonkey2000/fasttrack network? == access to P2P sites == As the majority of file sharing is illegal (copyright infringement by distribution), and as Wikipedia appears to have various discussions in progress on correct use of copyright protected material, is it fair and/or ethical to provide access to the means of theft of non public domain material? File_sharing#Communities_and_external_links By submitting your work you promise you wrote it yourself, or copied it from public domain resources — this does not include most web pages. DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION! The above statement does appear contradictory of allowing these kinds of links... I would like to remove the links to those sites if there are no reasonable objections. User:FadedRed 21:46, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) :I object. Firstly, it is possible to explain how to do something, or to be curious about how to do something, without advocating it. Also, no theft occurs on filesharing networks. Remember that copyright violation is usually a civil offence, whereas theft is a criminal offence. These links are not in contradiction of the Wikipedia policy that you quote. Having said that, it does look like ''some'' external links might be trimmed from that list. User:Tim Ivorson 21:56, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::Actually copyright violation can be a criminal offence. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506). The FBI investigates allegations of criminal copyright infringement and violators will be prosecuted. However I do agree that only certain links really need to be removed from the list. User:FadedRed 22:06, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) :::Agreed. Unless you want to discuss the precise changes that you plan, I advise you to leap in and edit. Until you get a useful suggestion, you won't know what people think, or whether anybody else will answer. User:Tim Ivorson 22:18, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::::Done. Thanks for your input :) User:FadedRed 09:23, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC) ==Darknet== Should it really be a redirect? --User:PopUpPirate 00:32, Mar 3, 2005 (UTC) ==FileSharing, is it good or bad== In order to obtain an answer to the question, if peer to peer file transfer softwares such as Kazaa and Gokster should be legal, the effects of these programs have to be identified. One of the many areas that these programs have effects is the everyday life. Through these programs people are able to download any file that they are searching for, be it music, movie files or some pictures from a certain event or some documentary. Although it is still debated if downloading songs and movies is piracy or not, the concept of accessing any song any time of the day from a computer has been the luxury that technology has offered. The reason why it is so appealing to download these files isn’t because they are free; it is because they are risk free. Couple good hits from an album drives many people into buying the whole album only to realize that rest of the songs are not as good as they had expected. With current album prices in average within the range of 10-18 USD, it simply is not worth the risk of buying an album which one may end up not even listening to it the second time. Basically the opportunity cost of buying an album or a movie is high relative to simply getting connected to the internet and downloading. Although it is disrespectful to the producers of these movies and albums to just download their products and use them for free, how is it that these companies such as Sony can claim ownership to cultural products such as music? It is not always music and movies that people tend to download from one and another. It is very likely to witness someone getting some setup files for drivers or a zip file the demo of a game. Basically if there is a use any file can easily be transferred between PCs. Last year when my laptop almost crashed I had no alternative ways of backing up the important files in my documents. I was out of blank CDs and I was in dire need of repairing my laptop. However I was working on a homework which was due in couple days. Therefore I sent all the necessary files to my roommate and manage finish my homework in his laptop. If I was not able to transfer my files I probably would have failed that homework. --User:Sadimert just like its benefits softwares like Kazaa also hold powerful threats to the everyday social life. Some of the many things that can possibly be searched in Kazaa are video and image files. Almost none of these p2p softwares that I have encountered have filters to what the users share. All one have to do is to select the folders that are to be viewed by other users and immediately they are accessible. Another problem with these softwares is that there is no legal age to use them. In other words any single person with access to internet is able to use them. The question that rises from this issue is; what are the risks of allowing kids to have access to unlimited sources of files? It is inevitable not to encounter pornographic files in these programs and there is nothing to hold these kids from simply downloading them and viewing them. Although Kazaa offers a parent filter system, it is very unlikely for parents to know, every software installed in their child’s PC. There are laws against people under 18 to view pornographic material but unfortunately since it is very hard to monitor whether a files contains adult material this law is hard to apply. Therefore these programs leave families defenseless against pornography. Another problem with allowing peer to peer file transferring occurs almost at everything dealing with internet. Viruses, Trojans and hackers hold a threat to our society today for almost everything is based on computers. Since there is nothing which monitors what is shared by the users, these programs cause PCs to be vulnerable to hackers for these downloaded files might contain viruses or patches. Both the problems introduced to the social life are due to the lack of a monitoring system for files that are shared. If Kazaa could reduce the allowed type of sharable files so that there will be less opening for viruses and if the engineers of Kazaa could develop a security system to overcome the distribution of porn these two threats to society could be removed. --User:Mertsadi Sharing files in the internet does not only affect social life, the entertainment industry has been under the influence of downloading files. The main stream artists like Usher, 50 Cents and G-Unit have reached record numbers with their sales. This year in number one spot 50 Cent comes with 2.8 millions of sold and distributed albums. When these artists are searched in programs like Kazaa, i2hub and Imesh, the results are very interesting. They produce results almost more than any other search. Then how is it