A peer to peer network is a network in which the nodes act as servers and clients, without any kind of hierarchy. In this way, in a network of these characteristics, each computer would be on an equal footing with the others, making there a horizontal communication.. However, the interest that peer to peer networks have aroused is not due merely to technical aspects but to the use that has been made of them and how this use could change a significant aspect of society and the circulation of content.
Peer to peer networks and hacking
The key element that has caused these networks to be on everyone's lips today is the fact that it made it possible for there to be an instance in which different users share files of all kinds. This situation inevitably led to the content of different companies related to the production of audiovisual material being pirated and said companies financially affected; publishers suffered a similar situation, but certainly in this case the problem had a lesser dimension. P2P networks have become enormously popular since the beginning of the new millennium, realizing the possibilities that the Internet offered its users, both for good and for bad.
Napster, the beginning of a new phenomenon
One of the first P2P networks known for this use focused on file sharing was Napster. This type of network implied the contribution of resources from the computers of the different users, who found the material they were looking for online and could download it from their peers.
Napster was a true revolution because it generated a means of content circulation that inevitably led to a change in the market associated with content generation; in effect, consumers could access all the content they wanted with just one connection to the network of networks.
Napster's life was quite short due to the piracy that it brought about. In effect, it was the subject of lawsuits and a judge ordered its final closure to avoid further economic losses. However, its existence opened a new episode in the history of the internet; shortly after, other peer-to-peer networks began to emerge that offered the same possibilities as Napster. Today, sharing content online is totally naturalized and any attempt to remove it would inevitably be doomed to failure.
