Peer to Peer: Collaboration and Sharing over the Internet

Chapter 4. Security, Vulnerability, and the Legal Issues of P2P

Security and vulnerability are issues rarely considered by most individuals using computers, and even less so in the specific contexts of p2p applications. Witness the recurring global rashes of virus-infested e-mail and server worms, many of which would never have occurred, or at least would have had marginal effects, if only users and administrators had exercised even a modicum of precaution and common sense.

In fact, it’s a safe bet to assume that even those who consider their systems “secure” or “reasonably safe” from intrusion have given little thought to how the use of a p2p client might easily circumvent existing security measures. Such breaches of security can be a serious ...