possible that these artists sell the most number of albums when their music is what tends to populate in most users? It is inevitable to drive the conclusion that file sharing in fact helped these artist. The main stream artists are not the only ones who enjoy the benefits of file transferring. People always tend to take the actions that have the least risk. It is very unlikely to witness people buying albums that are not widely known. Through these programs people are able to sample the music of local, underground or unknown artists. Therefore it is very hard to say that sharing their music hurts them because through sampling their product customers gain new tastes in music and loyalty to these unknown artists. --User:Sadimert Although sharing music helped the big and the small names what about those artists in between who happens to be the major group in the industry? Consumers always tend to follow the least risky way especially when it comes to dealing with money. Unless someone has a collection of albums there will be many other things to buy before it comes to albums, such as food and transportation costs. After those costs one can set aside a budget to spend on entertainment such as movies, theatres, albums and even going to some restaurant. Therefore it holds a certain risk to buy an album and actually not like it at the end, thus having wasted very precious money. In a way downloading these files is a substitute of buying these not credible albums since they are not the ones that are constantly played in radios. Due less reputation and less customer loyalty the sales of these artists have reduced. In a way it is possible to drive the conclusion that file sharing has caused the gap between the sales numbers of main stream artists and less known musicians to increase greatly. Although the numbers do not show a decrease in the industry due file sharing that is due to the success of a sample number of artists. --User:Mertsadi SOLUTION: The best approach in business is to identify the problem and attack directly to that. Although bundling goods and selling them at a premium price is a good idea to increase revenue it is still a short term solution. Suing the p2p softwares will have draw backs; therefore it is not the best approach either. The real issue is that downloading songs turned from sampling albums into owning every single album out there. One possible solution to the current issues in the files transferring without losing its benefits is to have a major company which monitors these softwares. In a way, a software owner out there that wants to be legalizing the product could sign up with this company which is under government monitoring. This way there are the layers of security because government regulates the company which monitors these softwares. Since the problem is that people are downloading more than the point where it is still healthy for the industry, a system is required to decrease the transfers. This umbrella company could monitor the download of every single user of every single program. In a way, in order to use any one of these programs one must open an account with the company. This way everyone who downloads is automatically in the system and it will be easy to monitor that. There could be a cap as to how much people are allowed to download in a certain period of time. It would be costly to check how much everyone downloads therefore this system might not be the best idea. But there is a way to regulate natural barrier to downloading which is that there could be product standards for these softwares. For example each software must have a family filter which will not allow the sharing of pornographic files and all of these programs must put a speed cap. In other words the users will not be able to download faster than a certain speed which will make it less appealing to download albums rather than songs. If both the speed cap and the number of downloaded files cap is applied than users will only be able to sample albums and they will have more reasons to buy albums. At least this way if the music industry still fails then it no longer is a problem caused by file sharing. The sharing of files has huge benefits such as the boost on side industries and technologies, easy access of files and the luxury of being able to sample and listen to albums in PCs and media file players. I strongly believe that if the Supreme Court decides in favor of Sony the society will take a huge hit because there are other ways to overcome the problem. By introducing a system which works like a tree the root being the government, next branch being the umbrella company and from there to software engineers and the users of these programs, the harms of peer to peer file transferring is minimized and the benefits are still absorbed. --User:Sadimert
File-sharing software is used to directly or indirectly transfer computer files from one computer to another over the Internet, over a smaller Intranet, or across simple networks following the peer-to-peer (P2P) model.Most of the programs are integrated in filesharing networks and obtain information about each other from central servers.
There was a previous vote for deletion of this page. Its result was no consensus, and it can be found at Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2005 May 22#Category:File sharing User:Bryan Derksen 06:21, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)
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File sharing
File sharing is the activity of making computer files available to other users for download over the Internet, but also over smaller networks. Usually file sharing follows the peer-to-peer (P2P) model, where the files are stored on and served by personal computers of the users. Most people who engage in file sharing are also downloading files that other users share. Sometimes these two activities are linked together. File sharing is distinct from file trading in that downloading files from a P2P network does not require uploading, although some networks either provide incentives for uploading such as credits or force the sharing of files being currently downloaded. ==History== Napster, originally a centralized service, was the first major file-sharing tool and popularized file sharing for the masses. Napster was an MP3-only sharing system and was successfully shut down by legal attacks from the music industry. It was openly attacked by some artists (notably Dr. Dre, Metallica) and supported by others (Limp Bizkit, Courtney Love, Dave Matthews). There was widespread media coverage of unreleased Madonna songs leaking out on to the web prior to the official commercial release. Napster was a localized index for MP3 files shared by the users logged into the system. It included Internet Relay Chat-like chat and instant messenger features. Almost all new major clients now follow its example in design. Even before its legal problems, the community created