I noticed a lot of members on the Piano World forums post their recordings using free hosting sites like www.filesave.com. When anyone of the rest of us download the file either open it or save it and then open it, are there any risks to transferring a computer virus that way? Has anyone ever gotten a computer virus by downloading recordings from members recording posts or also from downloading free software? I am kind of leary to download others recordings on the site as how do I know it's not possible via the free hosting site to get a computer virus?

Sarabande,

I don't blame you for being leary of downloading stuff from the Internet. In general these sites are pretty safe, although I am sure there is a risk that a file could be uploaded with a virus or other malware. To lessen the chances of something happening, make sure your antivirus program is current, and working properly.

Another thing to keep in mind that they do use advertisers to pay for your "free" use. This means that the advertisers and adware cookies are present as well as advertiser pop-ups, and will be downloaded to your machine.

When I am done downloading, or accessing the Savefile site, or ImageShack for that matter, I clean my system using Spyware Nuker and CounterySpy. I have also never received a virus from either of these sites.

In regards to doing a run from intead of a save to, I recommend saving the file to your hard disk this way your installed real-time antivirus program will have a chance to scan the file for you just in case there is something nasty in there. By saving the file to your computer, there is also less bandwidth problems, and the music will most likely play smoother from your disk.

The thing is any computer connected to the Internet should be loaded with a regularly updated antivirus and anti-spyware programs. These programs should also be configured for realtime scanning and periodic full-scanning routines.

By using caution and common-sense, you can enjoy the Internet and all that it affords without your machine becoming so badly infected that it needs to be reloaded from scratch.

Good luck, and I hope this helps with your concerns.

John