Current P2P clients permit users to share files in a particular folder and often instruct users to move files to that folder. During normal usage, a P2P client simply writes files to disk as it downloads them and reads files from disk as it uploads them.The ease of use of P2P clients leads to confidential data being exposed on P2P networks.
There are several ways for confidential data to get uploaded on to the P2P network:
a user accidentally shares folders containing the information; a user stores music and other data in the same folder that is shared
a user downloads malware that, when executed, exposes files;
The client software has bugs that result in accidental sharing of file directories.
Of course it is not necessary for a worm or virus to expose personal or sensitive documents because many users will unwittingly expose these documents for many reasons:
Misplaced files – A file is copied accidentally into the wrong folder.
Confusing GUI interface design – Users may be uninformed of what folders are being shared or even that they are sharing files.
Incentives for sharing a large number of files – Some programs recompense users for making files available or uploading more files.
General laziness on the user’s side – If a user has a folder such as “My Documents” with many media folders inside, they may share “My Documents” rather than choosing each media folder individually to share, thus exposing all the other types of documents and folders contained within.
Wizard applications designed to determine media folders – Some sharing clients come with wizards that scan a user’s computer and advise to share folders containing various media. If there is an MP3 or image file in a folder with important documents, that entire folder could be exposed by such a wizard.
Unaware or forgetful of what is stored on the computer and where (especially by other users) – Users may simply forget about the letter they wrote to the bank, or the documents they brought home from work. Likewise, teenagers using P2P may not know what their parents keep on the Desktop.
Poor organization habits – Certain people may not take the time to organize their files. MP3s, videos, letters, papers, passwords, and family pictures may all be kept in the same folder.
Always chose carefully the folders and files which you intend to share because sooner or later some other P2P user will browse all your archive and download confidential data from your computer.
