The Dark Side of P2P File Sharing Programs
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.