The Pros And Cons Of illegally & Legally Downloading Files
80Internet fraud
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has already reached a settlement with 50 Ohio University students that asked them to pay $3,000 each to avoid Internet piracy lawsuits. As part of its ongoing copyright crackdown, the RIAA has already sued about 18,000 computer users nationwide since September 2003. The figure includes 1,062 computer users at 130 universities. Currently, UNH students are receiving similar letters from the RIAA, in advance of legal action.
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Read "Why Free Music Rocks" By t.keeley and the reasons P2P sharing is so popular..and beneficial.
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Millions of users who download files illegally from the Internet will soon be banned from accessing the Internet in a major battle against Internet theft..
Many users are genuinely unaware the programs they are using to download files is breaking the law, with the numerous file sharing sites available.. File Sharing is not illegal as long as you obey all relevant copyright laws... Using P2P programs to download and distribute copyrighted music, movies and games without permission is illegal.
Find out how this effects you and what you can do about it!
What Is File Sharing? File sharing refers to providing and receiving digital files (packets of data) over a network, via a peer to peer (P2P) using the many free programs online. People who are active in file sharing provide files who (upload) and receiving files, and (download) using the dozens of programs such as Utorrent to download an unlimited amount of movies, TV programs, albums, game's, software, and the entertainment industry is fighting back after billions of money is being "stolen!"..Its estimated over a billion songs a month are downloaded, with around 100 illegal music downloads for every legal track sold. The scale of copyright theft is very huge and getting bigger each day! If you download files illegally or think you may be! find out how this could effect you.
How Do I know If Im downloading Files illegally? If your using any of these file-sharing software-sites and clients your breaking the law!
Some no longer exist!-- aimini - Alliance - Azureus - ares - BiteNova BTbot - ByTorrents - bittorrent - Bitsoup - BTjunkie - Demonoid -Emule - Edonkey -FileList - frostwire - FullDLS - Freenet - FileMP3 - GNUnet - Isohunt - iMule - limewire - Nodezilla - Meganova - Meta Search -Mininova. -OFF System Perfect Dark Proxyshare - RShare - Snarf It - Scrapetorrent - Share - Torrentportal - Torrentscan - Torrentspy - Torrentz - Torrentsto! -Torrentmatrix -Torrentbox - TorrentTyphoon -The Pirate Bay - TorrentBytes - Thinktorrent - Torrentlocomotive - Torrentdamage - Tor utorrent - YouTorrent - Yotoshi - WinNY - Zultrax.
How can I download Files Legally? Here are 100% Legal Download Services.
How Will They find out I'm Downloading Files illegally? Each computer that's connected to the Internet, is assigned an individual IP address, (Click Here To See your I.P address) for example: 145.45.68.24. This IP address will link Your PC to an exact location physical location, and with with the help of your Internet Service Provider! ( I.S.P) who will be techinally' policing the internet' monitoring all your traffic! checking individual packets of data being sent across the web.. - Some users will get round this by changing there IP address!
What will happen If I'm Caught? Once they have established you are downloading files illegally, you will be sent a letter/email kindly asking you to stop! If you ignore this warning, and continue your downloading activities, another not-so-kindly letter will arrive to warn you of a possible ban from accessing the Internet!
Will I be Arrested and Charged? Many people have already been caught and punished, but It is unlikely you will get arrested among the millions of users, but they will want to set an example to the Prolific users who are responsible for up-to a million plus downloads each. Laws vary from country to country and In America, the Recording Industry Association of America, (RIAA) details penalties for online infringement can be punished by up to six years in prison & $250,000 fines!
The Pros & Cons Of illegal Downloads!
Pros:
1: Download anything! anytime even if the movies and songs are not always the best quality! Software, ebooks and games are!
2: Save your-self a fortune on expensive programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Neros disc burning software.
Cons:
1: Your breaking the law and risk receiving a criminal record! and being banned from the Internet, fined and/or imprisoned! although the chances are at least a million to one! for now!
2: Downloading files illegally have a risk of viruses and Spyware! I'm sure many of you have and will be a victim of this!
3: The quality of these illegally downloaded songs and movies is often terrible! Most are made by amateurs who sit in the back of a cinema with a camcorder, a sure way of getting bad quality audio and bad quality video! In fact, you'll often see shadows of people walking in front of the camera as well as heads bobbing! not to mention people laughing and coughing!
4: Musicians and actors will lose out to people stealing their work.
The Pros Of Legal Downloads
1: Your not breaking The Law and can be concious free!
2: Downloading legal files will have NO viruses! No Spyware or Adware! just 100s of thousands of your favorite movies and songs easily and Fast! Watch your favorite TV shows! Sports, Kids Channels, Shopping, News! Listen to 1000s of Radio Stations! Highest Quality MP3 Format! Download from a selection of databases that have the Largest Music and Movies Selections of all genres! Download ebooks! Games! plus free disc burning software! and lots more.
