Avoid Getting Caught and Comparison of File Sharing Services Explained

To avoid getting caught it is not necessarily just a matter of avoiding participation in the exchange of copyright material, it is also a matter of avoiding specific services and technologies. Individuals sharing material in the public domain, such as a motion picture to which no copyright restricts, still seem to draw the attention of those seeking to track down infringements.

Do not download or share copyright material online

Key Point #1: There is some degree of risk when using peer to peer even if it is legitimate use. This is due to some lack of technical knowledge and a level of corruption, and over regulation in government. The major copyright holders are wealthy and powerful, and have in recent history influenced lawmakers into overreaching regulation that can place legitimate users at risk as well as violators. "The more you widen the net, the more dolphins get caught in with the tuna."

Key Point #2: Mitigate risk by not participating in the acquisition or distribution of copyright protected material, other than for legitimate purposes. iTunes, with a paid account is an example of a legitimate acquisition.

Quite seriously, you are no more safe from a law suite by any measure less than completely disconnecting yourself from the Internet. Exaggeration? Technically, no. Practically, yes. However, the best defense is having no Internet connection where you are being accused of a copyright infringement involving your online activity. The degree of risk increases as does your online activity.

Innocent web surfing, and stumbling onto a youtube video embedded into someone's myspace page can result in you conducting an infringement, however, the probability of legal action is fractionally small. As activity increases, and disregard, risk increases, until an individual gets caught for openly sharing a new release motion picture on his personal homepage as a direct ftp download from his own account, which would increase the probability of getting caught to almost certainty. It is a spectrum of risk and probability.

practical legal consequences

People face civil liability if caught exchanging copyright protected material, such as a motion picture. There seems to be nearly no criminal prosecution for this activity, for the individual, with the exception of those hosting quantity or deriving revenue by hosting for facilitating the activity. Individuals caught tend to be sued and settle for fines between $500 and $5000 according to sources (2012). Although there is risk when downloading, there seems to be more risk when uploading, as in sharing.

Key Point #3: Criminal prosecution has so far been reserved for those profiting by operating a business with revenue based primarily by facilitating the unauthorized exchange of copyright material. Individual non-commercial users face law suites with monetary penalty, as opposed to incarceration. That is the distinction between criminal law and civil law.

Key Point #4: For those still willing to take the risks involved with participation in file sharing, legitimate or otherwise, there are considerations, such as understanding which services and technologies are more intensely monitored, and what can be done to obscure an individuals online activity.

This information is for research purposes only.

file sharing services and technologies risk analysis

An individual known only as "Himanlickman" offered one of the best comparisons of the various file sharing mediums online, and a comparison of risk and content.

"Nobody has ever been caught downloading copyrighted material over Usenet. I think people only get caught with DDL sites (Rapidshare, Mediafire) if the place gets raided, and they can only request the downloaders IP's of a specific file, normally new movies. Plain torrenting is obviously the worst, and people get caught a lot. Peerblock helps a lot, and a good private tracker puts you at about the same safety level as DDL sites. If you use Tor with any of the 3 methods, you have very little chance of getting caught, and if you use a good VPN that doesn't log, you have virtually 0% chance of getting caught, even if you upload. (Considering getting AirVPN for this reason)

Torrents seem to have the best file availability, and then DDL sites, and then Usenet, which is why I don't get Usenet very often. Looking for a new main strategy though, and I really don't trust plain torrents, even with Peerblock. I have no idea how safe most proxies are, but I've considered just using free proxies with DDL sites to avoid the wait time, but the speed is still slow, and I wouldn't get premium because there are too many different hosting sites."

source: Safety comparison of different downloading methods Torrent - Usenet - etc. Although this author is either humble, or lacks confidence in his summary, it is actually quite accurate.

Risk Level Scale, from most risky to least:

1. . Offering for direct download from your personal homepage any CM (copyright material).
2. . Seeding (sharing) CM on peer to peer networks such as bittorrent from your direct IP address.
3. . Downloading CM from peer to peer networks such as bittorrent from your direct IP address.
4. . Using bittorrents or peer to peer via a 3rd party VPN or proxy service so your direct IP is obscured, or using newsgroups "USENET" to exchange CM.
5. . Using any of the above technologies to exchange only public domain material, or material you create.
6. . Not exchanging any content on the web. (A read only surfer).
7. . Unplugging yourself from the Internet altogeather.
8. . Death. If you are deceased, then it is unlikely any party will successfully receive a judgement against you. A dead person commits no crimes or copyright offenses.