Scary headline? Well it’s
not make-believe. Have you ever heard of Peer-to-Peer file sharing? Peer-to-Peer software allows you to
share files on your computer with others on the Internet. In turn you have
access to their files. The first mainstream Peer-to-Peer program was Napster
(remember that one?) and you could only download music with it.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file
sharing programs have come a long way since the days of Napster. Now you can
download all kinds of files with P2P software. Files like movies, software
programs, TV shows, music videos just to name a few. The problem is that downloading copyrighted material is
illegal. Some of the examples of P2P software programs in use today are Kaaza,
Morpheus, Limeware, eMule and BitTorrent.
So why should parents be
concerned about all this? If your
kids are using P2P software to download copyrighted material and get caught
parents are the ones who pays the price. The Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) are
aggressively protecting copyrighted material by suing those who have illegal
copies of movies or music on their computers. How do they know if you have
illegal copies? I won’t get technical here so lets just say they have ways of
tracking what computers are using P2P software to downloading copyrighted
files. If you’re kids are downloading copyrighted movies or music you could be
on the hook for big money. Many
lawsuits brought by the RIAA against individuals have been for tens of
thousands of dollars. Ouch!
If all that isn’t reason
enough to get any P2P software off your computer here’s another. The Special
Investigations Division of the House Committee on Government Reform said that
X-rated files are so readily available on P2P networks that it is almost
impossible for users to avoid explicit material. In other words there is so
much porn available that no matter what your kids are searching for they’ll end
up finding porn. I tested this out and they were right. I searched on the term
“Bible” using a popular P2P program and I found a number of full-length porn
movies. I typed in “Sex” also and you would not believe the number of porn
movies that were available. Now just imagine your son having P2P software on
his computer in his room. He could
download a full-length porn movie, watch it, delete it and you’d never know it
happened.
So what do you do to
protect your family from all this? Get a filter that blocks P2P software. SafeEyes
will do the trick. You can get a
free trial by clicking here.