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Illegal downloading is pretty lucrative for the people who provide the services. I think they will just start using proxies or distributed downloads to make it harder to trace. I don't see this going away any time soon.
Zsuzsy Bee, Thanks for stopping by!
hot dorkage, Thanks for your comment!
illegal downloads are also lucritive for many ordinary people who download thousands uopn thousands of pounds worth of files to re-sell to those who are none the wiser! and your right about it not going away!, if they cant even stop online peadofiles and terrorists websites, there is no chance of stooping all these file sharing sites!
Great Hub Compusmart, I used to download a few files before from Limewire, but all I got was virus and other problems, then I stopped and downloading only from legal sources. It isn't worth much downloading illegally like you said.
I agree. This is an uphill battle for copyrite law. We'll see what happens.
Good work dude...Hey you CAN download illegal stuff of superior quality...like mp3s etc....its everywhere!
Thanks cgulll8m,
Limewire is notorious for getting viruses! and the quality of tracks compared to the legal downloads makes a big difference!!
Cailin, Thanks for stopping by! this is a battle that will never be won! ever!!
mdesai, Thanks for commenting,, I know is IS possible to download quality songs, but this is not always the case with some programs i have previously downloaded illegally,,although i don't do any more!! honest!!:D
Thanks for the warning. :)
I used to download from limewire too. I got all the videos I wanted. Then I stopped. I looked for the same files in youtube, and they are not there. Guess I downloaded videos that are not meant to be shared. :)
Unaware that one of the downloading/sharing files providers being used by my kids was illegal. Thank you compu-smart for this information.
Hi compu-smart. :) This is good info for people who like to download a lot. Do you know I don't download anything at all..except for a few pictures and photos. LOL talk of being lowtech. Okay, I'm going to look over the legal thingy. I will be sure to pass this info to friends who love downloading. Thanks...
Hey Dottie, Ooops!, I hope i have not put my foot in it!
Here in the UK, (in criminal law )we have a latin saying called the "Mens rea" which means the mind must be guilty before a crime has been commited, then again, we also have a saying that "ignorance of the law is no excuse" or something along those lines!!
Hiya ripplemaker,
The link to the legal downloads are the best i have used!, No spyware or virus and guilt free!! these are priceless reasons to go legal!:)
Thanks for link to do things the legal way. I will check it out.
Carol :-)
cvaughn, your welcome, thanks for dropping by;)
To be honest, the extortionate prices companies charge for a single DVD is practically daylight robbery! so what goes around, comes around!
I'm not one who downloads any music, compu-smart, but once again you've done an excellent job providing good information on the subject. The only music I listen to on the Internet is Bing Crosby songs that are available from youtube. It seems that people don't mind doing anything illegal as long as they don't get caught. Maybe that's why we have so many problems in society today.
Interesting hub... People that illegally download think the antivirus programs protect their computer. Unfortunately, when your computer has direct contact with a dirty computer, the viruses transfer.
People have too much faith in their antivirus programs... viruses like "xp anti-viruse" seem to defeat the best program when downloaded.
An observation
William, Thankyou!
its just soo easy and too easy to do, and I used to do myself, but why would i illegally download a certain song of a certain artist whom im a big fan of, because it would be basically stealing money from them!! what kind of fan would that make me be!!
rharper, Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting observation, which leads me to having to leave this link which will help keep you protected from possible virus related problems!! like everything in life!, nothings perfect!
http://hubpages.com/_wwww/hub/what-is-the-best-ant
Video and mp3 quality....terrible? I disagree.
A bought CD has undergone numerous price-ups, including the paycheck of money grubbing managers and CEOs of major record labels. The music has been dithered down and the quality is roughly 128 kbps. An mp3 of downloaded quality, legal or not (most illegal downloads are from iTunes or the competitors anyway) are not dithered down, have numerous sound channels and are at 320 kbps most of the time. I've downloaded music online and the difference between emusic/itunes and a CD is TREMENDOUS!
Being a musician myself, the whole 'illegal' music downloads doesn't hurt the musician. It hurts the managers. Is that a bad thing? Come on...Britney Spears doesn't hurt from people getting her stuff for free. All her money comes from marketing gigs anyway. Besides, her crap isn't worth buying....period.
As for video, I also disagree. DivX files are as competent as anything out there on hard disk DVDs nowadays. Blue Ray is relatively behind the downloadable HIGH DEFINITION AVI/DivX files of the internet too. Where the interent has progressed, managers and CEOs have fallen behind and are 'losing money'.
Why would you buy a bag of carrots that has 2 or 3 good ones you see on top and the rest is hidden when you could get a hand-selected bag for absolutely free--a bag so good that every single carrot has been sampled and you are not going home with anything negative?
