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File sharing

Posted on 13 Aug 2008 at 11:29

We anticipated these systems might be less safe than BitTorrent, but were shocked at how right we were. We used LimeWire to download 123 randomly selected files. A remarkable 37 of them contained malware, including the Puper.G and DNSChanger trojans and the Sality virus. Around a third of our infected downloads were deceptively named, with executables made to look like music files.

A 30% infection rate is worrying enough, but it isn't the only risk associated with LimeWire and its companions. These clients share entire folders, rather than individual files as with BitTorrent, making it possible to accidentally share more data than intended. This could result in your personal data being lost, or even legal consequences if you end up sharing copyrighted material.

Yet these programs remain popular, especially among teens. "There are masses of teenagers using things like LimeWire," observes Kaspersky's David Emm. "David Philips, who runs a malware course at the Open University, gives talks to teenagers about malware. And when he describes the particular risks of file sharing, you can see from the sheepish looks that they've all encountered these problems."

Risk rating: HIGH

If you're downloading pirated material, expect to be attacked repeatedly. Your safest course of action is to steer clear of the entire scene.

Is the virus threat real?

Author: Darien Graham-Smith