A resourceful guide highlighting the risks you expose yourself to by torrenting.
Ever thought of joining the torrenting bandwagon to download free files? You are not alone in an era where technology and simplicity control almost everything, tech enthusiasts are taking nearly everything into a whole new level. But, what is torrenting?
Going by the popular definition; torrents are simply files fed with metadata from movies, songs or photos you download from a P2P (peer-to-peer) chains. The one thing that distinguishes torrents from other files is that a single administrator does not manage them. Besides, they are also not distributed by an only website admin.
Individuals in a peer-to-peer network trigger the files to begin downloading. They then share the data they’ve downloaded with their peers. This makes torrenting a quick, and straightforward way of downloading essential files from the web.
The primary question that troubles most users is whether torrenting is legal. Well, before joining the wave, we’ve put up a resourceful guide highlighting the risks you expose yourself to by torrenting.
Now, torrenting itself is not a crime. Downloading copyrighted materials via torrents is a crime. Either way, downloading files from a torrent client could only be considered legal if the files are not copyrighted.
Note that the laws and penalties against piracy vary from state to state. The standard way of tracking those who violate these laws is the government using copyright trolls, and agents to snoop over torrent networks. Here they will list the IP addresses, of active peers, and seeders.
They then forward a settlement letter with your details to the ISPs, who will then contact you with two options. You either pay a specific fine or face the court.
Most torrent sites are ridden with malware and viruses. This is mainly common with games, and software that will require you to install before executing. The loss of destruction of your vital data could be severe or mild depending on the virus’ target.
Having a virus on your PC can also slow down your network and at worse delete vital system configurations, and components.
Now, there are torrents which will guarantee you that there is no malware in their files. You can never trust them anyway.
The damage you are likely to incur due to malware, and virus attack can be costly. It’s therefore essential that you do your scans before opening any unsolicited file.
Loss of personal data is another grave risk you could be exposing yourself to by joining a torrenting network. Note that you will be using your IP to access the systems. This would open the way for unauthorized individuals to obtain your company’s confidential information.
Either way, you could download a corrupted file, and store it together with critical information like payrolls. When this file is opened, it will infect the PC and damage your files. The result may be endless lawsuits by the affected customers and possible bankruptcy if the cases are too many.
Well, this is how it happens. If you fail to secure your IP when downloading torrents, you leave your PC open, and vulnerable to hacks.
Rogue hackers would use this opportunity to bully you and post irrelevant stuff on your company’s website. They would go as far as conning your customers. Apart from that, they are also likely to post malicious links on your site.
This will not only scare away loyal customers but will also attract tons of negative reviews.
As mentioned above, rogue online hackers mainly rely on P2P networks to gain access to your company’s critical data. When you download torrents, your IP address is exposed and can, therefore, be used by hackers to gain access to your network.
If you have no cybersecurity measures in place, the attackers are likely to succeed. The result of your business would be;
A damaged reputation can be devastating to your company’s present and future revenues. If you get hackers, customers will find it hard to trust you and are likely to spread the word that you are not to be trusted.
Once a hacker gains access to your computer, he’s at liberty of assessing all your private information. If he gains access to your networking profiles, he can use them as a weapon to destroy that privacy. They are also likely to post this information online hence opening doors for other hackers.
The cost of fixing your security issues, addressing lawsuits, and compensating customer losses can bring your business to a grinding standstill.
As far as downloading torrents provide us with a cheaper, and accessible way if accessing files, it also has its fair share drawbacks — the only defense against the mishaps is regularly scanning files and protecting documents with a password.
It doesn’t end there though let your internet safety enthusiast vpnpro.com help you browse safely.
