Gregory PriebeJulius InigoVincent QuickJayrell RingpisBrian Lockpedersen

File Sharing: Applications to Business

OVERVIEW• Introduction• File-sharing Terms• Different Types of File Sharing• Which types of are legal and

illegal?• Best Model for Businesses• Bibliography/List of Related

Websites

INTRODUCTIONWhat is File Sharing?

• Definition: The sharing of computer data

with others through a network.

• Networks can be either public or private.

• Used for viewing, editing, printing, or sharing media files with others.

INTRODUCTIONWhat is File Sharing?

Distribute or provide access to ANYdigitally stored information:

Computer ProgramsMultimedia (audio, images, and

video), Documents, Electronic Books.

INTRODUCTIONWhat is File Sharing?

• One or more administrators.

• Users may all have the same or different levels of access privilege.

•Can have allocated amount of personal file storage in a common file system.

INTRODUCTIONWhat is File Sharing?

Computer networks allow you to share files with friends, family, coworkers and customers. Before the Internet and home networks became popular, files were often shared using floppy disks. Nowadays, some people still use CD-ROM / DVD-ROM disks and USB keys for transferring their photos and videos, but networks give you more flexible options.

File-Sharing TermsUploading vs. Downloading

•Downloading is the process of receiving files

from another source onto your computer.

•Uploading is the process of taking files

from your computer and making them available to others.

File-Sharing TermsFTP File Transfers

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is an older but still popular method to share files on the Internet.

• A central computer called the FTP server holds all the files to be shared, while remote computers running FTP client software can log in to the server to obtain copies.

• All modern computer operating systems containing built-in FTP client software and Web browsers can be configured to run as FTP clients.

• Alternative FTP client programs are also available for free download on the Internet.

• As with Windows file sharing, security access options can be set on the FTP server requiring clients to supply a valid login name and password.

File-Sharing TermsCompression Files

• .rar, .zip, .ace, .r01, .001

[Quite common and mean that your file(s) are compressed into an “archive”. This is just a way of making the files more compact and easier to download.]

• To open any of those archives listed above you can use WinRAR or PowerArchiver.

• If those progams aren’t working for you and you have a .zip file you can try WinZip, or 7-Zip.

File-Sharing TermsMultimedia Files - Video

• .avi, .mpg, .mpeg, .divx, .xvid, .wmv, .asf[These files are usually movies or TVshows, or a host of other types of media. They can be viewed using various media players including Windows Media Player, but we suggest using Zoomplayer, BSPlayer, VLC media player or Media Player Classic. *You will need the right codecs to play each individual file. Codecs are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video. The K-Lite Codec Pack and Ace Mega Codecs are collections of codecs and related tools.]

• .mov [QuickTime files] • .ra, .rm, .ram [RealPlayer files]• vcd / svcd • [Not all dvd players will play vcd/svcds, and some will play vcd but not

svcd.]• .vob, .ifo, .bup (Video_ts folder)

[Usually these files will come all together in one folder called video_ts. This is a direct backup of a dvd’s file system. Use Nero to burn them onto a dvdr by selecting “dvd video” from the dvd menu]

File-Sharing TermsMultimedia Files - Audio

• .mp3, .mp2[Play them with WinAmp or your favorite audio player. Most new dvd players support the playing of mp3 cds. Making mp3 cds lets you put 100+ mp3 files on a cd for playing on your dvd player, computer, or portable mp3 cd player. However, they will not work on a regular cd player.]

• .ogm, .ogg[Ogg Vorbis media files. This filetype is another encoding format that can be used for various media.]

• .ape, .flac, .shn[These are music files which have been compressed using lossless codecs. This means that all of the original sound and frequencies have been retained. Most audio codecs, including the mp3 format are lossy codecs which discard certain frequency ranges in favor of smaller file sizes.]

File-Sharing TermsMultimedia Files – CD Image Files

• .bin and .cue[Standard images of a CD used quite a lot these days.You can burn them using Nero, DVD Decrypter, or Alcohol 120%.You can also use Daemon Tools, which lets you mount the image to a “virtual cd-rom”, so basically it tricks your computer into thinking that you have another cd-rom and that you’re putting a cd with your image file on it into this virtual cd-rom, it’s great because you’ll never make a bad cd again.]