an alternative: OpenNap. A reverse-engineered version of the Napster protocol (computing), it was released as the open source server alternative for Napster users. These networks continue to exist even after Napster's collapse and many clients using this protocol have appeared, particularly with the help of the Napigator server list - an effort to centralize all of the different servers and networks. Afterward, a decentralized network known as Gnutella appeared. This service is fully open source and allows users to search for almost any file type; users can find more than just MP3s on these networks. It was created in response to the threat posed toward any centralized body like Napster. The purpose behind decentralization is to prevent any single broken link from compromising the entire network. Napster and Gnutella continue to define file sharing today, forming the extreme at both ends of the law in the wake of a series of civil lawsuits filed against computer users by the RIAA (which began in September, 2003). Gnutella is a free and open protocol and service while Napster has been resurrected as a commercial online music service that competes with other commercial services like iTunes and Rhapsody. Most file-sharing systems since have sought to ride the line between these two extremes. Today a variety of file-sharing programs is available on several different networks. Availability depends partly on operating system, and different networks have different features (for example, multiple-source downloads, different sorts of search limiting, and so on). It is common for commercial file sharing clients to contain abrasive advertising software, or spyware. ==Network architecture== There are several major issues surrounding file sharing. Of these, the two most important are centralization vs decentralization and the privacy and anonymity of users. The latter takes on added importance when the legality of some file-sharing practices is challenged by copyright owners. A third issue is the collection and sale of data about users, using software referred to by its detractors as "spyware". In the early days, client (computing) software was protocol-specific, so you had "Napster" clients, and you had "Gnutella" clients. There is an everpresent push towards making the GUI-side of things capable of using multiple protocols. It is argued: why should a user have to load up several different applications to do what is, in their mind, the same thing? In cases where there is perceived value in collecting, some people will have lots to share and will find themselves surrounded by eager people. This can cause problems when the collector cannot keep up with demand. Decentralization is one means to alleviate this problem, especially in cases where it is possible to ensure that multiple copies of a popular item are available from multiple sources (even simultaneously, as with multi-source downloading). Decentralization has also been pushed as a means of overcoming the threats posed to a centralized network, either by legal disputes or hostile users. A decentralized network has no body to attack; only its individual active members may be targeted, and even if a small portion of them are removed the remaining peers on the network will still be able to function. Concepts like leeching or hoarding come about where the one centralized person will collect files and later refuse to make those available to others. Trade and ratio systems evolve in order to reduce the impact of leeching. Under these systems, a person shares when he can expect to get something in return. KaZaA, for instance, has a very simple rating system. The client calculates the user's priority and tells the sources what level of downloading priority they should give that user. Shortly afterward, however, hacked clients were released that told the sources that the user had one of the highest priority levels regardless of his actual sharing. Another client which has a rating system is eMule. The eMule client, which uses Multisource_File_Transfer_Protocol as its protocol, tracks how much downloading and uploading has been done from individual sources and if files are downloaded locally or if other peers download files. Sometimes it seems that this rating system does not have a big impact on the download speed. A reason could be the size of the upload queue and the chunk size. If there is a free upload slot, the client takes the peer on top, transferes 8 MB to it and moves it to the end of the queue. A peer with rating of x2 would have to wait to get an upload slot for only half of the amount of time of a peer with a rating of x1. Furthermore, after the client has received an 8 MB chunk, it should upload an 8 MB chunk to the other peer as soon as possible if there is a download pending for that user. Then the other client would upload one chunk to you and your download speed and the one from the other client will increase. BitTorrent also has a very good share rating system. The download speed is slow if a client does not upload, but it can easily be the fastest protocol if the size of the swarm is large enough. Today we are left with a slew of clients with functionality designed around making sharing files more effective, both in the real sense of uploading and downloading (like anti-leeching functions) and in the more ethereal sense of being bulletproof toward legal issues (as with anonymity and decentralization). ==Copyright issues== Anonymous Internet file sharing (such as Gnutella and Napster) grew in popularity with the proliferation of high speed Internet connections and the (relatively) small file size and high-quality MP3 audio format. Although file sharing is a legal technology with legal uses, some people (in practice, the great majority of users) have used it to download copyrighted materials. This has led to counterattacks against file sharing in general from some copyright owners. There has been great discussion over perceived and actual legal issues surrounding file sharing. In circumstances where trading partners are in different countries with different legal codes, there are significant problems to contend with. What if a person in Canada wishes to share a piece of source code which, if compiled, has encryption capabilities? In some countries, a citizen may not request or receive such information without special permission. Throughout the early 2000s, the entire file-sharing community has been in a state of flux, as record companies and the RIAA tried to shut down as much of it as possible. Even though they have forced Napster into cooperating against copyright violations, they are fighting an uphill battle since the community has flourished and produced many of different clients based on several different underlying protocols. The second generation of P2P protocols, such as Freenet are not as dependent as Napster is on a central server, making it much harder to shut down these systems through