Naturally, fine, upstanding members of society such as yourself would never engage in illegal online file sharing. So let’s just assume you’re not getting pirated games, movies or music this way – just legitimate software demos, mods, user-generated content, fan-made updates, bonus levels and other wholesome content. With that out of the way, one important thing worth keeping in mind: Taking part in the wild word of BitTorrent and peer-to-peer networks is still a dangerous gamble in terms of allowing viruses, trojans and spyware to take up residence on your computer.
For those new to the practice of trading files through P2P distribution services, Cybercrime News has put together a handy hints and tips sheet on how to protect yourself from identity theft, security breaches and hackers gaining unwanted access to your Mac or PC. From BitTorrent basics to simple, everyday advice for keeping personal files, folders and sensitive data separate from publicly-traded information, we chimed in with a few useful tidbits on how not to give more than you receive – and in the nicest possible way at that. Among the top items on our checklist:
- Stay skeptical of misspelled files, data housed on foreign servers and content with low reliability ratings as voted by other users.
- Look for files and servers that enjoy high success rates and content ratings as indicated by the user community.
- If possible, do all uploading and downloading from a separate system than the one which you house sensitive data on.
- Keep a close eye on which files and folders on your PC are authorized for others to access content from.
- Make certain your firewall and virus scanner are up-to-date, and active at all times – especially before running downloaded programs.
For the full rundown, you can have a look at the complete story here: File Sharing 101 – Norton Cybercrime News
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Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.