• .iso[Another type of image file that follows similar rules as .bin and .cue, only you extract or create them using WinISO or Isobuster. Sometimes converting a problematic .bin and .cue file to an .iso can help you burn it to a cd.]

• .ccd, .img, .sub [All these files go together and are in the CloneCD format.]

• .cdi [Discjuggler image files.]• .nrg [Type of image file created with Nero.]• .mds .mdf [Media descriptor files created with Alcohol 120%] • .bwt .bwi .bws [Blindwrite image files.]

File-Sharing TermsOther Files – Office Documents

• .txt, .doc[These are text files. .txt files can be opened with notepad or any text editor and .doc are opened with Microsoft Word. Be careful when opening .doc files from unknown sources, they may contain macro viruses.]

• .pdf (Adobe Portable Document Format)[Like Microsoft Word documents these can contain text, pictures and formatting. Unlike Microsoft Word documents, they cannot contain viruses, and cannot be modified easily. Open with Adobe Acrobat Reader or FoxIt.]

File-Sharing TermsOther Files – Images & Info

• .jpeg, .gife .tgae .psde .png[Basic image files. These files generally contain pictures, and can be opened with Adobe Photoshop or other image viewer.]

• .nfo

These contain information about the file you just downloaded, and it’s HIGHLY recommended that you read these! They will usually contain information regarding: the particular release group, the release date, the encoding method used (xvid, divx, vcd, svcd…) and format (ntsc/pal) for movie files; any cracks, keygens or cd-keys for applications and games; and various other pieces of important information. They are plain text files, often with ascii-art. You can open them with Notepad, Wordpad, Damn NFO Viewer or UltraEdit.

File-Sharing TermsOther Files – News Files

• .sfv[Checks to make sure that your multi-volume archives are complete. This just lets you know if you’ve downloaded something complete or not. You probably will only need to use this file type if you are downloading off of newsgroups. Because most releases come from the newsgroups, these files tend to show up on file sharing networks. You can open/activate these files with SFVChecker or HKsfv.]

• .par, .par2, .p** (where the asterisks are numbers)[These are parity files, and are often used when downloading from newsgroups. Parity files are usually posted along with the original files, with an index file at the beginning of a post and different sizes of volumes at the end of a post. These files can fill in gaps when you’re downloading something from a newsgroup and get corrupted or missing parts. Open them with QuickPar.]

Different Types of File Sharing• One… Two… Three Types!

1. System-Native

2. Client-server

3. Peer-to-Peer

System-Native File Sharing: About• File sharing tools that are built into your operating

system.• This type of file sharing tool was originally intended for

sharing files with users in your local network.• Not for sharing files across the Internet.• The two most frequently used examples of System-

Native File Sharing are Microsoft Windows Network Neighborhood and Macintosh AppleTalk.

System-Native File Sharing: Benefits• You personally know the users you

intend to allow into your computer• The tools are built into the operating

system, so you don't have to download or install any extra software.

System-Native File Sharing: Risks

• In both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, the permissions that are automatically assigned when you enable file sharing on an item will allow far too much access to your computer.

• Whenever a new security problem with these tools is discovered, it can potentially affect every computer with system-native file sharing enabled.

System-Native File Sharing:

How to Protect Your Computer• Make sure that you have a personal firewall

to help reduce the chances of intrusion.• You can safely disable your Windows or

Macintosh native file sharing without affecting your ability to use client-server or peer-to-peer shares.

• Make sure that you follow the security steps described in the Security Wizard to keep your system up to date and any file-sharing vulnerabilities repaired.

Client-Server File Sharing• Client-server file sharing is the most

traditional Internet-based file sharing model• On the surface, this model resembles the

system-native model because a user goes to another computer for information

• However, the system-native model is used on people's workstations.

• In most client-server setups, the server is a dedicated computer whose entire purpose is to distribute files

About

Client-Server File Sharing• The security design is taken care

of by the server's administrators• Client-side users typically don't

have to change any security settings in order to access files on the server or post files for distribution from the server

Benefits

• Single target for attacks• If a password database is

compromised, or if a file is infected with a virus, security problems can arise for the users who store their passwords in the database or download infected files

• The client-server file sharing model is more vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks

Client-Server File SharingRisks

• Antivirus software protects your computer from virus-infected files.

