Photo by US Army Korea – IMCOM via Flickr
A recent revelation from the Federal Trade Commission tells us that personal information was shared from the computer networks of nearly 100 organizations. They also said this information is accessible on peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks, and thus available for all users of each network. This is dangerous because users can utilize this information for identity theft or fraud.
P2P file sharing is “the ability to share files over the Internet directly from one Internet-enabled device to another” (Washington State Attorney General). This is not only a concern for large organizations—parents also must understand that a major source of spyware is the P2P file-sharing software commonly used to share music and videos over the Internet. These sites include Kazaa, Limewire, as well as bit torrent websites. Your data and information is at risk when your or your child uses P2P to download music or video.
If you choose to use a P2P file-sharing program, be sure to specify one folder for exchanging files. Many people accidentally share their whole hard drive, which exposes all the files on the machine to anyone that uses the file-sharing program.
For more information about how to keep you and your children safe from the dangers of P2P, you can view and download the free Parent’s Tech Tutorial video from iKeepSafe and Symantec.
More resources are available at iKeepSafe.org.
Samuel Hislop is a regular contributor to the official internet safety blog of the iKeepSafe Coalition.You can learn more about child internet safety and ethics by visiting iKeepSafe.org.
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