Sunday, October 3, 2010

Pirated Movies Can Be A Mess

By Eduardo Lester

We live in a world of on-demand satisfaction. To an extent, whatever you want, you can get and with home theaters becoming a social staple for families, the ability to download a movie that you want at the moment you want to see it is seductive.

Whether it is done illegally through file-sharing software or legally, as with downloading a book into your Kindle, there's an increasing market for downloading the movies you want straight into your hard drive. Many people are still skeptical, worried that any movies they watch will be bootleg copies, or somehow their computers will be at risk from the act of downloading.

This way of thinking, in the beginning, was true. Almost all online movies that were bootleg copies usually recorded by camcorder of the movie screens, much like what is sold on street corners. If you watch these films you're committed infringement on copyright.

The danger of copyright infringement is that if the government wanted to crack down on a website, most likely, you IP address which is recorded at every visit will be offered up along with all of the other addresses as a way for the site's owner to not be prosecuted as harshly.

Does this scenario ever happened? Yes, not with movies. The rampant file-sharing of music has resulted in the music industry cracking down on individual customers by instigating large fines instead of bringing arbitration into the mix. With all of this experience in terms of music, it's logical to assume that movie downloading customers will be the next target.

That doesn't mean that abstaining from any movie downloading websites is the way to go. There are still many sites that are both safe and legal. What to watch out for are any websites that promise you everything for nothing. These sites usually peddle in spyware and adware.

What is spyware? It's a malicious software that downloads onto your computer and records your actions on line. This can include recording keystrokes that can give away your passwords on a myriad of websites and open the door to having your identity stolen. Adware is not as malicious, but is a nuisance that can slow down the performance of your computer by inundating you with pop-up ads on the misguided thought that it will make you want to purchase one of the items.

To make sure that what you're doing is legal and safer, it's best to use websites that charge a fee for joining. Many websites charge only one-time fees at around $40 for unlimited downloads, much like the music site Napster. The fee will most likely protect you from inadvertently downloading any adware or spyware because of the added virus protection that many of these sites contain.

The convenience of the internet is a wonderful thing and you can have the entertainment experience that you want, just make sure that you use a legitimate service in movie downloading. A little homework can go a long way. - 40727

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