ABOUT P2P
Peer to Peer, commonly referred to as P2P, is an application that allows a computer to establish a network connection with other computers on the same network. Once established each computer in essence becomes a workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. Unlike typical client/server architectures where there are servers and workstations, every computer can search for files on any other computer on the P2P network.
As an example, legitimate P2P networks are commonly used in education or research where colleges or universities may be sharing information with research institutes or other institutions. Another common and growing use a P2P network protocol is Voice-over-IP (VOIP). As in these two examples, there are legitimate uses and needs for Peer to Peer networks and there is little concern or risk involved in the closed or secured P2P network connections. >> read more
There are major risks and liabilities however, stemming from the millions of P2P applications that are being used daily.
Legal Liability – Major liabilities are created by individuals who may illegally share copyrighted material from music and videos to movies and software across your network. There is also a potential risk that some user on your network may use it to download explicit and offensive material, pornography or child porn. >> read more
Network Security – From a network security standpoint, P2P applications commonly allow for the inadvertent file sharing which could easily allow confidential information to be downloaded from anywhere in the world, from this PC or laptop while connected to your network. >> read more
Bandwidth Utilization – P2P accounts for a huge amount of bandwidth, consuming more than twice as much as all other internet traffic combined. The biggest traffic generator in the upstream direction is peer-to-peer file sharing (75.0%) >> read more