P2P File Sharing

File sharing is the practice of distributing digital data, such as audio, images and video, electronic books and computer software.
Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital data using the technology of peer-to-peer (P2P) networking which utilizes a specialized P2P software program that searches for other connected computers on a P2P network and locates the desired content. The peers of such networks are interconnected via the Internet.
Some examples of P2P file sharing networks are Napster and BitTorrent.
As mentioned in the article The BitTorrent Effect in Wired magazine, BitTorrent lets users quickly upload and download enormous amounts of data, files that are hundreds or thousands of times bigger than a single MP3.
Bram Cohen, the creator of Torrent, realized that chopping up a file and handing out the pieces to several uploaders would really speed things up. He sketched out a protocol: To download that copy of Meet the Fokkers, a user's computer sniffs around for others online who have pieces of the movie. Then it downloads a chunk from several of them simultaneously. Many hands make light work, so the file arrives dozens of times faster than normal.