Most of us are Internet users with many years of experience. However, that does not mean that we are more or less conscientious about security or anonymity. In this aspect much will depend on our knowledge and prudence. But what you may have heard of is computer piracy and the content it offers. Among them we can find computer software, games, series, movies, music and books. What not everyone knows is that downloading this type of content has its risks. In this article we are going to see what online piracy is and what its dangers are.
What is online piracy
Online piracy could be defined as the downloading and distribution of copyrighted content digitally without permission. This content includes software, games, e-books, music and movies. As a general rule, it is considered that any form of copyright infringement can be called piracy. In this case we are referring to copyrighted digital copies of works distributed over the Internet.
Without a doubt, it must be recognized that online piracy increases year after year. Surely this increase is mainly due to how easy it has become to download this content for any user with average knowledge. In that aspect, for an average user it is not difficult to set up a P2P program like eMule or BitTorrent or find a direct download website with copyrighted content. You may be interested in knowing the concepts of Peer, Seed, Leech and the ratio of P2P networks.
Current piracy and Warez
Some of you may wonder why online piracy is so successful and popular. Surely this is due to the desire of Internet users that all programs, games and other digital content on the Internet be free. Currently, a good part of piracy is related to P2P programs where Torrent-based clients are the favorites. For this reason, websites such as 1337x, The Pirate Bay or Rarbg are successful and have become an icon of current piracy.
Moreover, regardless of these websites, some users also access pirated content through Discord, Telegram, and many other applications. Although it must be recognized that currently, online piracy is largely dependent on BitTorrent, cloud services and illegal streaming sites. Furthermore, VPNs have changed the landscape of online piracy. Thanks to them, they allow users to remain anonymous while downloading pirated content. You may be interested in learning how to connect to a VPN with OpenVPN.
We should also not forget about OTT services related to modern piracy. In that regard, users can now watch movies, TV shows, and series on the first day of their release even for free.
Despite copyright laws, many groups post content online for anyone to download. These groups are known as the Warez scene, we can define them as a worldwide, clandestine and organized network of pirate groups that specialize in illegally obtaining and publishing digital content for free.
The dangers of online piracy
The digital content that online piracy offers us a priori can be very tempting. However, we must bear in mind that if we access this type of content we are going to expose ourselves to certain risks. The first thing to note is that it is safer not to get involved in this kind of illegal downloading if you want to be safe. The reasons are several:
- Authorities can track what content a user has pirated and face lawsuits from the company that owns the copyright.
- Our device can be susceptible to many viruses and malware. For example, a game crack may contain a Trojan that ends up giving a cybercriminal remote access to your computer.
- Depending on the legislation of the country you can face fines or have your Internet connection cut off. At the moment, in Spain this is not very frequent but one day suddenly it can be established.
Finally, from RedesZone we advise you not to use online piracy for security reasons or at least be very careful if you use it, especially because of cracks in programs and games.