court actions. Another attempt (used by the maintainers of KaZaA) is to change the company's organization or country of origin so that it is impossible or useless to attack it legally. The EFF is a donor-supported group which protects the digital rights of mankind. It is one of the most influential online human-rights bodies, and it is involved in legislation, court cases, and campaigns to make the public aware of their rights. The EFF has opposed the RIAA in its onslaught of law suits against users of file-sharing applications. The foundation supports the idea that P2P file-sharing can exist while allowing users to compensate artists for their copyrighted material. ==Widely-used protocols== There are a number of filesharing protocols. Below are the most popular or most important ones. ===Ares=== Ares is a popular network that uses a protocal similar to Gnutella. The standard (and most popular) Ares Galaxy client had the sixth best household coverage of P2P clients in the US during March 2005 (see [http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_050607.html]). It is mainly used by people unaware of better networks, and those who wish to be on as many networks as possible. ===BitTorrent=== The BitTorrent protocol is the only filesharing protocol in widespread use that has been integrated into large-scale corporate distribution schemes. It tends to offer greater download speeds due to the fact that the tracker for each torrent contains client information for one specific file or set of files: there is a reduction in bandwidth utilization due to protocol overhead compared to other protocols, but because every peer connected to the tracker is sharing and downloading the exact same file(s) there is no search feature in any of the existing clients. BitTorrent is also less flexible and is not a purely peer-to-peer application since the tracker URL must resolve and the tracker must provide filesharer information before any file data can be found and transferred. During early 2004 CacheLogic found that this network carried far more data than any other internet filesharing network [http://www.cachelogic.com/research/slide3.php]. Many people believe this is still the case. === Direct Connect === Direct connect file-sharing application is a protocol commonly used on peering networks and in university residences. It is particularly good at sharing files in these and other "small network" environments. DCPlusPlus is the most common client. === eDonkey, Overnet and Kad Network === EDonkey Network is one network used by the popular P2P clients eDonkey 2000 and eMule. It is used to transfer a large amount of data, second only to BitTorrent [http://www.cachelogic.com/research/slide3.php]. It's main advantage over BitTorrent is that a comprehensive search engine is built into clients. A much broader range of files can be found with it than can be on any BitTorrent search engine. It's main disadvantage against BitTorrent is that file transfers are generally slower. Overnet was designed as a replacement for the eDonkey network, and many eDonkey clients simultaneously use it. Unlike eDonkey, it is decentralised - there are no stand-alone servers. However, it has yet to surpass it. The Kad Network is very similar to Overnet, and is also almost exclusively used by clients that primarily use eDonkey. Similarly, it's popularity is relatively low. === FastTrack === FastTrack, often referred to by the name of its first client, Kazaa, utilizes a protocol similar to Gnutella2. For a period around 2002-2003 it had roughly the largest userbase of all networks. However, as of 2005 it is presently third and dropping. This drop in popularity is due to the protocal not being able to handle large numbers of users, and the network being clogged with corrupted and dummy files placed by rights-holders to disrupt the trade of copyrighted songs. The Kazaa client installs spyware onto the user's machine. The creators of the spyware-free Kazaa Lite were ordered to cease distribution after a judge ruled that it violated copyrights held by Sharman Networks. Whether or not the presence of spyware outweighs the benefits of the client software is a decision for each individual user to make, and reading about spyware and the related security and privacy risks can only help potential users make the best choice based upon their own needs. The popular iMesh client also uses FastTrack as it's primary protocal. The open source GiFT plugin is another way to connect to the FastTrack network. ===Gnutella and Gnutella2=== Developed by Justin Frankel of Nullsoft while Napster was undergoing legal battles, Gnutella was the first truly decentralized client. Since then many advances in the protocol have been made, and Gnutella has been a predominant influence in the world of filesharing. Originally intended as a means of extending and improving upon Gnutella, Gnutella2 was developed by Michael Stokes, creator of Shareaza. It added an extensible binary packet format, User Datagram Protocol-based search algorithm, and many features originally proposed as additions to Gnutella, such as partial file sharing and packet compression, which alleviated many of the problems caused by outdated clients on the network. Nowadays, modern Gnutella clients support all of these features, and many more, including firewall-to-firewall transfers, are being tested. Popular clients for these networks include: * LimeWire * Bearshare * Morpheus (computer program) ===OpenNap (was Napster)=== OpenNap is a modified version of the protocol originally used by the Napster client, which was the first widely used peer-to-peer filesharing application. It is still developed and used in applications such as WinMX. ===WinNY=== This is an unofficial name for the protocol used by the WinNY and Share (p2p) clients. This protocol is the most popular in Japan (2005). It is rarely used outside Asia. ===WPNP === WPNP is the main protocol used by WinMX. This network offered the best results for finding obscure English language material for a period around 2001-02, but it's main use is for asian language material. In March 2005, The NPD Group found WinMX was used in more US households than any other P2P client or legal music download service [http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_050607.html]. According to some sources, it is also the second most popular client in Japan. == Popular web sites communities == * InfoAnarchy - File Sharing / Anonymity Tools - Reviews and forums. * ShareReactor - Was a Web Site that helped download confirmed, public files from the Multisource File Transfer Protocol used by such programs as Edonkey2000 and eMule. It was taken down by Swiss Police on March 10th, 2004 due to the suspicion of breach of copyright and trademark laws. ==See also== * Darknet * Online file storage ==External links== ===Portals=== * [http://filesharing.bz/ The File Sharing Portal] File sharing programs reviewed, rated, and download