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First off, I can not condone in any way, shape or form, the downloading of music, programs or any other file from free download sources such as kazaa, bearshare, WinMX or anything similar. This page is added to help protect you if you decide to risk your computer by using these services. Please keep in mind that downloading any copyrighted material such as professionally produced music or movies is illegal, period.
The most important thing to remember is that there is no control over any file content added to these services. Anything can be uploaded under any name for you to download and harm your computer... and a lot of crackers use this against you by uploading partial programs and malicious programs. While you may see a file "called" a firewall it is often really a Trojan horse - allowing them access to your computer at any time and giving you a false sense of security.
Also, before you download anything from any site ask yourself if you trust the person who put it there. All official sites offering downloads etc. will scan the file first before adding it for download and will often scan it again on a random schedule to ensure it has not been tampered with. But will someone who rarely updates their site? If they can only be bothered to check their website once a week, are they going to make sure you do not get a virus? If they do not care about something they are doing, why should they care about what you do?
All downloads from Download.com are scanned carefully before being added to their download lists and yet some files do still get past their scanners. Files which have other programs added underneath the main file or which can be harmful to your computer (this is a distinct minority of the files - but it happens, even at a trustworthy site like this). Always, always perform your own anti-virus scan after downloading something from the net and before you click on it. Another good thing about Download.com is that they have a review section, so you can find out before you actually download if others have had any problems or technical issues and often gauge the skill level required to install/use the download. Most MSN groups do not, so be more careful.
Copyright Web Design May 28, 2003.
Minor Revisions June 28, 2003. |
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