How did Napster allow people to find and share music files online?

Napster, created by Shawn Fanning in 1999, functioned as a pioneering peer-to-peer (P2P) service that enabled users to share MP3 music files directly from their personal computers over the Internet.123

Unlike later decentralized networks, Napster utilized a centralized index server. When users connected to the service, they could search this index by artist name or song title. If the system located the requested file on the hard drive of another connected user, it facilitated a direct transfer, allowing the requester to download a copy. By design, the software turned every user's computer into both a client and a server, meaning that while a user downloaded music, their own computer simultaneously made its stored files available for others to find and download.3

This system enabled the large-scale, unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, which led to significant legal challenges from the Recording Industry Association of America and its eventual shutdown in 2001. Respecting intellectual property is a fundamental ethical principle, as unauthorized sharing undermines the rights of creators and the sustainability of the music industry.134