Just the other day, I revved up Jdownloader which is one amazing software that grabs and downloads files from sites like Rapidshare and Megaupload. Access speeds go breakneck. On a DSL connection, a 100MB file arrives in a few minutes. And that’s for concurrent file transfers.
Normally, I love snagging MP4s and Mp3s that have become public domain. Freeware ebooks are another target. You should see my portable 300Gig Buffalo drive. It’s nearly full of the stuff. Maybe I’d be 80 and never have used half of them!
Still I like downloading, so started browsing for other file types merely to check what was available. Using gappon.com to sift the the terabytes of files on rapidshare et al, I discovered multiple iterations of Win7. Woah. That was surprising. You’d think Microsoft would hire armies of web spies to shut down such pirated copies. But here they were, over 1000 different versions of Windows 7.
There was WinUltimate_HackerParadise. WinBasic7_Nephalim. Even Win7UltiYangChow! (Does hat come with noodles too?)
All the windows on my networks are registered and original but I got curious with some of these shady copies. One, Win7DarkHeavyEdition in particular boasted 50,000+ downloads.
So I began downloading. 
Mind you, it was merely to clinically dissect what people where grabbing. I planned to delete it anyway.
It took some 2 or so hours to procure the 2GB installation file, and just 20 minutes to install. The package offered a bonus of MS Office and 300MB of other stuff. It even came with virus scanners!
But there’s a catch. Run independent virus scanners and you’ll discover a veritable zoo of malware. The package has AVG Internet security, but it appeared to have been castrated to allow the rootkits and legions of viruses to wreak havoc on unwary downloaders. As if to further fool the user, the lovely desktop screen had watermarks bragging “100% Secure”
Yeah right.
Before you visit file libraries, be wary. There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
