Ask Our Expert

Legal downloads

Our Broadband Expert says...

Dear Charl, it can be confusing working out what you can and can’t download for free. The number of illegal downloads has increased massively in recent years as broadband speeds and download allowances have increased, making it easier to download files faster.

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Music

Music piracy is a big problem. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) 95 per cent of music downloaded online is illegal.

Torrents themselves aren’t actually illegal, it is the people who share the files that are breaking the law.

However, there are a number of legal options available online.

Online radio station Spotify is growing in popularity. Once you have installed the free software, it allows you to choose a genre, artist or specific song that you want to listen to, online, for free.

If you want to download tracks to keep, you can buy single songs from just 59p or albums for £7.99 legally from iTunes.

HMV, Play.com and Amazon.co.uk also all offer MP3 music downloads that cost less than buying a CD.

Movies and TV

Unfortunately, the UK has very few legal movie download sites - and none of them are free.

However, sites like iTunes and Channel 4’s 4oD service do offer a wide selection of movies that you can download to rent or own - iTunes even offers high definition movies and TV programmes, and you’ll get a standard resolution copy too in case you want to watch it on the go using your iPod. iTunes also offers Season Passes that allow you to download a whole season of your favourite TV in HD.

Free catch-ups

Programs like the BBC iPlayer and 4oD allow you to legally watch a great selection of TV catch-ups as well as rent movies via download. Sky Broadband (www.Sky.com) also offers online catch-ups from its Sky Player service, as does ITV via its website.

There is a growing trend in the US where broadcasters offer free streaming on their own websites, so you can watch a show online even if you miss it on TV. As this becomes more popular, UK broadcasters will no doubt do the same.

However, most other unauthorised sites that you might find offering free catch-ups from a range of channels are most likely infringing copyright law.

As a BT customer you should be aware of recent reports by the BBC that BT has been throttling users of the BBC iPlayer. Although the reports were regarding customers on BT’s cheapest package, Option 1, you should still keep an eye out if your connection seems to be running particularly slowly when using these programs as Option 3 is also traffic controlled.

YouTube

Although there have been some issues surrounding the copyright of videos on YouTube - the website has now removed a lot of content - it is perfectly legal for you to watch anything that has been uploaded to the site - and it has a host of interesting clips to watch - including some from BroadbandChoies.co.uk.

Software

There is a lot of free software available legally on the internet - you can get antivirus protection, picture editing programs and even movie-making software all for free.

Because of this, it can sometimes be tricky to work out if something is free and legal, or a breach of copyright. The best way to work this out is to go direct to the manufacturer’s website. If it is offered for free on the company’s own site, then download it from there, safe in the knowledge that it is a genuine, legal copy.

Internet security

As well as concerns regarding the legality of internet downloads, you also need to be careful about viruses and other internet security issues.

Make sure that you always have up-to-date antivirus protection, such as Norton or McAfee, installed on your computer to protect you from trojans, viruses and hackers and never download something if you’re worried about where it’s come from.

Compare broadband

Although you’re already on an "unlimited broadband” package, you could save money - and even get faster downloads - by switching broadband provider.

Suppliers like O2 Broadband (www.O2.co.uk) and Be Broadband (www.BeThere.co.uk) are particularly aimed at people who want to make the most of their broadband, with speeds of up to 20Mb and 24Mb respectfully, “unlimited” downloads with extremely generous fair usage policies and award-winning customer service.

NB Best buy tables (white background) are always current.

Examples in the text of the article (orange background) are correct at time of publication.

Ask us a question

If you have a general switching or provider query please email us at OurExpert@broadbandchoices.co.uk

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