IPFS lead explains how malicious files are eliminated from its network

The InterPlanetary File System, or IPFS, helps decentralize the internet by making files available across multiple locations instead of through a single centralized point of failure.

"Let's say there's a URL, or an IPFS content ID as we call them - there's an IPFS address that we have identified to be malicious or dangerous somehow," Ayala told Cointelegraph.

Google, in collaboration with other internet players, carries a list of malware-infected or malicious URLs and files.

Adding items to that list often proves difficult based on false negatives and other issues, Ayala explained.

"There's a number of problems with centralized control over that list," he explained.

"Mastodon is an example where node operators have decided how they want to filter information that they think is incorrect or bad or dangerous to the audience of people that run on a given - what they call - pub," Ayala explained.

Ayala mentioned coordinated block lists and safe lists as methods of dealing with malicious URLs in the IPFS network.

"We have a group at Protocol Labs that is with some folks from Medium and other media entities that have a long experience and history of working in this area around content filtering and identifying malicious content or unsafe content," Ayala explained.

IPFS has a specialized unit to help node operators maintain the control they need, while keeping up with technology growth, he added.

"It's a really difficult problem, and I think we can see the challenge in centralized systems today as they're trying to figure out how to best moderate content," Ayala said.