1 Part of the problem is that I am very leery of P2P programs. I don't understand how they work in detail, for instance. I know that while I'm using one of them, I'm hosting uploads as well as doing downloads, but I don't know what controls just what someone else gets from me. Does it mean my disk is wide open for plunder? The one I was using (which I got from Pixy Misa back when) didn't tell me.

I also know that P2P programs are a really good way to get your computer infected with all kinds of marvelous malware.

And in any case, music videos collectively and AMV's in specific just don't do anything for me. It really doesn't interest me at all; there just isn't any spark when I watch them.

Sorry.

2 I know you're not much interested in AMVs... we exchanged e-mails regarding that a year or so go. *shrug*

For what it's worth, AMV.org isn't P2P, they do straight download from their servers ('local download', they call it). Which is what makes it such a great thing: no virii of any sort.

Also FWIW, I've used P2Ps for a few years now, and have yet to catch any ickware, virii, whatever. As far as HDs open to plunder, you tell the program what directories are open to be d/l'd from, and that's all it'll look at... in theory. I've seen no sign of that being untrue, but I'm no software expert.

Practice safe surf.

3 I use P2P a lot. I'm one of those people that "file sharing afficionados" hate. I installed the software and set it so I can download but that it is never to share anything from my machine (ever)! I've never been good at sharing... ask my sister. I believe in the virtue of selfishness! And yes, unless you're running some kind of anti-virus/adware/malware software on your machine... P2P is a wonderful way to catch all kinds of stuff. It's the casual sex of the computer world.

4 SDB's reservations about P2P reminded me of this news story from a few months back.

Having previously dealt with malware-infested computers as part of my job, I'm pretty wary of P2P networking software myself. The only exceptions I make are for BitTorrent (which doesn't really count as a P2P network) and Winny (which has raws of obscure shows and other stuff you can't get anywhere else).

5 Andrew, could you explain why BitTorrent doesn't count as a P2P? Is it because of the 'distributed' nature of the downloads?

6 BitTorrent is P2P but isn't a P2P network. Every file shared using BitTorrent is basically its own standalone network. That's why I like it. While I'm downloading file X, I'm sharing that file. When I stop BitTorrent, I'm not sharing anything at all. On that basis, it's no more dangerous than FTP.

Meanwhile, I seem to have lost the login for the AMV account I created after I lost the login for my AMV account when all my computers died at once.

Meh.

And I even donated money, so double meh.

7 If I could get him to watch just two, it would be CCS/Silent Lucidity and AL/When Angels Deserve to Die (and I'd have a DVD in the mail tomorrow if he'd let me .

And yeah, AMV.org is its own host. Some of the videos linked there are stored offsite, but it makes it pretty clear where you're d/ling from. It's one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread--and has gotten me into at least a half dozen series that I would never have watched otherwise.

8 Uh, Pixy just about covered it.

The only thing I'd add is that it's almost impossible for a single malicious individual to effectively distribute a virus using BT. Most P2P viruses spread by making themselves available for P2P download from the victim's PC, as with the Antinny virus mentioned in that article. They have the potential to spread exponentially--if a machine infects n other machines, each of those could itself infect n others, et cetera ad infinitum. With BitTorrent, however, there's still only one torrent no matter how many machines get infected, the survival of which depends on the willingness of victims to actively continue sharing the file that infected them.

9 "...it would be CCS/Silent Lucidity..."

A fine video... takes itself a little too seriously, but a fine video nevertheless.

10 Yeah, Pixy is right. BitTorrent is different. HOWEVER, you still can get in trouble if you use a malicious client. For that reason I only use the mainline and Azureus. Mainline allows me to run downloads disconnected, with all computers shut down for the night except the server where btdownload runs. And you can rebuild them from the source if you want.

Andrew got a point too. Since the checksums are stored in the central tracker and are reasonably strong, it's not possible to modify contents of a torrent. But I'm not completely sure that it's impossible to spread viruses over torrents. The key component is some kind of torrent publication service. Virus authors would need to incorporate postings to TorrentReactor or TokyoToshokan or something. I thought about possible attack vectors a bit, but they do not come out universal enough.