Chapter 2: The Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Networks

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Overview

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.

—Honor de Balzac

Between 1999 and 2001, Napster defined the entire world of peer-to-peer file sharing networks until lawsuits shut them down. Despite limiting trading only to audio files and forcing every user to access a central server to find the files they wanted (which allowed the authorities to shut down Napster just by shutting down this central server), Napster proved both the technical feasibility and popular acceptance of peer-to-peer file sharing networks for the masses.

While Napster (http://www.napster.com) has reincarnated itself as a legal, subscription-based file sharing service (see Chapter 16 for more information), the free-wheeling, rebellious spirit of file sharing lives on in a host of copycat networks struggling to define themselves in the void left by the original, free version of Napster (which was put out of business by lawsuits launched by the recording industry). With so many options available, there’s sure to be one file sharing network that will appeal to you.

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