Following up on Jon's post a couple weeks back about the potential dangers of P2P file-sharing software, A+L's Mark McKinnon has a piece running today at the Daily Beast about the true cost of downloading "free" content from P2P networks:
Of course that's bad on an individual scale, but it's nothing compared to what could be in store for the owners of computers infected with the Conficker virus. McKinnon explains:
Unbeknownst to users, many P2P applications can make all of the files on a user's machine or network available, not just the songs and movies that users intend to share. They're also sharing tax returns, online shopping receipts, bank statements, passwords, credit information, and more available to the identity thieves and cybercriminals, who eagerly prowl P2P looking for these lucrative nuggets. That's a lot to give away in exchange for music than can just as easily be acquired at a low cost on sites like iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and other online music stores. The copyrighted material may seem to be "free," but the price of getting it illegally can be quite expensive.
That wake up call is certainly a grim silver lining.
Once activated, the virus will link together a massive network of hijacked computers that could be used for any number of nefarious activities. One of the more startling possibilities is that it will enable the virus' creators to search and access the information in every file on every one of the infected computers. Think of it as an underground and malicious Google that would mine the world's computers for financial and personal data, and then sell it to the highest bidder.
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