Why P2P file sharing undergoes scrutiny can become a long list. P2P file sharing has gained a lot of supporters but it still has plenty of people who are against the file sharing program. P2P file sharing is a way to share any type of files with someone else anywhere in the world. The files can be anything from music, games, videos and other software files. The most popular type of file that is shared on a P2P website is thought to be music files. Sharing music files also gains P2P file sharing the most scrutiny because of copyright laws. Not only can copyright laws be broken when using a P2P file sharing website you can also put you or your computer at risk. These are some of the reasons why P2P file sharing undergoes scrutiny.
P2P file sharing gains the most scrutiny for the copyright laws that can be broken when sharing files. Most of the scrutiny started with the music industry. Musicians have many of their songs copyrighted so other musicians don’t copy those songs without paying a fee. When using a P2P file sharing network you are copying those songs for your personal use and may not be paying for that song or album. This is copyright infringement and can cause you jail time. Many people say that some of the music is public domain so there are no copyright laws broken. This is an ongoing battle for P2P networks.
Generally if you need to purchase the files it is most likely copyrighted and should not be put on a file sharing network. Music is not the only file that has copyright laws. You will also find copyrights on games, software, and videos. Reputable P2P file sharing sites will know the copyright laws and keep their sites free of pirated material as much as possible.
P2P file sharing has also gained scrutiny for the possible viruses that can be downloaded with many of the files. Sometimes a virus will attach itself to your file you are downloading. Viruses can do a lot of damage to your computer and may even ruin your computer. You may not realize you have a virus on your computer until it is too late and most of the damage to your files and your computer may have already been done. Install anti-virus software to help circumvent this problem as much as possible. Keep the software up to date to catch some of the newer viruses that are being created. A virus can spread very quickly through a P2P file sharing network and can cause trouble to thousands of computers besides your own.
Gaining access to files that are personal or were not intended to share is very likely another reason why P2P file sharing has gained scrutiny. When you are active on a P2P file sharing network you are opening up your computer for sharing the files you decide. Hackers can get into your computer and find personal files that you did not want shared including any personal account information. When using a P2P file sharing network you will want to use firewalls to prevent leaving these files open to sharing. Reputable file sharing networks will also have their own software or settings to help prevent the unintentional sharing of personal files.
P2P file sharing has gained scrutiny because it is a fairly new way to use the internet. There are still plenty of laws and regulations that are being made to the usage of the P2P file sharing idea. New ideas to share files keep coming about making it harder to issue new laws or regulate how the file sharing networks are used. Until some of these regulations are put into place there will be more scrutiny for the P2P file sharing sites.