Legal Movies Download: How You Could Be Downloading Illegal Movies Without Knowing It
Marc Sandford
April 28, 2008
When it comes to easy access to lots of great entertainment, times couldn't be better. This is due to the rise of the Internet and the greater use of broadband in homes all over the world. With this great abundance comes worrisome issues concerning ethics and safety.
These issues of ethics and safety are the main motivators for most of those who use sources that provide legal movie downloads. What you might not realize is that you may be unintentionally making illegal downloads of copyright protected movies. Therefore you may be placing your computer and privacy at risk through exposure to viruses and spy ware that may accompany these downloads.
Avoiding spammy and amateurish looking movie download sites is not enough. Even professional looking web sites that run a legitimate business can lead you down a path that results in illegal downloads. Although you might have paid a membership fee and the business owner has honest intentions, it can still happen.
So how can this happen? If the web site promises access to millions of movies for a small one time fee of about $25, then he is probably selling you the software and the know-how for downloading movies from a peer to peer (p2p) network. He is telling the truth because the number of downloads to be had from p2p is enormous and you are getting value for your money if you previously lacked the knowledge and means to use p2p networks.
The problems arise when you know enough about using p2p to get yourself into trouble. If you're using p2p in complete ignorance of its risks and hazards, then someday you may damage your computer with a virus or have your personal information compromised because of spy ware. And because you paid your fee to a legitimate membership, you'll be happily downloading lots of movies illegally in complete ignorance.
You can't count on your anti-virus program to give you 100 percent protection against all of the viruses that reside in p2p networks. These programs can only target viruses and spy ware that they have specific definitions for. Viruses that are new, obscure, or a modified version of something well known, will not be recognized by your anti-virus software.
The rule of thumb for determining whether a movie is legal is that if it is extremely old (a black and white movie is a good indication of this), then it is probably in the public domain and has no copyright. If the movie is a fairly recent Hollywood blockbuster and can be downloaded for free on p2p, it cannot be downloaded legally. If you'd like to find the exceptions to this rule of thumb, then a lot research will be required.
Downloading safe and legal movies off of p2p networks is not the most relaxing thing to do at the end of the day. It's hard to enjoy oneself when plagued with doubts and fears about the movie file that you've just downloaded. Researching the copyrights of movies isn't exactly entertainment either.
It may be a better idea to find a reputable download site that has it's own collection of movies that are guaranteed safe and legal and doesn't send you off to a p2p network. No business owner can make guarantees with the use of p2p anymore than your ISP service can guarantee you safety from the hazards of the Internet. If you're using p2p networks, you are on your own.
Get an inside view of two well known legal movies download sites that do not rely on p2p networks. One has a great movie selection because of it's connections with the big Hollywood heavy hitters. The other does not. If you want to download legal movies, read this review.
These issues of ethics and safety are the main motivators for most of those who use sources that provide legal movie downloads. What you might not realize is that you may be unintentionally making illegal downloads of copyright protected movies. Therefore you may be placing your computer and privacy at risk through exposure to viruses and spy ware that may accompany these downloads.
Avoiding spammy and amateurish looking movie download sites is not enough. Even professional looking web sites that run a legitimate business can lead you down a path that results in illegal downloads. Although you might have paid a membership fee and the business owner has honest intentions, it can still happen.
So how can this happen? If the web site promises access to millions of movies for a small one time fee of about $25, then he is probably selling you the software and the know-how for downloading movies from a peer to peer (p2p) network. He is telling the truth because the number of downloads to be had from p2p is enormous and you are getting value for your money if you previously lacked the knowledge and means to use p2p networks.
The problems arise when you know enough about using p2p to get yourself into trouble. If you're using p2p in complete ignorance of its risks and hazards, then someday you may damage your computer with a virus or have your personal information compromised because of spy ware. And because you paid your fee to a legitimate membership, you'll be happily downloading lots of movies illegally in complete ignorance.
You can't count on your anti-virus program to give you 100 percent protection against all of the viruses that reside in p2p networks. These programs can only target viruses and spy ware that they have specific definitions for. Viruses that are new, obscure, or a modified version of something well known, will not be recognized by your anti-virus software.
The rule of thumb for determining whether a movie is legal is that if it is extremely old (a black and white movie is a good indication of this), then it is probably in the public domain and has no copyright. If the movie is a fairly recent Hollywood blockbuster and can be downloaded for free on p2p, it cannot be downloaded legally. If you'd like to find the exceptions to this rule of thumb, then a lot research will be required.
Downloading safe and legal movies off of p2p networks is not the most relaxing thing to do at the end of the day. It's hard to enjoy oneself when plagued with doubts and fears about the movie file that you've just downloaded. Researching the copyrights of movies isn't exactly entertainment either.
It may be a better idea to find a reputable download site that has it's own collection of movies that are guaranteed safe and legal and doesn't send you off to a p2p network. No business owner can make guarantees with the use of p2p anymore than your ISP service can guarantee you safety from the hazards of the Internet. If you're using p2p networks, you are on your own.
Get an inside view of two well known legal movies download sites that do not rely on p2p networks. One has a great movie selection because of it's connections with the big Hollywood heavy hitters. The other does not. If you want to download legal movies, read this review.