P2P Applications Can Be Hazardous to Your Computer's Health

Jon Miyake
Acceptable Use Policy Officer
miyake@uoregon.edu

As you know, the Computing Center does not permit P2P (Peer-to-Peer) file sharing applications to be used in ways that infringe on copyright.

Quite aside from the legal ramifications, however, P2P applications have some serious security issues that should discourage you from installing them on your personal computer at home:

1. P2P applications come with risky third-party software. Many P2P programs come with third-party applications that are installed as part of the normal installation process. P2P licensing terms explicitly require these programs to be present in order for you to run the P2P application. Unfortunately, these third-party programs open the door to pop-up advertising that tracks your computer or web browsing habits, as well as more nefarious security breaches resulting from poor communication or authentication requirements (see the University of Washington white paper on spyware at http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/gribble/papers/spyware.pdf and NewScientist.com's spyware article at http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994745
   
2. P2P applications are a vector for viruses. P2P programs are widely used to distribute viruses. Many of the highly successful viruses in circulation today use P2P programs running on an infected computer as an additional mechanism for propagation. In some cases, virus writers may anonymously introduce newly created viruses to the Internet via P2P. In the wild, such newly created viruses are less likely to be detected by your antivirus program.
   
3. P2P applications are backdoors for attack. At least one P2P program has been accused of having a backdoor added to it for unspecified purposes. For more details, see the afterdawn.com article, “Backdoor discovered in ES5, the P2P-client,” at http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/5004.cfm

If you're a UO student or staff or faculty member and need assistance removing a P2P application and associated malware (e.g., spyware, adware, viruses) from your computer, please contact Microcomputer Services at 346-4412.