Online file sharing involves some dangers you need to be aware of


Sufficient about the moral and legal issues involved with making copies of digital files. There is more to it than just being fair. The Internet and nearby networks have become the house for numerous "sharing" websites.

One kind is called peer-to-peer or P2P. The idea is that a group of individuals agree to share the files that are on their computers with one an additional. One of the first and most effective was Napster, which began in dorm rooms at Northeastern University in 1999.

Why are P2P sites dangerous? First, once they figured out what was going on, the owners of the copyrights for music, video, and software showed themselves to be fairly aggressive in going after people who were giving away (or worse, selling) their product without permission. Napster was shut down by court order in 2001.

The second danger is that nasty individuals quickly figured out that a P2P network was a great method to spread viruses and other malware. All they had to do was insert their code into a music or video or other digital file and set it totally free.

The third danger involves the way some of the P2P networks had been setup. Simply because the organizers were trying to steer clear of getting into legal trouble by really storing and transmitting files, instead all the files being shared remained on the computers of their members.

All that the P2P organizers were posting online was an index of available songs, videos, or other files. If you saw something you wanted, you sent a request along with a copy was taken off someone's personal machine and sent to you.

Think about that arrangement. As a member of a file-sharing group, you're essentially opening the Internet door to your computer and telling the world to come on in. It didn't take much effort for hackers to find ways to use P2P networks to harvest personal information about users - bank accounts, credit cards, and that sort of thing - or to send out viruses.

One of the nastiest forms of spyware is something called a "keylogger." This small program, which can sneak in as component of something you download from a file-sharing program or arrive from an infected Web website, can maintain records of everything you kind from the keyboard and send that information to someone who hopes to find out your log-in names and passwords. Some of the latest versions even take snapshots of your screen and send them along.

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This article was sent to us by: Cherilyn Patts at 01152011

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