Tips for safety in file sharing on a wireless network

Whether you are on a regular network or a wireless network there are certain things that you need to keep in mind about file sharing. One thing that you really need to keep in mind when it comes to file sharing is that in actuality file sharing can be very dangerous because of the risks that are associated with file sharing. And unfortunately these risks are even more of a factor when it comes to file sharing on a wireless network. But in order to fully understand the risks that you are opening yourself up to and the things that you can do to help keep yourself safe you need to first understand what file sharing is.

Basically file sharing is sharing your personal computer files with other users, or basically exchanging your computer files with others. How file sharing works is through technology that was made available through the internet. Basically what happens is that the internet is used to share the files that are stored on people's computers with other people around the world. One of the most popular versions of file sharing is peer to peer applications; a great example of this type of application is the sharing of music files. But something that you need to know is that no matter which kind of application you are using file sharing poses certain risks to your computer.

Here is a look at some of the risks that are posed through the use of file sharing.

Risk one:
One of the biggest risks that you face is the installation of malicious code on your computer. What happens here is that when you are using these types of files there is no way to tell ahead of time if the files are trustworthy, unless you are getting the files from your friend, but even then there is still certain risks. Most of the time what happens is that the code is transmitted through the files that you are downloading so that once you download the file your computer becomes infected with anything from computer viruses, spyware, Trojan horses or worms.

Risk two:
Another risk that you take when using file sharing on a wireless network is that you are risking the exposure of personal or sensitive information. The reason that you are exposing this information is that people can easily hack into your system if you have it open, you actually give out the information to trusted people or because you have fauiled to block access to certain directories.

Risk three:
Another risk that you face is opening up your computer for attack. The reason for this is that some applications will require you to open up certain ports on your computer so that you can share files; this can even happen if you are using a wireless network, once those ports are opened you can actually be given attackers access to your computer.

But just because you are facing certain risks when it comes to using file sharing on a wireless network that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the service at all. The problem is that many people don't know how to be safe when using the file sharing technology on a wireless network. Here are some things that you can do to help keep your experience safe and friendly.

Tip one:
The first thing that you need to do is to stay away from any peer to peer applications that you have never heard of. You are going to want to make sure that you research the applications that you are using and use only applications that have a good history.

Tip two:
The second thing that you are going to need to do is to make sure that you install a good firewall; you can ask people for any recommendations that they have or do your own research. But you want to install and enable a firewall so that you can prevent some infections because the firewall will block the malicious traffic before it can enter your computer.

Tip three:
The other thing that you can do to help keep your computer safe is to install and use anti virus software. But when using this software you are going to want to be sure that it scans all files that are being downloaded before they are downloaded and you want to make sure that you do weekly scans, as well as update your software regularly. The reason for this is that new viruses are being created daily so new measures must be created to protect your computer from these virsues.