Does peerguardian really work?

[armysgt1]

I use utorrent to download tv shows that I've missed off the internet and I have a relative that told me they heard a lot of people getting busted for illegally downloading music with these types of programs while using comcast internet. I was just wondering if peerguardian really helped or is there is any program that would keep me from getting in trouble. I don't download music but I'm not sure if old tv shows are ok or not. Thanks

 

[CrayonMuncher]

Sorry we cannot discuss this you may want to look at the rules

http://www.computerforum.com/52038-forum-rules.html

as it is obvious that what you are doing isnt legal, old or new tv shows are protected by copyright unless otherwise stated, which if stated it is usually very clear.

 

[armysgt1]

Ah sorry, forgot about that!

 

[Nanobyte]

I add that Peerguardian is a legitimate application for blocking IP addresses including malware and information-gathering sites. For normal surfing it can be counter-productive. Just like cookies, many sites will not properly load if you are blocking some of the third party sites.

 

[Twist86]

Course its not a illegal program, however it is illegal to download TV programs. Now I asked mediacom once about this out of curiosity and they claimed if I have the channels on my cable then its viewed as a VCR recording so long as its TV rip not DVD. Still its illegal to speak and or help others in this area.

However peerguardian offers you no real protection. Neither does encrypting your traffic or anything else that claims to keep you safe. Even VPN networks while much safer still offer you very little protection for those that are going after you. There are a few ways I know to minimize exposure drastically but again it wont keep you 100% safe. Your ISP keeps logs of everything you download and as soon as the bills are passed (and they are pushing hard this year) your ISP will rat you out.
I myself run PeerBlock as they have a list called "sites" and it blocks infected sites from connecting to my browser. This lowers your chances of randomly clicking links and finding yourself in a malware riddled website.


So the best bet is to just not do it. Most the stuff on TV/Music/Movies all suck anyways and are not worth downloading...especially once you get either prison time or a $5000 fine.

 

[Nanobyte]

The forum should solve people's problems and educate. Not everyone is savvy. Simply referring to the rules may be valueless to those folk. A brief explanation of why a subject, or part of a subject, is against the rules is hugely superior.