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From Other Guides • They Really ARE Watching You!

If I were a songstress, I'd sing laments over the loss of Napster, leaving us to fend for MP3's in the darkest alleys of Cyberspace. As with any mirky part of town, crime is rampant. In this case, the replacement distributed networks dish up more than the coveted music files. LoveLetter, the MP3 killer, is making its way up the music charts on KaZaA. Before you download "Loveletter in the Sand", better make sure it's not "LoveLetter, Files Be Damned." Predictably, KaZaA's terms of agreement indicate a hands-off approach to problems such as these, leaving users to fend for themselves.

KaZaA is not the only such peer-to-peer file sharing network compromising users' security. Gnutella and Morpheus use similar technology to allow thousands of strangers to share files amongst the group. All participants in the network are given the same rights to file sharing, a significant percentage of which may be viruses and other forms of malware. In the case of the LoveLetter virus which uses a double extension ruse, default settings in Microsoft® Windows makes the virus appear to be a legitimate MP3 file to the inexperienced user. This includes a friend of mine who regularly peruses KaZaA in search of elusive music titles. As I pointed out to him, one bout with LoveLetter and he stands to lose alot of his favorite media - including his prized DragonBallZ .JPG collection. Nonplussed, he patiently explained that he thwarted the potential by using the preview feature of KaZaA and by "starting to play" the file when 100Kb had been downloaded. His belief was that the virus wouldn't play, he would know it was not a valid MP3, and he could simply abort the download. The problem is that LoveLetter is only about a tenth of that size, weighing in at approximately 10Kb, which means it will have downloaded to his system long before he gets to test his theory.

Besides overwriting files on the system, LoveLetter is a mass-mailer that automatically sends itself to users listed in the Windows Address book. With the popularity of distributed networks such as KaZaA on the rise, a subsequent increase in the numbers of mass-mailing email worms can be expected to rise in concert. My advice? Abstinence from MP3 file-sharing networks is the best means. If you absolutely can't avoid the temptation of MP3 files, show support for Napster any way you can. Since they verify the integrity of all files - ensuring an MP3 really is an MP3 and not the LoveLetter virus - it's a safe means to swap music. Until then, stay away from distributed networks and download or purchase MP3's only from legitimate websites. It takes a certain amount of effort and diligence to defend your own system in the best of circumstances. Why on earth would anyone want to compromise themselves by linking up to a bunch of strangers for whom security is obviously not a concern?