Do you (or your kids) have a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing program installed on your computer? There are many out there. Kazaa, Limewire, Bearshare, Shareza, Ares, etc. There is a serious privacy issue if the person who installed it does not know what they’re doing.

Usually these programs will scan the hard drive for media files to share right after installation. Most people limit it to locating media files, such as audio and videos. However, it’s surprising how many people will allow the program to more or less share their entire hard drive.

A blog post from last year said it all: People Share The Darndest Things (no longer available). This person was able to download random bank statements, tax returns and check scans to name a few, from these file sharing networks.

If you have a P2P program installed, go into the options and find out exactly what it is sharing. The program should be limited to a folder or section of your drive dedicated to sharing media files. Never let it share your entire hard drive.

More information this topic coming soon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Privacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.