The perils of Limewire and other peer-to-peer programs

I have troubleshooted a large amount of virus infections and have been noticing some common trends with customers that have viruses and those that don’t. One of the trends for virus-prone customers is the usage of peer-to-peer programs such as Limewire. Using Limewire and similar programs is the equivalent of sending your child into a different stranger's home each time you start a download. This software allows you to make a direct connection with another person's computer and you can unknowingly download virus infected files or open yourself up to getting hacked.

If you must use a peer-to-peer file sharing program, don't leave your computer connected to the Internet, install antivirus & firewall software and change your settings so that you don't share folders. Folder sharing is a default feature with the Limewire install that allows others to search for music and other media on your computer. This can be equated to leaving the back door to your home open, welcoming intruders.

Even with the above precautions, using peer-to-peer software is still dangerous. Thankfully there are safer, free and non-peer-to-peer options for downloading media on the Internet such as the Free YouTube to MP3 Converter. This software can be download from: http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-YouTube-to-MP3-Converter.htm.