File Exchange History

File Exchange History - The History of File-Sharing
(non-artistic retelling close to the text)

In the last century, file sharing was something of a hobby for outcasts, or rather geeks , who were fortunate enough to have a computer with Internet access. The current situation is strikingly different: now file sharing is the usual pastime of hundreds of millions of people around the world. In just a few years, file sharing has become a “fashionable” activity. It's time to look at the past to find out how this happened.
Digital file sharing originated in the early 70s, when floppy disks were 79.7 kB. Since then, he has come a long way.
Two decades ago, 3.5 "disks were the most popular file distribution tool. For that time, their 1.4 megabyte capacity seemed to be enough to share information. But the most interesting thing started when people began to exchange files on the Internet.
In just twenty years, the file-sharing process has become an amazingly effective mechanism that has spread throughout the world. He had a tremendous impact on our lives: exposures that otherwise would never have come into the view of the mass media, democratization of society — all this became possible due to the fact that people were able to distribute information practically free of charge.

Let's review the history of file sharing in this short review, find out how it became as it is today.

BBS: Origin (70s-90s)

BBS , or electronic bulletin boards, were inextricably linked with the emergence of file sharing. The emergence of smart modems of the company Hayes and BBS - that was enough for the sysops (admins) to manage the information without leaving home. And this hobby for many has become a business over time. In essence, BBS was almost internet: using a modem, users could receive and send messages, read news, and — most importantly, send files.
Shareware (software available for use, copying and distribution to everyone) has become incredibly popular, thanks to the BBS system. BBS has become the word of mouth of the epoch: with their help, users learned about the new software - from Wolfenstein to Commander Keen. During the heyday of this phenomenon, even printed magazines transferred news from electronic boards to "solid-state media" in the form of paper. Many modern popular programs have gained wide popularity due to electronic bulletin boards. One example is the PKZIP algorithm for archiving information. Today we use the ".zip" archives.
Some BBS have survived to this day, with little change.

Usenet: the beginning of decentralization (from the late 70s to the present)

Usenet or Newsgroup was similar to the BBS. However, it used UUCP , which meant the decentralization of file sharing - as opposed to electronic boards. In essence, Usenet servers could receive files and redistribute them between other Usenet servers, effectively creating copies of messages and files transferred to hundreds and thousands of servers. Thanks to the discussions held in Usenet, such ambitious projects as the World Wide Web, Linux and Mosaic appeared .
Although Usenet existed since the beginning of the 70s, after all, file sharing was not a typical phenomenon for it. In 1993, Eugene Roshal created RAR, which made it possible to split files into several volumes during archiving. Given the decentralized way of distributing files to Usenet, this helped speed up the process and make it more efficient. After all, now, if the file was broken, it was not necessary to pump it entirely - it was enough to re-download only the missing volume of the archive.
While many may disagree, Usenet still means a lot. Only now it is used mainly for file sharing, and not for its original purpose - communication, which today mostly takes place on web forums and IRC channels.
')

FTP and FXP: Top Sites and ISO Scenes (from the 90s to the present)

Soon after, the file-sharing underground spawned a complex network of private FTP servers, known as “top sites”. Top sites combined many of the features of Usenet, but were at the same time a closed "invitations-based system."
As a rule, release groups upload new items to their servers, and then post announcements with links (usually IRC bots are used for this). Then, “couriers” who have access to servers of both the release group and a number of others, “overtake” new releases from server to server (mainly using FXP). At the same time, a certain "contest" begins, since couriers earn "credits" (usually in the ratio of 1: 3) for downloaded files; while the files must meet certain requirements and be “exclusive”, so avoid “duplicates” (dupe).
Thanks to this system, the files eventually get to the top sites around the world. Just as in Usenet, one file is split into several archives, in order to speed up file sharing (as long as one part is uploaded to the first server, the other can be uploaded to the second in parallel, etc.).
Naturally, most mortals cannot reach top sites for obvious reasons of secrecy (although there are plenty of top sites nowadays).

IRC (from the 90s to the present)

IRC has been known for a long time, and managed to play a serious role not only in file sharing, but also in politics . For many IRC clients, there is a direct client to client ( DCC) extension, with which you can transfer files not through the server, but directly, establishing a TCP connection between two clients.
First, the DCC, and then the IRC bots, known as XDCC , allowed to bring the file exchange to a new round. People who have access to new releases from the world of releases could distribute them through XDCC servers located all over the world, starting with the computing power of university campuses and their own computers, and ending with servers cracked (brute forced) for this purpose.
XDCC is still quite popular, as can be seen by looking at netsplit.de , where it is very easy to find many IRC channels that are actively used for file sharing.
Let's not forget, however, that IRC is still widely used simply for communication ...

Hotline (90s)

For a short period, Hotline has become a very popular file distribution tool. Mainly due to the fact that Hotline Connect received serious support in the face of mega-corporations that were served by Hotline Communications Limited . However, he quickly faded away due to various reasons. One of them was encrypting the source files, which significantly harmed the company.

Napster (late 90s)

Undoubtedly, it was Napster who brought the good news about file sharing and (in particular) about MP3 to the masses. At one time it was difficult to find an Internet user who would not use Napster, or at least have not heard about it. Napster was a peer-to-peer file-sharing network, strictly honed to the music. Unfortunately, the Napster mechanism was dependent on a database stored on a central server (although the file sharing process itself took place without it). This is what helped the right holders "neutralize" the network, and then led to its complete decline. But before this happened, Napster managed to convey the idea of ​​free file sharing to everyone.

