A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies primarily on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively low number of servers. P2P networks are normally used for connecting nodes via largely ad hoc connections. Such networks are useful for many purposes.
Sharing content files containing audio, video, data, or anything in digital format is very common, and real-time data such as telephony traffic is also passed using P2P technology. A pure peer-to-peer network does not have the notion of clients or servers, but only equal peer nodes that simultaneously function as both "clients" and "servers" to the other nodes on the network. This model of network arrangement differs from the client-server model where communication is usually to and from a central server.
The problem with this is that most of the content is copyrighted and a financial claim can be raised for the downloaded and/or shared copyrighted materials. In some countries, the ISP will even close down your online privileges, which can lead to a big loss for you company if you get a lawsuit or if you depend a lot on your Internet connection. Furthermore, the downloading of high amounts of content can slow down your network, preventing legitimate traffic to pass.
How can P2P be prevented?
In most cases, corporations want to make use of P2P in their own network, but nowadays, it is hard to stop the misuse of the company’s resources when utilizing this feature because a lot of P2P applications use port 80. This port is also used for web browsing, so it cannot be blocked by a firewall. The SecPoint Protector's Anti-P2P functionality takes care for this problem and gives you the option to completely block those services and programs.