Perils of P2P File Sharing

A few years ago, P2P file sharing was fairly safe. We cannot say that is true in the present day. Malware writers are increasingly and aggressively exploiting P2P. P2P security measures are easily circumvented. A large percentage of files available P2P networks have been deliberately infected with some form of malware. Most P2P file sharing programs are configured to automatically launch at startup and are also configured to allow other P2P users on the same network open access to P2P network as P2P programs form a direct conduit on to your computer. This makes systems vulnerable to data and identity theft and enables them to be vehicles for spreading malware.

Some P2P programs will share everything on the computer with anyone by default. If your P2P program is not configured correctly, you may be sharing more files than you realize. Even if you change those risky default settings to a safer configuration, the act of downloading files from an anonymous source greatly increases your exposure to infection. That is because the files you are downloading may actually contain a disguised threat. Many very malicious worms and trojans, such as the Storm Worm, target and spread across P2P files sharing networks because of their known vulnerabilities.

Some malware removal forums ask folks to remove P2P before cleaning computers. The nature of such software and the high incidence of malware in files downloaded with them is counter productive to restoring the PC to a healthy state.

Below is a list of P2P and torrents. This list of P2P programs is by no means exhaustive.

List Courtesy of Hoov at SpywareHammer

To remove the P2P program:

1. Click Start > Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
3. In Add or Remove Programs, highlight the  program that you want to remove, click Remove.
4. Close the Add or Remove Programs and the Control Panel windows.
5. Using Windows Explorer (Windows key+e), search for the folder. If the program folder is still there, select/highlight . DELETE it. (File > Delete.) If Windows is not installed on the C drive, replace C:\ with the appropriate drive letter.
6. Close Windows Explorer.


Please refer to these articles for more information:

• P2P file sharing: Anticipate the risks before you download your first file

• Malware: Help prevent the Infection

• IM And P2P Malware Threats Nearly Triple

• How to Prevent the Online Invasion of Spyware and Adware

• Cyber-criminals Use P2P Tools for Identity Theft, Security Analyst Warns

• Identity Thieves Lurk in P-to-P Networks

• Woman Fined $222,000 for Music Sharing

If you use P2P programs, you will probably get infected.