The Dark Side of P2P File Sharing
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.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.
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