| Patent office claims filesharing a threat to user privacy, national security |
 |
 |
|
The United States Patent Office (USPTO) released a report (PDF) this week that outlines potential privacy and security threats created by common peer-to-peer (P2P) filesharing programs like Limewire and Bearshare. The report describes several P2P software features that allegedly lead to inadvertent distribution of sensitive files and information. Citing concerns for user privacy and national security, the report insists that the mechanisms responsible for instances of inadvertent sharing should be studied in greater detail. Specifically, the report addresses "search-wizard" features, which can scan the contents of a user's hard drive in order to automatically select folders to share on P2P networks, "partial-uninstall" features, which cause programs to remember which folders are shared even after the program has been removed and installed again, and "coerced-sharing" features, which cause programs to share downloaded files by default. The report argues that these features are designed to compel users to share files without the knowledge or consent of the user even in cases where the features can be disabled or can only be enabled by user intervention. Furthermore, the report claims that P2P programs do not sufficiently disclose the potential for inadvertent redistribution. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          Add your comment
|
||||
