BLOG: P2P

P2P, or Peer-to-Peer networks is a concept that was first introduced to me during the Napster "revolution".  All of a sudden, it seemed as though the world opened up. The average user was now able to access virtually any file he wanted, and it was all for free.  Obviously, this technology was almost universally embraced - until it became clear that this type of sharing could, and should, ultimately be construed as stealing.  Although this idea was met with much opposition and people fought for their right to share content, it became undeniable that this was not a victimless crime.  Anyway, P2P is a technology that allows every users' computer to become a hub or "node" and will allow other computers to share information, bandwidth, computing power, etc. This not only opened up  an entirely new world of sharing, it also allowed for new forms of intrusion and other malevolent actions. All of a sudden people were left wondering why their computers had become so slow, and why they now had to worry about things called viruses. Ultimately, P2P is a technology that still exists but because of pressures from content produces and security advocates I think it is also a technology that needs to change and evolve.  Some examples of P2P that you might be familiar with are Napster and Limewire.  P2P is just another example of a great idea that users began to exploit.  Sharing is definitely not a bad thing - just something to be wary of.  Don't share with everyone and don't let automatically accept things from others.