Gnutella, eDonkey2000 and Kazaa (early 2000s)

The story that happened with Napster revealed its weak point - centralization. Not surprisingly, many gifted developers have set a goal: to overcome this Napster defect. As a result, Gnutella , eDonkey2000 and Kazaa emerged , which in their heyday were good in their own way. With the existing difference in the protocols, they were different implementations of the same idea: decentralization. But it was not only this that united them: the common weak point of these projects was the commercialization underlying them.
Gnutella, which was developed by people from Nullsoft, was very popular thanks to LimeWire . However, in 2010, the RIAA filed a case against LimeWire, and as a result, the Gnutella network went into the shadows. The native eDonkey2000 client, the brainchild of Jed McCaleb, was deadly modified. Only due to the presence of his clones, the network of the same name continued to exist. And the Kazaa team created Skype later on the VoIP / IM platform.

DC ++ and i2hub

DC ++ and i2hub were a popular means of file sharing in closed networks. They were very often used in universities and colleges: students exchanged among themselves the addresses of servers, by connecting to which it was possible to download files over a local network at high speed. In addition to high-speed access, the undoubted advantage was that all sorts of "third parties" could not find out what can be found in these networks.
However, this did not prevent the RIAA from reaching i2hub and closing the network. DC ++ is still developing at the moment, but the pace is not the same as before.

BitTorrent (2001)

BitTorrent protocol was created by Bram Cohen (Bram Cohen), and today it is used by almost any Internet user, he knows about it, or not. In fact, BitTorrent has absorbed all the best from its predecessors.
It is based on the concept of splitting a single file into parts (as in Usenet and top sites), as well as the mechanism of decentralized peer-to-peer data exchange (as in Napster, Gnutella, eDonkey2000 and Kazaa). High speed, efficiency and difficulty in killing - this allowed BitTorrent to lead the list of file sharing tools.
Early versions of BitTorrent required a central tracker, but later it became possible to use “tracker-free” torrent files .
BitTorrent users are increasingly worried about the issue of anonymity. Services such as YouHaveDownloaded.com have the ability to get logs of downloading files associated with a specific IP address, which is a natural concern about how safe it is to download files using BitTorrent. In addition, many providers, as you know, limit the speed when detecting BitTorrent-traffic.
As a result of the threat of an invasion of privacy, millions of BitTorrent users are forced to buy anonymizing VPN services, trying to hide their real IPs with their help.

File hosting and forums (from the 2000s to the present)

In recent years, Megaupload, Rapidshare, Hotfile and other file sharing services have become very popular. Compared with all its predecessors, file sharing offer a fairly simple way to exchange data. After downloading the file to the server, anyone can download it using the HTTP / HTTPS protocol, simply by clicking on the link.
Such links are full on the relevant forums. Many file sharing services attract users with their affiliate programs (for every thousand downloads of the file you uploaded, they promise you money). Files can also be stored archived, as practiced on Usenet. But this is mainly due to commercial rather than technical reasons, as is the case with the same Usenet or top sites.
However, governments as well as interested structures — such as the RIAA and MPAA — have focused on file sharing activities. As a result, widespread publicity in the media prosecution of file hosting sites, including the sensational case of Megaupload and Kim Dotcom (Kim Dotcom).

Final word

Faylobmen has come a long way, and thanks to him many activities and ways of earning have appeared.
On the one hand, it creates problems for large media holdings, on the other hand, it has undoubtedly enriched the lives of many independent developers and free artists. Content delivery (distribution) is no longer dependent on a small group of people, which is easy to see by looking at how hundreds and thousands of people distribute the fruits of their creativity in the network absolutely free.
File sharing has proven itself. Let us make it so that it does not disappear, so that thoughts, ideas and works of art have the opportunity to reach as large an audience as possible, making better ourselves and life on Earth. And anyone who is against it, obviously wants to destroy the world (or at least stop the development of mankind).

about the author

Andrew (Andrew) has long upheld the rights to the protection of personal data and privacy. He worked as a brand manager in a large international company, and then co-founded Private Internet Access . With his participation appeared MtGox Live , which was acquired by Mt. GOX (one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges). He also developed their official mobile app.

Original article

Shl
Interestingly, this article reminded me alone a cross between an obituary / martyrology and a revolutionary manifesto?

---- Notes and subject links ----

Modem history

Pirate topsite (xakep.ru) first exposed in Asia

Hotline - A P2P Pioneer Still Lives On | FileShareFreak

Soft@Mail.Ru: Fighters with pirates killed eDonkey

Lenta.ru: i2Hub file sharing network decided not to wait for the claim from the copyright holders

Look what you downloaded in torrents - Habrahabr

Which VPN Providers Really Take Anonymity Seriously? | Torrentfreak

Lenta.ru: United States demanded to issue managers Megaupload

“Hayes Microcomputer Products” - One of the leading manufacturers of modems. “Hayes Microcomputer Products” adopted the basic standards for modem commands, including a set of AT commands, with which the user can directly control the modem operation. Today, the vast majority of firms worldwide use Hayes standards and the best modems are Hayes compatible.

In Usenet, the format of messages and the way they are sent is very similar to email. However, if e-mail is used for one-on-one communication, then Usenet operates on the principle of one for all. The messages that a user posts (“posts” English posts) on Usenet are organized into thematic categories called newsgroups (“newsgroups” English newsgroups) or conferences that are organized into a hierarchy similar to the structure of domain names. For example, the sci.math and sci.physics groups are within the sci hierarchy (short for “science”). Using Usenet applications, you can subscribe to any available conferences.
When sending a message, it is available only on its server. But each news server exchanges messages with several neighbors, and thus the message is distributed to each Internet news server. Thus, sending a message is initiated by the sender, not the recipient.

FXP (File eXchange Protocol) is designed to exchange information between two FTP servers. It was designed to increase the speed of information transfer between sites, even when the client uses a very “weak” Internet channel.