links. * [http://www.mp3newswire.net MP3 Newswire] - One of the oldest digital media news sources with extensive coverage on file sharing and technology. * [http://www.findhash.com/ Findhash.com] - A Web Site indexing media content for many different filesharing client using quicklinks (AKA hashlinks) * [http://wmf.editthispage.com/ Hack the Planet] - Wes Felter comments frequently on P2P-related issues in his weblog. * [http://www.openp2p.com/ OpenP2P] - O'Reilly's Peer-to-Peer portal with news and papers. Interesting for developers and businesses. * [http://www.nanop2p.com/ Nanotechnology P2P] - Programs, News, Forums * [http://www.mac-p2p.com/ Peer to Peer guide for the Mac] with overview of p2p-clients for Mac OS X. * [http://www.planetpeer.de Planet Peer] - Planet Peer is a comprehensive portal for mainly anonymous file-sharing programs like MUTE, Freenet and Entropy. We are hosting the official MUTE Wiki also and have a forum which deals with everything concerning issues with anonymous file-sharing tools different filesharing client using quicklinks (AKA hashlinks) * [http://www.p2pinfo.net/ The File Sharing News] * [http://www.Slyck.com/ Slyck] - Covering file-sharing and copyright issues along with new and established clients by popularity, size, System platform, and more. * [http://www.sharelive.com Sharelive.com] - A Web Site that helps download confirmed, public files from multiple networks. * [http://www.zeropaid.com/ Zeropaid.com] - The File Sharing Portal - Programs, News, Forums ===Mailing lists=== * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/decentralization Decentralization - Implications of the end-to-end principle] - A mailing list exclusively devoted to the architecture of P2P-systems, with a lot of traffic and interesting ideas passed around. Founded by Lucas Gonze, with lots of high-profile subscribers from the P2P field. Open since July 2000, and still running past Nov 2002. * [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_gdf/ The GDF] - The Gnutella Developer Forum is a group for discussing extensions of the Gnutella protocol. It is the largest standards body for the Gnutella network, and anyone working on a servant should be a member. * [http://zgp.org/mailman/listinfo/p2p-hackers/ P2P Hackers] - A general mailing list about peer-to-peer software development. ===Newsgroups=== * news://alt.gnutella * news://alt.internet.p2p * news://franklin.oit.unc.edu/bluesky ===Papers, articles, and infant projects=== * [http://www.napsterresearch.com ''The Napster Experience''] - Critical consumer research (Markus Giesler, York Universisty) analyzing file-sharing as a form of gift giving and consumer emancipation. * [http://web.archive.org/web/20031217191730/www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2000/buycd.html ''Is MP3 Music a Perishable Product?''] - February 2000 essay from MP3 Newswire that first explored the theory that consumers shared files to sample music before purchasing. * [http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/print.html ''Courtney Love does the math''] - An extensive article for Salon.com written in 2000 by Courtney Love, addressing music sharing, the state of the recording industry and artists' frequently poor relationships with their record label * [http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/madore/misc/freespeech.html A Method of Free Speech on the Internet: Random Pads] (by David A. Madore) - Discusses how information can be completely separated from its creators by XORing it with chunks of random data. The resulting "pads" can then be distributed across so-called "pad archives". A pad archive neither knows what it is hosting nor does it host provably controversial data, since the data cannot be distinguished from noise. It's mainly a legal question: If the courts would outlaw hosting random data, it wouldn't work. Other than that, it's pretty safe -- interesting read, and there are already quite a lot of pad archives (thanks to Slashdot). * [http://www.freehaven.net The Free Haven Project] - Similar goals to Freenet, with different solutions. Some interesting papers. Not much code yet. * [http://thebighack.org The Big Hack: Home of the OFF System] - A crusade to create a peer-to-peer system of file exchage where everything exchanged is legal. All that is sent over the net is random numbers. Files are then reconstructed on your computer out of the building blocks that you downloaded. Everything comes in multi-use blocks of 128 kb. Simply explained, everything online is a number (1's and 0's). Big numbers, granted, but a number nonetheless. To keep it easy, we'll pretend the numbers are small instead of large, and we'll use base ten, as opposed to base 2 (Binary_numeral_system). Now, if Britney Spears copyrighted the number 7, what are the legal procedures for someone who rips 7, divides it in two, and transmits the code 3.5 + 3.5 to his buddy? Or transmits 10 - 3? Can she copyright all numbers? If so, would that make Rob Zombie liable if he created the song 14 (which happens to be 7 + 7...)? As you can see, things get confusing quickly. They're always looking for help at [http://thebighack.org TBH], so if you've the programming skill, head on over. * [http://oceanstore.cs.berkeley.edu/ OceanStore] - OceanStore is "designed to span the globe and provide continuous access to persistent information". "Data is protected through redundancy and cryptographic techniques. To improve performance, data are allowed to be cached anywhere, anytime. Additionally, monitoring of usage patterns allows adaptation to regional outages and denial of service attacks; monitoring also enhances performance through pro-active movement of data. A prototype implementation is currently under development." * [http://fling.sourceforge.net/ Fling] | [http://sourceforge.net/projects/fling Sourceforge page] - An attempt to provide anonymity on the protocol level (i.e. replace TCP/IP). Still in the planning stages as of Nov 2002. * [http://www.exocortex.org/p2p/index.html Ben Houston's P2P Idea Page] - Ben Houston has written a lot of interesting analyses of distributed systems, among them proposals for more efficient, self-organizing and self-optimizing networks. * [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/rja14/eternity/eternity.html The Eternity Service by Ross Anderson] - This paper is a rather simple suggestion for a redundant, anonymous storage system with payment features. * [http://www.intermemory.net/ Intermemory Project] - Aims to create "large-scale, self-organized, survivable, available, and secure widely-distributed storage". See papers. * [http://skuz.net/potatoware/wof/ Who's on First Proposal] - This page introduces the Who's On First (WOF) anonymous network, which is the working title of a proposal for a more flexible and reliable anonymous communication network than that provided by current Type I and II remailers. *[http://crypto.stanford.edu/DRM2002/darknet5.doc ''The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution''] (Microsoft Word format) by Peter Biddle, Paul England, Marcus Peinado, and Bryan Willman of Microsoft. *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4104827.stm ''Peer-to-peer goes legitimate''] (BBC News, 17 December 2004) – The article explains how some new and established artists are using file sharing to market themselves and then how they can use pay-sites to make a living, all without the involvement of record companies. *[http://slate.msn.com/id/2094336/ ''See You on the Darknet''] (Slate (magazine), 28 January, 2004). *[http://web.archive.org/web/20031207105918/www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2002/teentrade.html ''Research: File Traders Buy Records''] - MP3 Newswire examines pro-record industry research that claims file sharing threatens the industry and finds the numbers show just the opposite, that file sharing induces users to buy CDs. ==Sources== This article was partly based on public domain material from the infoAnarchy wiki. File sharing IRC Instant messaging
File sharing
== EFF paragraph == I've added a paragraph about the role that the EFF plays in the file-sharing dilemma because I feel that it's important. Feel free to edit it. --User:BrandonHimes 19:34, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC) :I think your paragraph is pro-EFF POV, but I work for EFF, so maybe someone else can figure out a way to tone down your praise. -- User:Schoen 17:35, 22 Jun 2005 (UTC) == Multiple protocols == The documents current structure doesn't take into account that filesharing projects more and more strive to support as many filesharing protocols as possible in the same tool. There should be a division between filesharing storing data on a remote computer to be used by different people (Samba, AFS, exploited FTP), file sharing applications [partitially] using the ressources provided by equally important hosts, and the phenomenon of music/movie-sharing and their links to the warez-scene. : I can't comment on your first remark but I strongly agree with the second, i.e., that this article covers two distinct topics, with SMB, NFS, and the like belonging to the first while napster & co. to the second. Further, I'd much prefer seeing these two topics taken apart, the current article is long enough as it is, without covering at any decent depth the first of the two groups. I'm struggling to tell these two apart, though. Suggestions, anyone? --User:Jtg 10:15, Feb 16, 2004 (UTC) == IRC == I don't see how IRC can be listed as a "file-sharing utility". It's a chat network. (Internet Relay Chat) Furthermore I'm confused as to why CuteFTP are listed in the HTTP category rather than the FTP category. The "Operating System File Sharing Servers" also leaves me nothing but confused... Have I missed something fundamental, or is this list rather messy and partially wrong? User:Belgarat 23:19 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :It's in part a consequence of the mixture of file sharing and file trading concepts in one article. IRC includes file sharing tools (the ability to exchange files) and has been widely used for file trading. No idea why CUte FTP is listed where it was/is, except that it may also support HTTP transfers. The OS file sharing servers are the original meaning - sharing of files within a company via network file servers. User:Jamesday 16:30, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC) == Merge with P2P? == Should this be merged with P2P? --User:Delirium 23:47 12 Jul 2003 (UTC) :No, P2P is different from file sharing. If anything, information about filesharing programs on that page could be moved here. :No. Peer to peer and file trading are different concepts, also context distinct from the peer to peer file trading networks which get much coverage in both articles. The file trading networks content is probably best split out into an article of its own, so these two articles can cover the technologies and both reference the file trading networks as one example of the application of the techniques. User:Jamesday 17:41, 29 Feb 2004 (UTC) Proposed split/merge of this and Peer-to-peer to form the following three articles: * File trading, concentrating on the wellgfgh known internet music and video exchange services and methods (whatever they are, peer to peer, IRC, newsgroups etc.). * Peer-to-peer covering generic peer-to-peer technology * File sharing covering generic file sharing technology, as in office file sharing via file servers or peer file servers or similar network services not primarily used for the exchange of music and video. Any objections or comments? I'll wait at least one week from now before acting, unless someone else wants to do it sooner... User:Jamesday 16:30, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC) :I am a bit late with this comment, but please, go ahead. This sounds like a good thing to do, especially regarding the now missing file trading article. Its subject is sufficiently different (includes even things like BBSes, floppynets, etc.). The only problem is that file trading is usually called "file sharing" in reality. Is there an alternative ''technical'' term for file sharing technologies? User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Directors on file sharing == When this transition to 3 separate articles will be done, this fact should be included in the file trading one: Many music artists and some movie directors have voiced their support for file sharing of their copyrighted works. For example, Michael Moore has repeatedly stated that he supports non-commercial sharing of his movies. Quentin Tarantino has encouraged viewers in countries where his films are not legally available, to get pirated copies. [http://www.sundayherald.com/43167] User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) == Move list to new article? == Any objections to moving the list of file sharing applications to List_file_sharing_utilities ? I will move it there for the time being, feel free to move it back if you think it should be there. I personally think it makes the article too gawdy :). --User:ShaunMacPherson 17:02, 21 Apr 2004 (UTC) == Don't forget the other big guy == Kazaa was also emergent after the shut down of Napster. Recently Napster just launched a new revamped music download service where the user's can download for a nominal fee. There are still many debates over this in the music industry especially with RIAA [Recording Industry Association of America]. All industries are ever changing and must adapt to the consumer. Consumer is and always will be King. == Privacy text removed == I removed the following text from the article: :== Privacy concerns== :The concept of being tagged and tracked is one which has been a reality for some time. Personally identifiable information is legally associated with a person's actions in order to verify their identity. :Think