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Music Information |
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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.
MORE RESOURCES: The ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Music Legends’ Decaying Tapes The New York Times Sabrina Carpenter to White House: Don’t use my music to tout ‘inhumane’ agenda - The Washington Post Sabrina Carpenter to White House: Don’t use my music to tout ‘inhumane’ agenda The Washington Post Tell us your favourite albums of 2025 The Guardian Apple Music’s Replay 2025 is here TechCrunch “Apt,” “Luther” and “Die With A Smile” Lead Apple Music’s Top Global Songs of 2025 The Hollywood Reporter Supreme Court Hears Copyright Battle Over Online Music Piracy The New York Times Efforts to block internet music piracy hit Supreme Court skepticism The Washington Post My Deezer Year 2025: The music that defined the year and a retrospective of your own musical love story Deezer Newsroom Grammys will celebrate Latin music with prime-time CBS musical special Los Angeles Times Words & Music with Marfa wmot.org MSU experts: How divisive concepts laws affect music classrooms Michigan State University Historic Heights Theater sold to owners of Chicago's Music Box Theatre Bring Me The News Sony Music Publishing Elevates Jeff Smarr MusicRow.com A Ass Pocket of Blues NUVO.net CSB and SJU music community unites for Christmas shows College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University Udio 2.0 Could Face Consumers Reluctant to Embrace AI Music luminatedata.com URI music professor releases new album inspired by representation – Rhody Today The University of Rhode Island A joyful noise: Rounding up some holiday music offerings in and around Evanston Evanston RoundTable 11 Musical Love Letters From Artists to Their Heroes The New York Times Roundtable: What’s your favorite holiday music? dailycampus.com Clements to be inducted into Oklahoma Music Educators Association Hall of Fame Southeastern Oklahoma State University Sabrina Carpenter slams White House for using her song in 'evil and disgusting' social media video NBC News Interview: Composer Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Winner of the 2026 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music Blogcritics Chicago’s Music Box Theatre Expands, Adding Screen and Acquiring Minnesota’s Heights Theater IndieWire Tosco Music Holiday Party Charlotte Parent Angel Du$t Premiere New Single & Music Video "DU$T" From Upcoming New Album "COLD 2 THE TOUCH" Metal Underground.com NWACC music drive fuels growth, sparks funding push, December concerts KUAF Public Radio Pittsburgh’s People of Year 2025 — Music: Danielle Mashuda and Maddy Lafferty Pittsburgh City Paper Music on the holiday horizon at MCC Meridian Star Tampa Bay’s best live music and concerts happening December 4-11 Creative Loafing Tampa Paleface Swiss Premiere New Single & Music Video "Everything Is Fine" From Upcoming New EP "The Wilted" Metal Underground.com Christian 'Mississippi soul' singer is AI. His music hit No. 1 on iTunes The Clarion-Ledger Fullerton College Breaks Ground on State-of-Art Music & Drama Complex Fullerton Observer Nominate Your 2026 Barefoot Country Music Fest Theme Ideas Now Cat Country 107.3 After 43 Years ‘Thriller’ Still Outpaces Modern Music The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Apple Music Reveals the Top 5 Songs of 2025 — and the Internet Isn’t Letting One Detail Slide parade.com The Heavy Heavy with Laney Jones and the Spirits at The Southern Café & Music Hall 12/6 C-VILLE Weekly Drake Named Apple Music’s Most-Streamed Artist Worldwide in 2025 Ratings Game Music White House trolls Sabrina Carpenter with her own lyrics after she slams Trump admin for using her music in ICE video New York Post Blackpink’s Rose dominates Apple Music's year-end chart The Korea Herald |
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