• Firewalls protect your computer from unauthorized access attempts from other computers.

• Patching your system protects you from threats antivirus software can't handle.

• Using different passwords for different services reduces the danger if one password is compromised.

Client-Server File SharingHow to Protect

Yourself

Peer-to-Peer • How it works?

– Network– Software– Peers– Seeders

• Bit Torrents– Different from other P2P

Risks Of P2P• Viruses• Spyware• Releasing valuable information

Common Software’s for P2P• Limewire• KaZaa• Bearshare

• Bit Torrents– Utorrent

Legal or Illegal?Short Answer:

Depends! Ask….Is it violating copyright laws or

exclusive rights to the material and its distribution?

In other words, File sharing is NOT ILLEGAL if it involves sharing your own files.

Legal or Illegal?Long Answer:

New copyright laws and infrastructure have been created to provide the internet technology, which promotes creativity and the sharing of information, with the ability to file share legally and on your own terms. As creators and members of the social online community, we now have the right to distribute our work as we see fit. The notion of "All Rights Reserved" does not fit properly with the nature of the internet and with the culture that is constantly evolving as a result of its capabilities.

Legal or Illegal? How do I know if

something is copyrighted? A good general rule to follow is to:

“think about if the song, movie, or other software can be

purchased.”

(A popular song that you'd buy online or at store, a movie that you'd see at a movie theater or buy on DVD, a TV show that could be sold as a DVD, or a software program or game you'd buy at a store are all good examples of copyrighted or otherwise protected data.)

Legal or Illegal?Are P2P programs such as

DirectConnect, eDonkey, Kazaa, Limewire, Napster,

Delgado, etc. or Bittorrent legal?

The programs or technologies behind file sharing are not illegal, it is the data being shared that may be illegal.

Using Bittorrent or other file sharing programs to download a software patch or update a game demo, movie trailer, etc. is legal.

However, using that same program to get a new hit song or a movie still in theaters is illegal.

Legal or Illegal?Challenges:

• Ambiguities in the interpretation of copyright law• The new challenges posed by international communications and

varying legislations• Mass litigation and the development of processes

for evidence and discovery• Rapidly developing new technologies and uses,

including file hosting sites• Low barriers to entry by would-be sharers and the development of a

mass usage of the technologies• File sharing approaches developed in response to litigation against

sharers, which obfuscate or hide the fact that sharing is happening, or the identities of those involved.

• Can think of it as a sophisticated evolution from the centralized client-server model

• Instead of a single-server, we use multiple servers from a single vendor.

• Big vendors use geographically distributed datacenters and state of art virtualization technologies or “fabric”technology to offer high reliability in terms of uptime.

Best Model for Business?Introduction to Cloud

Model

• In traditional client-server computing, only clients consume the server’s resources.

• The big difference between cloud and client-server models is in what you know (outsourcing your server/resource needs)

• In Peer-to-peer, network participants are providers and consumers of network services simultaneously (no intermediary network hosts or servers)

Best Model for Business?Cloud vs. Client-

Server

Best Model for Business?Cloud vs. Client-

Server

Best Model for Business?Cloud Services

Comparison

Best Model for Business?Future of the Cloud• Push towards P2P Cloud

Computing

Best Model for Business?Conclusion/

Recommendation• Enterprises should stick with client-

server until cloud model is stable and security issues are ironed out

• Use online file sharing services like DropBox, Egnyte, Drop.io, Mediafire, Rapidshare, and Megaupload for quick and user-friendly file sharing

References• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/sopa-internet-censorship-online-piracy-house-hearing_n_1098255.html

• http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf• http://leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/BillText-PROTECTIPAct.pdf

• http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001042.htm• http://www.cites.illinois.edu/security/filesharing/systemnative_l.html

• http://www.cites.illinois.edu/security/filesharing/clientserver_l.html• http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus46-peer-peer-file-sharing-guide-business

• http://www.cio.wisc.edu/security-filesharing.aspx• http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/a/file_sharing.htm

• http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/definition/file-sharing