credit cards: these have to be associated with the purchaser, otherwise the credit card couldn't send a bill for those purchases. This concept has also entered into the computer world, and many people are fearful of advertisers tracking their virtual "movements". While advertisers claim that this is to target more applicable or interesting ads, many people argue that they never want to see another ad again, and certainly don't want to be tracked without explicit permission. This desire for anonymity has spilled into file sharing such that some client have encryption and obfuscation functionality to protect their users. :Concepts such as decentralization and trust have also been used as a means of hiding the identity of users. The reason is that it seems very out of place there. If it is to be used at all, it should be included in some other article more directly related to privacy. User:Paranoid 16:53, 4 Jul 2004 (UTC) Hi! It seems that my edit (80.108.95.244) is deleted without any notice. I think that when talking about file sharing the inormation why the networks are so slow should not be hidden. Do you think the paragraph should be placed in the pages of the edonkey2000/fasttrack network? == access to P2P sites == As the majority of file sharing is illegal (copyright infringement by distribution), and as Wikipedia appears to have various discussions in progress on correct use of copyright protected material, is it fair and/or ethical to provide access to the means of theft of non public domain material? File_sharing#Communities_and_external_links By submitting your work you promise you wrote it yourself, or copied it from public domain resources — this does not include most web pages. DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION! The above statement does appear contradictory of allowing these kinds of links... I would like to remove the links to those sites if there are no reasonable objections. User:FadedRed 21:46, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) :I object. Firstly, it is possible to explain how to do something, or to be curious about how to do something, without advocating it. Also, no theft occurs on filesharing networks. Remember that copyright violation is usually a civil offence, whereas theft is a criminal offence. These links are not in contradiction of the Wikipedia policy that you quote. Having said that, it does look like ''some'' external links might be trimmed from that list. User:Tim Ivorson 21:56, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::Actually copyright violation can be a criminal offence. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, rental or digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings. (Title 17, United States Code, Sections 501 and 506). The FBI investigates allegations of criminal copyright infringement and violators will be prosecuted. However I do agree that only certain links really need to be removed from the list. User:FadedRed 22:06, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) :::Agreed. Unless you want to discuss the precise changes that you plan, I advise you to leap in and edit. Until you get a useful suggestion, you won't know what people think, or whether anybody else will answer. User:Tim Ivorson 22:18, 20 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::::Done. Thanks for your input :) User:FadedRed 09:23, 21 Sep 2004 (UTC) ==Darknet== Should it really be a redirect? --User:PopUpPirate 00:32, Mar 3, 2005 (UTC) ==FileSharing, is it good or bad== In order to obtain an answer to the question, if peer to peer file transfer softwares such as Kazaa and Gokster should be legal, the effects of these programs have to be identified. One of the many areas that these programs have effects is the everyday life. Through these programs people are able to download any file that they are searching for, be it music, movie files or some pictures from a certain event or some documentary. Although it is still debated if downloading songs and movies is piracy or not, the concept of accessing any song any time of the day from a computer has been the luxury that technology has offered. The reason why it is so appealing to download these files isn’t because they are free; it is because they are risk free. Couple good hits from an album drives many people into buying the whole album only to realize that rest of the songs are not as good as they had expected. With current album prices in average within the range of 10-18 USD, it simply is not worth the risk of buying an album which one may end up not even listening to it the second time. Basically the opportunity cost of buying an album or a movie is high relative to simply getting connected to the internet and downloading. Although it is disrespectful to the producers of these movies and albums to just download their products and use them for free, how is it that these companies such as Sony can claim ownership to cultural products such as music? It is not always music and movies that people tend to download from one and another. It is very likely to witness someone getting some setup files for drivers or a zip file the demo of a game. Basically if there is a use any file can easily be transferred between PCs. Last year when my laptop almost crashed I had no alternative ways of backing up the important files in my documents. I was out of blank CDs and I was in dire need of repairing my laptop. However I was working on a homework which was due in couple days. Therefore I sent all the necessary files to my roommate and manage finish my homework in his laptop. If I was not able to transfer my files I probably would have failed that homework. --User:Sadimert just like its benefits softwares like Kazaa also hold powerful threats to the everyday social life. Some of the many things that can possibly be searched in Kazaa are video and image files. Almost none of these p2p softwares that I have encountered have filters to what the users share. All one have to do is to select the folders that are to be viewed by other users and immediately they are accessible. Another problem with these softwares is that there is no legal age to use them. In other words any single person with access to internet is able to use them. The question that rises from this issue is; what are the risks of allowing kids to have access to unlimited sources of files? It is inevitable not to encounter pornographic files in these programs and there is nothing to hold these kids from simply downloading them and viewing them. Although Kazaa offers a parent filter system, it is very unlikely for parents to know, every software installed in their child’s PC. There are laws against people under 18 to view pornographic material but unfortunately since it is very hard to monitor whether a files contains adult material this law is hard to apply. Therefore these programs leave families defenseless against pornography. Another problem with allowing