Peer-To-Peer refers to a type of Internet network that enables a group of computer users with the same networking program to connect with each other for the purposes of accessing files directly from one another's hard drives. A Peer-To-Peer computer network relies primarily on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network, rather than concentrating it in a relatively low number of servers. Such networks are often used for sharing files containing audio, video, data or anything in digital format. Unlike the client-server model, in a pure Peer-To-Peer network, each node or participant in the network functions as both a client and a server. As such, all participants provide storage space, bandwidth and computational power. However, many Peer-To-Peer systems use stronger peers (super-peers, super-nodes) as servers and client-peers are connected in a star formation to one super-peer. Spyware is often passed along in Peer-To-Peer transactions, due to attack from outside sources. Techniques include denial of service attacks, spamming, insertion of viruses into files, and poisoning; distributing files that contain contents other than what their description indicates. Peer-To-Peers are an efficient way to propagate malicious software. |