As tax day draws closer, Arts+Labs has been working to spread the word about the dangers of inadvertent file-sharing on P2P networks, which we've written about before (here on the DailyBeast and also on the ArtLab blog).
On Friday, Arts+Labs executive director Coley Hudgins talked to CNET about some practical advice for keeping your documents safe from prying eyes on P2P networks:
Another potential risk comes from programs that may be on the computer that you don't know about, and not just malware. For instance, if teenagers using the same computer that the tax preparation is done on have downloaded peer-to-peer software make sure the settings on the application do not allow for access to areas on the computer where sensitive data, like tax information, is stored.
Given the propensity for inadvertent file sharing, it might be wise to not use peer-to-peer programs on the same computer where tax data is located, said Coley Hudgins, executive director of Arts+Labs, a venture formed by Microsoft, Cisco, AT&T, NBC, and the Songwriters Guild of America that opposes the use of peer-to-peer networks for sharing copyright-protected content.
Of course the best way to make sure you aren't sharing things inadvertently on file-sharing networks is not to use them, especially since so much of the traffic on P2P networks is illegal, copyrighted content. If you want to steer clear of cyber criminals, it's a good idea not to use web applications that overwhelmingly traffic in stolen content.
But, as Coley told the Wall Street Journal, users who insist on using P2P applications should "take the time to understand how the software you downloaded works."
As it is in many cases, a little education goes a long way.
If you want to share documents safely, try out Microsoft's Office Live Workspace. It's an online space dedicated to the secure storage and sharing of your documents that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. If your teenager has P2P sharing software installed on your home computer and you want to store your tax info without worrying about cyber intruders, upload sensitive data to the workspace you set up on Office Live and then access it from a more protected computer, say one at work. Just make sure never to leave important items that you want to keep safe on an insecure hard drive. Also, by uploading your precious tax documentation to a workspace you prevent the segregation of your info on different machines. Then you won't find yourself playing hopscotch from computer to computer with a flash drive in attempt to gather all the pieces to your tax picture. Lastly, you can give permission to individuals of your choosing to access your online workspace, allowing your family members and accountants to get a hold of your info at their convenience, rather than having to send them each an email or a hard copy.
Check it out: www.officelive.com
- Jake
MSFT Office Live Outreach Team