IRC is a GREAT place for downloading free stuff, aslong as you have a virus scanner and the newest virus definitions you are set
BULL! IRC is a disgusting place to download software on. Forget about virus scanners, they arn't going to save someone with this attitude. Do you think that AV companies are on top of a virus the minute it is finished being written? Not a chance. Give it two - three weeks and you might get a solution to a new virus. Remember that they have to be written, distributed in a file or website, then propagate from one computer to the next, then the next, then the next, and so on. By the time an AV mob find out about it 1000's of people will have infected machines.
The only thing you got correct there is that, yes, people should use anti-virus software, but not solely for the reasons you state.
BTW: dont use kazaa. Morpheus is the same thing so its not worth getting either
Very true. Wares distributed on P2P networks are just as prone to virii and trojans as they are on IRC. Fewer people get infected though, but only because, like a flock of misguided sheep, they use IRC and FTP instead.
Why buy when you can get for free..
I can think of a few reasons.
1. Apply the same principles to motor cars. I could go past your house and knock your car off simply because I feel that I don't have to save money and buy one. If I did, how would you feel?
2. Software authors do have to eat. Their work, just like whatever you do, puts their daily bread on the table. I, for one, have collected various pieces of software over the years to try out, though I do this on an old machine. When I choose to use a software package, I don't have a problem with going out to Dick Smith, Grace Bros, Harvey Norman's, David Jones, etc (Australian department stores) and buying the software.
3. When you get software out of the box you are getting a better product. It is more stable, comes to you without the risk of virii and has support and a destruction manual. Even alot of Unix based applications are no longer freeware. The top level versionof Star Office being one.
If you continue to enjoy ripping off software developers and loading your computer with downloads from IRC then all I can say is enjoy having a slow, unstable computer, because that is exactly what you will end up with.
