What happens if caught? Depends on where you live and your ISP. Cox Communications will send you an e-mail telling you not to do it again then delete all records of the event (after my first warning e-mail I called them to ask what they were going to do and they had no clue what I was talking about so I'm assuming they deleted all trace of the event. And I've received 3 of these e-mails btw, 1 of which was for something I didn't even download). Now if your ISP does give out your info, then you'll have fines, probably a lawsuit, and possibly jail time or, if the judge goes easy on you, community service.
The jail time and community service is mostly for people distributing the files though, not the ones downloading the files. How often do people get caught?
Using torrents and other peer2peer programs, people get caught by the hundreds (probably thousands) every day. As for using filesharing sites like megaupload and mediafire, I have never heard of anyone getting caught for.DOWNLOADING., but I have heard of people getting in trouble when.UPLOADING., but even then I've only heard of that happening on rapidshare on very very rare occasions.
How easy is it to get caught? If you are using anything peer2peer it's dead easy for them to catch you because peer2peer, by it's very nature, requires for everyone to have everyone else's IP. However, copyright violation is a civil offense, not a criminal offense. Your ISP is not required in the USA to give out your personal information unless you committed a criminal offense. So anti-piracy groups can get your IP, but they can't turn that into any kind of real information like a name or street address unless they can get you on criminal charges as well or if your ISP is a pushover.
Using filesharing sites like mediafire and megaupload the only way they can get your IP is if the site gives it to them, and they are not likely to do that for piracy. Though they might for something like the blueprints to the pentagon or something along those lines =P. Do they track every download you do? What they are currently doing to catch pirates is going on p2p networks like torrents and gnutella and logging all the IPs that are downloading or uploading certain files, then sending letters to those people's ISPs. So they track it by the file, not by the downloader. Now there has recently been some talk about how an IP address might not even be enough evidence to convict someone because of the growing number of unsecured wireless networks. So if you have an unsecure wireless network and get in trouble, just deny everything and say it must have been a neighbor.
Aug 11, 2016 Steam is a legitimate Games Store owned by software publisher Valve - so is safe to use and purchase/download/play games from there. Official website is www.steampowered.com - incase any strange web results returns any other sites.
They can't prove it wasn't a neighbor and they can't get a warrant to go search your neighbors' houses. Under the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' this is a perfect defense, however if you are on civil trial I believe (but I'm not 100% sure) you are actually 'guilty until proven innocent'.
Since copyright violation is a civil offense you might get off the criminal charges which include the fine and everything, but you'd probably still lose the lawsuit. It's really difficult to say for sure because anytime someone is sued or otherwise gets in trouble for piracy, either they are a member of 'the scene' and get in BIG trouble because of all the criminal stuff they've done (scene members also tend to get into other illegal things like fraud and such), or they are a clueless nobody who doesn't know which end of the mouse plugs into the computer so they confess up front because they don't know how little proof is really against them. I however can personally testify that Cox Communications doesn't give a rat's right foot if you pirate or not. Lol we never know if anyone has been caught and what happened to them, i asked the same question on another forum.
All I know is that if u feel endangered just stay off of downloading files for a while and stay away from unsecure sites. Your changes of catching a virus is higher than the fbi knocking down at your door.
Also Ur IP is beening tracked right know and the fbi is knocking at ur door, take your computer and flashcarts and jump out the window and cross the canadian border u should be safe there.
Steam and its impressive catalog of games Steam, accessible via its, is also accessible as an easy to use to program that gives you access to its services through a functional desktop interface. With Steam, you can purchase the most popular video games, along with lesser known titles and free demos, thanks to a long list of developer partners.
Games are divided into different genres and include full game descriptions. Steam is available for both PC and Mac. The Steam client also maintains it's social dimension, allowing you to share a lot of information and content with a very active community.
The forums can help you find interest groups or partners for casual gaming. You can also connect with friends to discuss or start a game. Last but not least, Steam's known for its great promotions that can lower the price of games by up to 75%. Keep your eyes peeled so you don't miss out on a bargain. Quickly download new games Steam requires you to create an account in order to start acquiring content, but it's a quick and effortless process.
The interface is very similar to the website, and downloaded games are installed directly onto your computer in just a few seconds. You'll find all purchased games in the library, where you can manage them in multiple ways, including a section for Recently Played and Favorites. Another big advantage of Steam is that game updates are automatic, so you won't have to worry about frantically searching for a patch. Unfortunately, Steam does have a few issues, and it's outdated interface has started to show its age. Loading store pages is often slower with the client, and you can't open different pages in different tabs, meaning you're forced to wait for a page to load without being able to do anything else.
Navigating the catalog isn't always easy, and it's sorely lacking in maneuverability when you want to randomly browse through playlists. This is especially apparent considering that the list of games coming out every day continues to grow, without there being a real way to navigate these new titles.
Finally, it's increasingly common for new games to require activation through Steam to work properly, a security method which makes it impossible to share games with friends.