Peer-to-peer file sharing software (also known as P2P Software), is a very attractive way for Internet users to obtain a wealth of material from the Internet. It enables users to share content on their hard drives with others connected to the Internet at the same time. Probably the most famous and widely used file-sharing application to date has been “Napster”. While at face value, the concept of file sharing sounds a harmless and enticing practice, users need to be aware of some hidden dangers.

A great deal of material available for download over the Internet is illegally obtained or bound by intellectual property right laws. That it is offered freely for download does not make it legal to do so. As such, extreme care should always be taken to ensure that any content you choose to download is legal.

Secondly, the default settings of most P2P software automatically offer content you have downloaded onto your hard drive for re-share whenever you are logged onto the Internet and using the software. Potentially, if you have inadvertently downloaded something that is illegal, you are perpetuating and compounding the crime by storing and re-distributing this illegal content to others. This makes you not only personally liable but causes reckless endangerment to other Internet users using the same P2P software.

A further problem to be aware of concerns the fact that many file-sharing programs come bundled with “spyware” or “adware” which not only slows your internet connection significantly but compromises your personal privacy. In some cases it may also infect and cause damage to personal computers.

How does P2P software work?

As the name implies, file-sharing software allows you to share content on your computer’s hard drive with other computers connected to the Internet. Essentially, it makes contact with a centralised server and uploads your list of available files. This list is made available to others who are also logged into that server. If someone wants one of those files, the server provides them with your computer’s address, so that their computer can connect directly to yours through the Internet, peer-to-peer.

Some P2P software, rather than employing a single central server, simply seeks out other computers on the Internet using the same software, and informs them of your presence online. In this way, a network of computers is built up, which can make many thousands of files freely available to everyone running the same P2P software.

The most common P2P programs are Direct Connect, KaZaA, iMesh, WinMX, BearShare, eDonkey, I-Share, Morpheus and Grokster. The most common file types shared are music (.mp3, .wma files), pictures (.jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp files) and films (.mpg, .mpeg, .divx, .mov, .ra, .avi files).

Recently, there have been reports of users having downloaded files through P2P software without realising that the files were protected by copyright laws. These files were illegally obtained initially, and as such, contained no warning to others that they were subject to copyright. Ignorance of the law, however, has been no defence. The owners of the material subject to copyright have aggressively pursued all recipients of their material, not just those responsible for obtaining them in the first place.

Sharing material subject to copyright without permission from the rightful owner is a violation of a number of international treaties to which Australia is a party. It also violates the Alphalink Terms & Conditions of use under clause 5.8. If Alphalink receives sufficient evidence of a copyright infringement perpetrated by one of our members, action will be taken as per our Acceptable Use Policy and Breach of Policy procedures. Additionally, any individual who is found guilty in a court of law of a copyright infringement faces a fine of up to $60,500.00, imprisonment for up to five years or both.

It is important to understand that the absence of a copyright notice does not imply that a file is freely available for copy. The warning notice may have been modified or removed. In fact, there are many who believe that traps now exist on the Internet where material subject to copyright is deliberately offered in order to track IP addresses and catch users who unwittingly download and share this material.

While it is true that a large number of creative works have been authorised to be freely copied by the original artists, a cautious stance for members is to assume that all works available through file sharing programs are subject to copyright except those that specifically state otherwise.

Remember, you, alone, have full responsibility for the manner in which your account is used, including any P2P file-sharing software that you run. You are also solely responsible for everything that is downloaded and offered for re-share through your account, whether this be through choice or ignorance. If you choose to use P2P software, please do so with extreme caution.