Wow, that sounds extremely ominous! <smile> I've been file sharing for a long time, used most of the programmes available for this,nd have never had any trouble. That's not to say that aren't caveats. I have had a few downloads contain viruses, but as with all files from the Internet I scan them. I have had more trouble from installing shareware / freeware than from file sharing file. Cheers, Tom At 09:12 PM 1/5/03 +1000, you wrote: >Robin writes: > ><<I've used Kazaa with good success. However, make sure that you download >Kazaalite and not the full featured Kazaa with all its spyware.>> > >Treat Kazaa, and indeed any file-sharing program, as you would a glass of >hemlock. > >It's not the program or even the spyware as such, but the nasties some >cretins put out there for the innocent and unwary to download. > >It's now come to light that there's a security flaw in Winamp, which will >allow registry keys to be secretly placed in your registry via an >apparently innocent .MP3 file, which will then execute any destructive code >some stranger wants to place inside your computer. Alexa and Hotbar have >been secretly downloading registry keys for ages, so nothing new there in >principle. > >The short answer to downloading ANY file from a complete stranger >is---DON'T. Seems there are several nasties floating around Kazaa right >now, as a lot of people are suddenly getting things screwed up. You'll >find that most tech advisors will advise against using such software. > >If I were to use any peer-to-peer downloading, I think I'd download all >such files to a completely isolated Drive or an old computer first. Then if >anything gets screwed, it's simple enough to reformat to clean things up. I >wouldn't be relying solely on any a-v software to keep me 100% safe. > >A glance at Symantic and other similar a-v sites will reveal the sorts of >nasties these cretins are putting out onto the Web. > >The idea of peer-to-peer sharing is great, as long as you are aware of the >risks, and the possibility that you might have to reformat. There's always >someone out there who wants to ruin it for the rest. > >Don Penlington >Free computer tutorials at: http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/ PCSOFT maintains many useful files for download visit our download web page at: http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml