Leech (computing)

Leech (computing)

In computing and specifically on the Internet, being a leech or leecher refers to the practice of benefiting, usually deliberately, from others' information or effort but not offering anything in return, or only token offerings in an attempt to avoid being called a leech. In economics this type of behavior is called "Free riding" and is associated with the Free rider problem.

The name derives from the leech, an animal which sucks blood and then tries to leave unnoticed. Other terms are used, such as freeloader, but leech is the most common.

Examples

* Wi-Fi leeches attach to open wireless networks without the owner's knowledge or permission in order to access the Internet. Typical examples of this might include someone who connects to a neighbor's open access point, or someone who connects to a café's free wireless service from their car in the parking lot. This form of leeching in particular is the subject of much legal and ethical debate.

* Direct linking is a form of bandwidth leeching that occurs when placing an unauthorized linked object, often an image, from one site in a web page belonging to a second site (the leech).

* In most P2P-networks, leeching can be defined as behavior consisting of downloading more data, over time, than the individual is uploading to other clients, thus draining speed from the network. The term is used in a similar way for shared FTP directories. Mainly, leeching is taking without giving.

* Claiming credit for, or offering for sale, freely available mobile phone themes, wallpapers, ringtones, etc., which have been created and uploaded by others to the Internet.

* By [http://phd.kt.pri.ee/2008/09/09/parasitic-computing/ leech computing] one might refer to the somewhat esoteric, yet fun idea of stealing CPU cycles from unknowing users via specially crafted webpages or viruses.

Prevention

* Wi-Fi networks can implement various authentication and access control technologies in order to prevent leeching. The most common are client MAC address authorization tables, Wired Equivalent Privacy, and Wi-Fi Protected Access.
* Bandwidth leeching can be prevented by running an anti-leeching script on the website's server. It can automatically ban IPs that leech, or can redirect them to faulty files.

BitTorrent

Among users of the BitTorrent file distribution protocol, a leech is a user who disconnects as soon as he/she has a complete copy of a particular file. However, most sites prefer the term leecher for all users who are not seeders (don't have the complete file yet). However, because BitTorrent clients usually begin to upload files almost as soon as they have started to download them, such users are usually not freeloaders. Therefore this kind of leeching is considered to be a legitimate practice. Reaching an upload/download ratio of 1:1 (meaning that the user has uploaded as much as he/she has downloaded) in a BitTorrent client is considered a minimum in the etiquette of that network. A leech becomes a seeder (A provider of the file) when he or she finished downloading and continues to run the client. They will remain a seeder until the file is removed or destroyed.

ee also

*LeechModem


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leech (disambiguation) — Leech may refer to:* Leech, a primitive animal **Leeching, is a form of bloodletting in medieval and early modern medicine which used leeches * Leech (computing), in computing, someone who uses others information or effort but does not provide… …   Wikipedia

  • John Leech (Mathematiker) — John Leech (* 21. Juli 1926 in Weybridge in Surrey; † 28. September 1992 in Schottland) war ein englischer Mathematiker, der sich mit Zahlentheorie, Geometrie und kombinatorischer Gruppentheorie beschäftigte. Er entdeckte 1964 das Leech Gitter.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • LeechModem — was a BBS file transfer protocol client. LeechModem was compatible with protocols like XMODEM (and YMODEM), but it would mischievously NAK the last packet and then abort the file transfer. The user had successfully downloaded the file, but the… …   Wikipedia

  • Free rider problem — For the article about when a brokerage client purchases shares beyond his or her means, see free riding. In economics, collective bargaining, psychology, and political science, a free rider (or freeloader) is someone who consumes a resource… …   Wikipedia

  • Nerf (computer gaming) — In computer gaming, a nerf is a change to a game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular game element. The term is also used as a verb for the act of making such a change.cite book|last=Bartle|first=Richard|title=Designing… …   Wikipedia

  • Nerf (video gaming) — For the usage of the term buff in relation to temporary bonuses, see Status effect. In video gaming a nerf is a change to a game that reduces the desirability or effectiveness of a particular game element. The term is also used as a verb for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of Islamic science and engineering — This timeline of Islamic science and engineering covers the general development of science and technology in the Islamic world during the Islamic Golden Age, usually dated from the 7th to 16th centuries.From the 17th century onwards, the advances …   Wikipedia

  • List of Geneva Golden Tornadoes head football coaches — The Geneva Golden Tornadoes football program is a college football team that represents Geneva College in the Presidents Athletic Conference, a part of the NCAA Division III. The team has had 29 head coaches since its first recorded football game …   Wikipedia

  • Lancaster University — Infobox University name = Lancaster University motto = Patet omnibus veritas ( Truth lies open to all ) established = 1964 type = Public city = Lancaster country = England, UK campus = staff = 2,250 head label = Visitor head = Her Majesty The… …   Wikipedia

  • Biocomputers — utilize systems of biologically derived molecules, such as DNA and proteins, to perform computational calculations involving storing, retrieving, and processing data. The development of biocomputers has been made possible by the expanding new… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”