Welcome to the new age of free music. Real musicians are not the ones griping and complaining about this, the real crime has been going on for 50+ years...when men of power and money control something they can't bear to let it go. Music is finally 100% in the hands of the musicians, and the true musical geniuses are relishing in the fact that people are dying to get their hands on their music:: free or not.
t.keeley, Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I liked your analogies and it sounds like your experience regarding "quality" has been better than mine and others i know!,
Quality or not! who loses out or not, its still against the law!
But whose law is the question? Our government clearly caters to the greedy CEOs and Bush has by and large proven that thru Enron. These laws aren't for the musician, they're for the billionaire :)
I'm not saying you're wrong, because indisputably you're right. I'm just saying it's not at all black and white.
All i can say, is what we all know and that's, the rich get richer and the law is an ass! and regarding black and white, i am happy you are adding some much needed color to this subject!
If we could somehow keep the rich from stealing from the poor, especially in this business...and the law was separated entirely from business influence...
nevermind, it's impossible ;)
lmao!! nice try!!
I placed a link to your hub Why Free Music Rocks above;)
:)
Much thanks...how did you do that...?
I clicked on "edit hub"!, I wrote the text in the "text capsule" and not link capsule!, then I highlighted text with cursor, then clicked the "link icon" which looks like an 8 on its side and placed the URL...
Let me know if you have any probs!;)
No I used the link capsule...it worked I believe. Ought to go find out, but it should be useable.
All Sweeet!
;)
Limewire is obviously filled with viruses but are any of the others on your list less "infected?" DJs can't afford to keep up with every hit single as you can imagine.
Hey DJ, I find it hard saying hey DJ without adding "MR"!! Its that song im sure u know of!!
Your right, many of those programs all carry viruses, and in my experience, Limewire has had the most! and i totally feel your pain when it comes to buying every CD as a Dj, and the rip off prices, so who am i to tell you you are wrong!!
Just a comment about your computer having an IP address. While static IP addressing has always been possible, offering static IP address to the average customer is a relatively new service, still not even offered by all ISPs. It is generally only needed when a user has such things as a web server running off their own computer.
What usually happens is that a dynamic IP address is assigned by the ISP when the user connects to the internet. This address may be different every time they connect, and the same IP address that was assigned to one customer one day, might welll be assigned to a different customer the next.
ISPs can definately aid in tracing the flow of data to a particular computer within their domain, but it isn't simple and given the volumes of data transfer this would not often be done, without a really good reason to justify the effort.
So which one has less virus'?
there is no way to police this i feel.. NO CHANCE!!.. IP's can be changed willingly.. it isnt the consumer that should be punsished anyway.. its the supplier.. look at when the humble video recorder first came out.. you could finally record your fave programs whilst being out.. but yet were told its illegal to do so.. but why develop the technology in the first place?.. and tell you what its capable of?.. everyone use to record programs on vid.. its the same with illegal downloads.. you cannot stop it.. get rid of ALL the places online which gives you opportunity to and then maybe ok.. it wont be a problem.. but the way it now.. its a thriving biz.. btw.. i DO pay for all my downloads..
Hey MR DJ,,,
Impossible question to answer! although i used to use utorrent software and the torrentz website and do my research before downloading anything! I.E, read the comments!!
epifanny,Thanks for your comments! You are right and make an interesting analogy!
I think the authorities should spend more time combating the many many online crimes that take place!! from fraud!, peadofiles and terrorists and stop wasting time with people who use file sharing sites!
I also think the ridiculous amounts of money that film stars and singers get is responcible for the extortionate prices that are charged for DVDs which is why peep to peer programs will always be an online existence!! If they take one down another will popup! as you say, they have no chance of stopping it! and if the cost of policing this costs more than the actuall cost thats being lost from File sharing, its a no win situation!!
Nice hub Man!
I have to disagree with Cons 2 and 3. Its easy to find files burned directly from CDs and DVDs with pretty high quality, some Mp3s etc with higher qulaity than you would received if you burned them using iTunes or WMP. Not that I am encouraging anyone to do this.
Also, do not assume that if things are available to view for free you can still download them. Many of the TV networks now allow people to stream their shows online, but these episodes still contain commercials. If you try and bypass the commercials by downloading the episodes online, even if you download an episode recorded off of the TV, you're still breaking the law!
Remember, your IP is not on your side when it comes to illegal downloads and its much easier for them to track your activities than you think.
the gecko, thanks for passing by to comment! ref-2 and 3, it seems like your experiences have been much better than many others.
Higly informative
If you're careful, you can get away with downloading absolutely ANYTHING. I still think this is a decent article because there are still people out there who don't realize they are 'stealing.' The choice is up to you.
Also, while many people are against file-sharing for obvious reasons, you can't deny that it's helped thousands of unknown artists get exposure they never would have seen without it.
Zsuzsy Bee says:
16 months ago
Great hub Compu-smart! Thanks for sharing. regards Zsuzsy