2002/01/01 by Ian Clarke, S.G. Miller, Theodore W. Hong +2 · 1 citation
Computer Science · #Peer-to-Peer Network Technologies #Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting #Caching and Content Delivery
paper · doi:10.1109/4236.978368
openalex publication_date 2002/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Freenet is a distributed information storage system designed to address information privacy and survivability concerns. Freenet operates as a self-organizing P2P network that pools unused disk space across potentially hundreds of thousands of desktop computers to create a collaborative virtual file system. Freenet employs a completely decentralized architecture. Given that the P2P environment is inherently untrustworthy and unreliable, we must assume that participants could operate maliciously or fail without warning at any time. Therefore, Freenet implements strategies to protect data integrity and prevent privacy leaks in the former instance, and provide for graceful degradation and redundant data availability in the latter. The system is also designed to adapt to usage patterns, automatically replicating and deleting files to make the most effective use of available storage in response to demand.