P2P File Sharing

File sharing is basically the distribution of digital content stored on a disk (usually a hard-drive, flash drives, compact disk, etc.) with another user. P2P file sharing stands for Peer-to-Peer file sharing. P2P file sharing requires a user to use a client or program over a P2P network to connect to each other to access or exchange files stored on another user’s hard drive. However, these legacy P2P clients were slowed and Cohen designed a different communications protocol known as BitTorrent to speed up the process of transferring files by breaking the large file into smaller pieces. BitTorrent is now the predominant protocol for P2P file sharing. Some examples of P2P file sharing are the distribution of Linux ISOs, illegal distribution of popular music titles and also illegal distribution of copyrighted movies like “The Hunger Games” or television shows.   

Source:

The BitTorrent Effect by Clive Thompson, Wired, January 2005. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorrent.html