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Not only has it been suggested that such file trading be made a felony but the RIAA has been hammering ISPs and employers in an attempt to get the names of those who are engaged in such illegal activities.

Of course it's hard to argue against the recording industry taking reasonable action to protect the rights they have protected by law is it?

According to the industry, every traded file or burnt CD represents a loss of revenue for them and the artists whose works they sell.

Then there are those who say that file-trading actually increases music sales by allowing people to sample music they might have otherwise not bothered listening to -- and who knows, there may be some truth in that.

The recording industry however, is determined to clamp down on all forms of illegal copying, even going so far as to tell blatant lies about the scale and effect of the problem.

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One of the more ridiculous things they've wanted to do included being given the legal right to hack into people's PCs in order to determine whether they have any illegal music on their disks.

Fortunately this idea seems to have met significant resistance -- but don't be so sure that it's not about to happen.

If the industry can't get legal permission to hack into your PC from outside, maybe they'll do it from the inside...

What am I talking about?

Well consider this: the new generation of "enhanced" (aka copy protected) CDs have an auto-run facility. Yes, just like many software disks, they automatically load and start running a startup program whenever they're popped in your PC's CD drive.

If you just wanted to listen to a few tracks while working at your PC this automated feature is a real pain in the backside but I'm betting that sooner or later it could be a whole lot worse.

What's to stop the recording industry from using this auto-start facility to covertly install a little daemon that regularly scans your hard drive for music files and then reports the contents of your collection back to head office?

Such code is not without precedent -- numerous "big name" software companies have done such things at one time or another. It's also something that could be easily disguised as being simply a method of ensuring that you are advised of new offers or automatically obtaining extra "features" over the Net. Ninety nine percent of the unwashed masses wouldn't even know it was happening. You only have to look at how effective all that other spyware is to see that this is quite a practical approach.

Download a few MP3s or (in New Zealand) even rip a couple of tracks from CDs you've legally bought) and the next thing you hear could be a couple of suits with search-warrants knocking on your door.

Of course the recording industry could defend such spyware by simply saying "only those with something to hide have anything to fear" -- but we all know how lame that excuse is.

So how do you avoid this potentially risky situation?

Well there are several solutions:

• Don't download or rip copyrighted music
• Don't buy "enhanced audio" CDs -- boycott!
• Disable the auto-start feature on your PC or hold the shift key down whenever inserting an "enhanced" or unknown CD.

Once again, the recording industry seems to reloading and looking for its feet.

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