Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Legal Movie Download: The Hazards of Downloading Online Movies

By Marc Sandford

So you want to use the Internet to get some freebie Hollywood blockbusters? Perhaps you are doing some research because your friends are doing it. Or perhaps you've developed an addiction to the free stuff already and have downloaded a few. You may want to pause and think about it some, regardless of whether you've downloaded a few or not. A good deal of what gets on the web today was uploaded illegally and is breaching copyright law. In theory, a person is breaking the law and can be prosecuted when downloading or viewing this material.

Law enforcement as well as organizations such as the MPAA are fighting the increase in illegal downloads with great vigor. Those who download proprietary movies are exposing themselves to the possibility of legal prosecution. Though this can easily change with time, the odds of not getting caught are still in your favor.

Often, some nasty surprises such as viruses, mal ware, spy ware, or unwanted pornography can be bundled up with illegal movie downloads. It is not that uncommon to have your computer destroyed by a virus or having sensitive personal information released and exploited. This is not exaggeration, particularly if you are getting your downloads from peer-to-peer (p2p) networks.

You might get a file that is little more than advertisements if you do your downloading from peer-to-peer networks. Before you can have access to the actual movie download they may require that you jump through hoops. These 'hoops' usually involve going to a huge slew of advertising promotions and giving out your email address.

The war against piracy of copyrighted material has been stepped up by the film and music industries. Anti-piracy measures such as criminal prosecution and loss of Internet access may become the norm as the Internet wild west days come to a close. A good deal of progress has been made in p2p anti-piracy enforcement in Europe.

However, in on line memberships, all downloads are 100 percent legal and guarantee security from computer viruses, spy ware and mal ware. By contrast, you may be playing a game of Russian roulette when downloading films from 'free' web sites. The 'one' file that seriously damages your computer might be that shared file that you've just downloaded or that required media player that you've never heard of.

In order to furnish movies and films for legal download by their customers, the legitimate on line download memberships are cooperating with the major studios. The hazards that accompany illegal movie downloads can be avoided and some peace of mind can be attained. Preserve the integrity of your bank account, your computer and your privacy by taking advantage of legal movie download memberships.

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