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Thursday, August 6, 2009

Guidelines For Downloading Free Music Online

By Susan Reynolds

Free music download programs are a popular way to have unlimited access to free music. And with CDs easily costing $15 a piece, what could be better than free music? However, it is important to realize that this free music could be putting not just your computer at risk, but you and your privacy as well. File sharing can also get you into legal trouble with the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA) or the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). Everyone knows that people who illegally share music online have been actively sought after by the RIAA for several years now, but now the MPAA is also seeking to find and sue those who illegally share movies.

Being prosecuted and sued is not all you have to worry about. There are many other dangers you must keep in mind, such as adware, spyware, spoofing, and pornopgrahy.. What follows is an overview of these risks and how they might affect you.

Adware- Adware is used by large media companies and is installed in most file sharing programs. Banner ads for file share software are provided by media companies as a way to generate profit from the free music that is being downloaded. The downside for the consumer is that adware will overload the computer with unwanted advertising and can cause problems for the computer's system.

2) Spyware - Spyware is often installed in shareware downloads, including free music download programs. Spyware secretly sneaks around in the back-round of your computer gathering information about you and your surfing habits. Spyware has the ability to perform actions hidden to you, and can even change files and your computer system settings.

Spoofing- Spoofing is another risk that comes with downloading music. If you've ever thought you were downloading a song, only to end up with a corrupt music file instead, you've been a victim of spoofing. One of the new types of spoofing involves a music episode about half a minute in length that plays continuously for several minutes. Some people speculate that these corrupted files are an attempt by the RIAA to discourage illegal music download, by making people more willing to pay for good quality music.

4) Pornography - Pornography is a very serious problem when using file share software. Every file share user should be aware that porn peddlers will camouflage their software as a new game download, or free music downloads files, to get you to click on the link. If you click on the fake file, you'll be redirected to a porn site. It's sneaky, and a very serious problem if kids have access to file sharing programs.

Summary: If you want to download music online, there are ways to do this legally. There are some sites that charge very reasonable fees for down loads and you don?t run the risk of copy-right infringement lawsuits by the RIAA and MPAA. There are also some perfectly legal free download sites available. You should educate yourself on the subject of music downloads before proceeding to protect yourself from legal issues and to protect your computer from hidden dangers. - 18758

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