What I know about peer-to-peer networks is that all the computers work at the same level; they have direct access to other computers files and hard drives and can allow a person to print a document on someone else’s computer if the printers are designated as shared devices. These computers run outside of a web browser and all the computers act as both clients and servers. Peer-to-peer networks are less expensive and less complicated than client-server networks but do not have the same performance under heavy use as client-server networks. I have used peer-to-peer networks in the past on my home computer. The types of peer-to-peer networks I used are Lime wire, however this was not a secure network and viruses and spyware were often encrypted into the song or video I wanted to download. The risk of using this system was not worth compromising the security of my computer system.
These networks are illegal because of the idea of copyright infringements. One person could purchase songs off of iTunes and another person could download these songs onto their computer at no charge. Also, software such as Lime wire poses risks to the security of a user’s computer. If you don’t know the person that you are receiving music from then there could be a virus or type of spyware encrypted into the file that you are downloading to your computer. Although with peer-to-peer networks in a small office or similar scenario, a person would most likely have the security of knowing who they are taking the music or files from; it still is not a morally right thing to do.
I feel that it is a good idea that the government is cracking down on peer-to-peer networks. I know that personally, if I found out how many people in the United States alone are illegally downloading music to their computers and how much money I was losing out on, I would be very angry. The people that have copyrights on this music should have the peace of mind in knowing that people aren’t stealing their songs.
The University does not allow music sharing, this type of activity infringes on copyrights and can be punished by expulsion or not being admitted to use the University of Delaware server on any personal computer by the person that is found guilty.
