How Does One Actually Get All Those Elusive Free MP3s Everyone Talks About?

Most of us have spent a lot of our grey cell currency figuring out how to download free music off the Internet. While the expression ‘music piracy’ is enough to deter most of us, I think what acts as the biggest obstacle is the lack of information. This article is aimed at providing a primer on free MP3 downloads to all the gluttonous freeloaders like me. We will be looking at various options of downloading free unlimited music using peer to peer file sharing networks. We will also be addressing and understanding the potential security risks that using any of the public networks for sharing music might expose our computers to and learning how to safeguard ourselves against such hazards.

Before we get started, it is suggested that you go through the points mentioned below at least once. You never know when they might come in handy.

Online file sharing is absolutely legal as long as you comply with all the relevant copyright laws. However, once you get started, it becomes your prerogative to ensure that you share only public domain files.

Peer to peer sharing networks (P2P software) allow people to access all the files you place in your shared folder. If you use your computer to store confidential information, make sure that it is kept in a separate non-shared folder. You don’t want your bank details to be inadvertently pulled out when people search for "statement" or "bank" or any other germane keyword on a shared network.

Some files available for sharing on P2P networks can be mislabeled. These files can contain offensive, pornographic and obscene content. Sharing and distributing such material can be considered a crime.

Make sure your computer is well protected against viruses and spyware. Today a lot of free anti-virus and anti-spyware software are available on the Internet. To download these software, scroll down to the bottom of this article.

Peer to Peer Networks

Peer to Peer networks are the most popular and preferred choice of music lovers all over the world to get free copies of music and movies. Peer to peer or P2P network as it is commonly called works on a very simple concept taught to children in primary classes i.e. sharing. To be able to access these networks you require a peer to peer file sharing software. Most of these software are available for < a href="http://www.free-mp3-downloads.com/">free Mp3 download on the Internet. When you download and install a peer to peer (peer-to-peer) file sharing software you make yourself a part of the vast and expansive network which comprises of other people who use that software. You can designate shared folder(s) and drive(s) on your computer for these networks. When connected to the file sharing network, all you need to do is key-in the search criteria for the song or movie you’d like to download. Your file sharing program will display your desired song in the search result area if a file matching the search criteria specified by you happens to be in any of the connected user’s shared folder. Double click the file name and download for free. It is as simple as that. In case your file sharing program returns zero results for your search query, you may wish to recheck your spellings or broaden your search criteria. I normally store music files on my PC in the standard format (Artist Name – Song Title) but not everyone is fastidious about music file names. For example, if you’ve entered a song title and artist’s name, you may want to search again using either of those two details.

There are many free P2P software available on the Internet. All of them have their pros and cons. I personally prefer Limewire because of its ease of use and fast searching mechanism. Some of the popular peer to peer file-sharing programs available for free download are:

• Limewire
• I-tunes
• Bearshare
• Kazaa
• Morpheus
• Imesh
• Ares
• Frostwire
• Edonkey
• Grokster
• Blubster
• Winmx
• eMule

In case you get stuck using any of the software mentioned above, there are a few websites that offer inexpensive 24/7 customer care support. I’d vouch for the customer care support provided by Free Download Zone.

A quick recap to help you load your hard disk with free unlimited mp3s:

Search for a P2P software> Download > Install > Search & download media files from P2P network

Security Measures

So far we have looked at what P2P programs are and how they’ve made it easier for us to grab free MP3s. These programs however come with their own set of security related risks. P2P networks are known to be one of the most common channels for virus and spyware transmission. Considering not everyone using this shared network has ‘fraternity welfare’ on their mind, we must safeguard ourselves before we start using P2P software. Make sure you’ve got a good antivirus and anti spyware running on your computer. There are lots of great free anti virus and anti spyware available on the Internet. I use AVG on my computer and haven’t faced any problem. AVG is efficient and convenient to use.

Hackers can exploit security vulnerabilities in your operating system to gain access to your PC. Peer to peer sharing networks can act as a conduit to pass critical information. Make sure your operating system’s in-built firewall is activated. Also make sure that your peer to peer program is not blocked by the firewall otherwise you will be unable to access all those free MP3s.

As mentioned earlier, always make sure that you maintain a separate folder you’re your confidential information. You don’t want to share your private information with everyone who is connected to the peer network.

Final words of caution

Arrival of broadband and MP3 format has marked the start of a music sharing revolution. Even though it has made accessing music and other media files much easier than before, it has its own problems. These problems are however manageable as long as we have protected our computers and the interests of the original artists.

So until next time have fun downloading music!