Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks are often abused to distribute content that is prohibited by law. Strong evidence of suspicion must be provided to obtain a court order to identify the location of an offender. However, initial evidence collection from a P2P network is a challenge due to the lack of a central point of control and the dynamic nature of the network. This paper describes an...

We study the development of mobile peer-to-peer (MP2P) traffic and the usage of MP2P applications in Finland during 2005-2007. Research data consists of 1) traffic traces measured from three Finnish GSM/UMTS networks covering the Internet-bound mobile data traffic generated by 80-90% of Finnish mobile subscribers (N > 4,000,000), and 2) usage log files collected with a dedicated Symbian handset...

In this paper we propose a file replication scheme inspired by a thermal diffusion phenomenon for storage load balancing in unstructured peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks. The proposed scheme is designed such that the storage utilization ratios of peers will be uniform, in the same way that the temperature in a field becomes uniform in a thermal diffusion phenomenon. The proposed scheme ...

Peer-to-peer systems have quickly become a popular way for file sharing and distribution. In this paper, we focus on the subsystem consisting of peers and their actions relative to a specific file and develop a simple theoretical file-centric model for the subsystem. We begin with a detailed model that tracks the complete system state. To deal with the large system state space, we investigate a...

Recent reports in the popular media suggest a significant decrease in peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing traffic, attributed to the public’s response to legal threats. Have we reached the end of the P2P revolution? In pursuit of legitimate data to verify this hypothesis, we embark on a more accurate measurement effort of P2P traffic at the link level. In contrast to previous efforts we introduce t...

Random scheduling strategy has been emphasized and recommended in push-based P2P streaming systems due to its simplicity and high efficiency, and so is the latest first strategy in file sharing systems. However, how to take advantage of the low playout delay feature in the latest first strategy and the high playout probability feature in the random strategy still remains open. In this paper, we...

Recent years have seen an explosion in the number and scale of digital communities (e.g. peer-to-peer file sharing systems, chat applications and social networking sites). Unfortunately, digital communities are host to significant criminal activity including copyright infringement, identity theft and child sexual abuse. Combating this growing level of crime is problematic due to the ever increa...

The distribution of illegal copies of computer games via digital networks forms the centre in one of the most heated debates in the international games environment, but there is minimal objective information available. Here the results of a large-scale, open-method analysis of the distribution of computer games via BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol is presented. 173 games were inclu...

The entertainment industry has obsessed over the threat of peer-to-peer file sharing since the introduction of Napster in 1999. The sharing of television content may present a compelling case for fair use under the long-standing “Betamax” decision. Some argue that television sharing is fundamentally different than the distribution of music or movies since television is often distributed for fre...

The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks for multimedia distribution has spread out globally in recent years. The mass popularity is primarily driven by efficient distribution of content, also giving rise to piracy. An end user (buyer) of a P2P content distribution system does not want to reveal his/her identity during a transaction with a content owner (merchant), whereas the merchant does not w...