Cybersafety Part 9: ILLEGAL Downloading

Few can resist the lure of a bargain, especially when it is free. But when it comes to the Internet, few things are genuinely free, especially highly sought-after products such as music, movies and computer games.

Unless the product has a price tag, there is a good chance it is illegal, and may also be infected with malware. If it is illegal, that makes the downloading of that product an act of ‘Internet Piracy!’ People may think they are saving money, or perhaps they are too impatient to wait for the official release, but it is still breaking the law when content is downloaded illegally.

Cybercriminals try to bait bargain hunters or impatient, enthusiastic users by setting up illegal download sites on which sought-after products are deliberately infected with trojans which, once downloaded onto a person’s computer, are designed to find passwords, email addresses and bank account details, and then send those details back to the cybercriminals. The cybercriminals may then seek to trade them on the Dark Web.

Music companies, themselves, may even supply deliberately virus infected MP3 files in order to dissuade would-be pirates and encourage them to buy legitimate products, instead.

The bottom line is: if it’s free, it most probably is not safe to download. The old adage holds true: “You get what you ‘pay’ for”, and when it’s free content from the Internet, you may indeed “get ‘a lot more’ than what you bargained for!”

So be cybersafe: pay for a legal copy and protect your privacy. Do not succumb to the lure of piracy!