What is Seeding?

As it relates to peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, seeding is the act of uploading previously downloaded content for others to download. A computer connected to a P2P network generally becomes a seed after it has a desired file; multiple seeds with the same file allow a user to download the file much faster than they would be able to from a single party. P2P file sharing via seeding first came to prominence with the sharing of mp3 music files in the late 1990's — and has since expanded to include the sharing of video files, video games, and computer programs.