The Internet has become a tool that nearly every person in the world with a computer uses. It has many benefits as well as its dangers. File sharing is the one of the techniques used through the internet. Computer users around the world connect to each other with specific programs created to swapping files. Millions of copyright infringements occur as music, movies, games and software are transferred throughout the web. The act of downloading free files is becoming much easier everyday. Janis Ian quotes, "The Internet and downloading are here to stay. Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history." .
To complete these transfers, there are many different programs that are made just for sharing files. Most file sharing software is freeware and does not cost a penny use. At the same time, it is fairly easy to come across and is generally easy to use. One of the most popular programs used today is Kazaa Media Desktop. It uses a system called "Peer-to-Peer" technology also known as "P2P". There is no central-point of management where uses are regulated in what they do. Instead they are directly linked to each with the software that is installed onto their computers. The software is there only to search through the different files on each of the user's computers. .
Another widely used form of file sharing is the use of "File Transport Protocols" (FTP). There a several FTP client programs available for computer users to access, many of them freeware as well. FTPs are also another form of direct computer to computer transferring. When a computer is connected to the Internet, it has a certain number that acts as an identifier, similar to a telephone number. This number is called the Internet Protocol (IP) Address. A computer user can obtain a certain IP address, and with the proper username and password, can have access to all files on that computer.