peer to peer file transferring occurs almost at everything dealing with internet. Viruses, Trojans and hackers hold a threat to our society today for almost everything is based on computers. Since there is nothing which monitors what is shared by the users, these programs cause PCs to be vulnerable to hackers for these downloaded files might contain viruses or patches. Both the problems introduced to the social life are due to the lack of a monitoring system for files that are shared. If Kazaa could reduce the allowed type of sharable files so that there will be less opening for viruses and if the engineers of Kazaa could develop a security system to overcome the distribution of porn these two threats to society could be removed. --User:Mertsadi Sharing files in the internet does not only affect social life, the entertainment industry has been under the influence of downloading files. The main stream artists like Usher, 50 Cents and G-Unit have reached record numbers with their sales. This year in number one spot 50 Cent comes with 2.8 millions of sold and distributed albums. When these artists are searched in programs like Kazaa, i2hub and Imesh, the results are very interesting. They produce results almost more than any other search. Then how is it possible that these artists sell the most number of albums when their music is what tends to populate in most users? It is inevitable to drive the conclusion that file sharing in fact helped these artist. The main stream artists are not the only ones who enjoy the benefits of file transferring. People always tend to take the actions that have the least risk. It is very unlikely to witness people buying albums that are not widely known. Through these programs people are able to sample the music of local, underground or unknown artists. Therefore it is very hard to say that sharing their music hurts them because through sampling their product customers gain new tastes in music and loyalty to these unknown artists. --User:Sadimert Although sharing music helped the big and the small names what about those artists in between who happens to be the major group in the industry? Consumers always tend to follow the least risky way especially when it comes to dealing with money. Unless someone has a collection of albums there will be many other things to buy before it comes to albums, such as food and transportation costs. After those costs one can set aside a budget to spend on entertainment such as movies, theatres, albums and even going to some restaurant. Therefore it holds a certain risk to buy an album and actually not like it at the end, thus having wasted very precious money. In a way downloading these files is a substitute of buying these not credible albums since they are not the ones that are constantly played in radios. Due less reputation and less customer loyalty the sales of these artists have reduced. In a way it is possible to drive the conclusion that file sharing has caused the gap between the sales numbers of main stream artists and less known musicians to increase greatly. Although the numbers do not show a decrease in the industry due file sharing that is due to the success of a sample number of artists. --User:Mertsadi SOLUTION: The best approach in business is to identify the problem and attack directly to that. Although bundling goods and selling them at a premium price is a good idea to increase revenue it is still a short term solution. Suing the p2p softwares will have draw backs; therefore it is not the best approach either. The real issue is that downloading songs turned from sampling albums into owning every single album out there. One possible solution to the current issues in the files transferring without losing its benefits is to have a major company which monitors these softwares. In a way, a software owner out there that wants to be legalizing the product could sign up with this company which is under government monitoring. This way there are the layers of security because government regulates the company which monitors these softwares. Since the problem is that people are downloading more than the point where it is still healthy for the industry, a system is required to decrease the transfers. This umbrella company could monitor the download of every single user of every single program. In a way, in order to use any one of these programs one must open an account with the company. This way everyone who downloads is automatically in the system and it will be easy to monitor that. There could be a cap as to how much people are allowed to download in a certain period of time. It would be costly to check how much everyone downloads therefore this system might not be the best idea. But there is a way to regulate natural barrier to downloading which is that there could be product standards for these softwares. For example each software must have a family filter which will not allow the sharing of pornographic files and all of these programs must put a speed cap. In other words the users will not be able to download faster than a certain speed which will make it less appealing to download albums rather than songs. If both the speed cap and the number of downloaded files cap is applied than users will only be able to sample albums and they will have more reasons to buy albums. At least this way if the music industry still fails then it no longer is a problem caused by file sharing. The sharing of files has huge benefits such as the boost on side industries and technologies, easy access of files and the luxury of being able to sample and listen to albums in PCs and media file players. I strongly believe that if the Supreme Court decides in favor of Sony the society will take a huge hit because there are other ways to overcome the problem. By introducing a system which works like a tree the root being the government, next branch being the umbrella company and from there to software engineers and the users of these programs, the harms of peer to peer file transferring is minimized and the benefits are still absorbed. --User:Sadimert
File sharing
File-sharing software is used to directly or indirectly transfer computer files from one computer to another over the Internet, over a smaller Intranet, or across simple networks following the peer-to-peer (P2P) model.Most of the programs are integrated in filesharing networks and obtain information about each other from central servers.
File sharing
There was a previous vote for deletion of this page. Its result was no consensus, and it can be found at Wikipedia:Categories for deletion/Log/2005 May 22#Category:File sharing User:Bryan Derksen 06:21, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)
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FA | FB | FC | FD | FE | FG | FH | FI | FJ | FK | FL | FM | FN | FO | FP | FR | FS | FT | FU | FW | FX | FY | FZ |Words begining with File_sharing:
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