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The Dark Side of P2P
File Sharing
by: Bill Paulk
P2P file sharing programs are free.
Period. But there are P2P scam sites out there that want you
to pay them instead. P2P scam sites are rogue companies that
have set up shop to fleece unsuspecting music downloaders
looking for file sharing programs by charging a fee for an
otherwise free service.
No P2P file sharing software costs money.
Exceptions would be a site asking members to make a monetary
donation to help pay for bandwidth, hosting costs, and other
administrative costs.
Some P2P file sharing programs offer "pro"
versions of their free software. But again, their basic
service is free to the public. I want you to fully
understand this, because paying a P2P scam site money can
not only make your wallet a bit lighter, it can also make
your computer vulnerable to dangerous spyware.
That's right. These scam sites are only
interested in making money off you. As well as actually
taking your money by fooling you into paying them, they'll
make money off you by installing spyware on your PC, so that
they can get paid by sharing your online habits and personal
information with others.
For music download beginners, all of this
can be very confusing. Why? Because these scam sites
advertise all over the Internet. Search engines return
results chockful of these scams alongside the real P2P file
sharing programs; their banner ads riddle the Internet
landscape; sites are promoting these scams to get their
piece of your money.
Most real P2P programs don't advertise
much on the Internet. The reason is that they're not money
makers. It takes money to advertise, and who has more
money--the free P2P file sharing programs or the scam
artists? You guessed it. P2P relies on word of mouth. The
scam sites rely primarily on advertising.
How Can I Tell a P2P Scam Site?
This is the easy part, if you know what
you're looking for. P2P scam sites often use phrases like
100% Legal, which is absolutely untrue. This is a trick they
use to prey on people interested in P2P file sharing
programs, but who are worried (rightly) about Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) lawsuits. Keep in
mind that sharing and downloading of copyrighted files is,
at this moment, an illegal activity.
Another tactic is to use fake endorsements
and recommendations from legitimate companies. Other cons
are to use phrases like Direct Downloads!, Get Access Now!,
Download Unlimited Free Music!, and other phrases that are
promising you things they absolutely CANNOT deliver.
How Does It Work & How are They Doing It?
To be honest, I do not know the ins and
outs of P2P scam sites. But I know this: all P2P file
sharing programs are free. Think about it a moment. It is
because music files are being shared free of charge (without
artists receiving royalties) that organizations like the
RIAA are mad and suing.
These P2P scam sites are merely taking
your money, downloading a little spyware to your PC, then
connecting you to one of the real P2P file sharing programs.
This is all convoluted by the nature of
P2P, which is a series of servers networking files to one
another. Unless you're buying your music MP3 downloads from
a legitimate company, either per song/album or through a
monthly subscription, you cannot be sure where your music is
coming from.
The legal status of P2P file sharing
programs is confusing. We know that MP3 files themselves are
not illegal. For example, it's legal to possess MP3s, to rip
your CDs to your hard drive, and to burn CDs for your
personal use. But, by sharing and/or downloading these
files, you are breaking copyright laws. To my knowledge, P2P
scam sites are not actually breaking any laws. But why pay
for something you don't have to?
One of the most common techniques these
scam artists use is to set up sites that are misspellings or
derivations of popular P2P file sharing programs. KaZaA is
probably the most hijacked name being used these days.
Other sites may not actually charge you
anything at all, but they'll "give you the software for
free" if you give them your email address. This too is a
scam. Because once again, they're just sending you along to
a proper P2P program, but after collecting your email
address, they're selling it to third parties. Don't give
these scammers any of your personal information!
If you're on a website you trust, even
this website, you may see ads by these scam artists,
preaching their lies about 100% blah, blah, blah. For your
own security, don't click on the links. They're still scams.
(Many independent websites rely on ads to pay the bills. We
don't always have full control over what advertisements
appear on our sites. Keep in mind that most online
advertisements are arranged and distributed by third-party
companies who pair up advertisements with appropriate
keywords. So a page that discusses "music downloads" is
likely to have an ad from a scam site singing their own
false praises.)
On this note, there are sites all over the
Internet that actually promote P2P scam sites. Why? I have
my opinions. First, these scam sites are paying large sums
of money to affiliates who promote their sites. For example,
a scam site may be charging you $29.95 for their
non-service. Well, they're paying affiliates over half (I've
seen the pay-out as high as 75%) of that just for getting
you, the visitor, to their scam sites.
I Think I've Used One of these Scam Sites.
What Do I Do Now?
Stop! Right now, stop using that service.
If you've got some type of monthly payment with them, stop
paying them. Cancel your "membership," contact your bank or
credit card company, and stop paying them immediately!
Secondly, your computer has probably have been infected by
spyware, and you need to remove it right away. I recommend
purchasing spyware-removal software like Pest Patrol because
they do the best job at clearing out spyware parasites.
If you've been pulled into a scam site,
just rack it up to experience. Their ad copy is very
convincing, and you just wanted to "be legal" while
downloading. Take heart in knowing that you're not alone.
But you're better off now, with this information at your
disposal.
In my opinion, this is another reason to
consider not using P2P file sharing programs as a means to
get your online music. I think that these P2P scam sites
will increase in number, and will use more clever tactics to
get your money and your information. Until the peer-to-peer
communities are regulated in some way, I fear that these
types of activities will get worse before they improve.
About The Author
A former financial advisor and NYC book
editor, Bill Paulk blends these two experiences by helping
people make sound buying decisions. His passion, building
digital music collections through MP3 downloads, is the
subject of his first website.
http://www.mp3-music-downloads-scout.com reviews and
recommends the best in legal MP3 downloads.
bill@mp3-music-downloads-scout.com
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