Does Frostwire and Bearshare give a computer viruses?

Nope. All these services are bascially doing the same thing which is letting lots of people share files with each other. Those files could be anything and there is no guartantee that just because the file name says that its the first 36 minutes of HP7part1 that it actually is.

Yes they spread viruses, they are what you call P2P networks, and they are one of the most guaranteed ways to infect your computer. As @Lightlyseared has said, absolutely anyone can share anything and call it anything they like.

Imagine the file is a prostitute, and you are worried about catching something. Well, the files on P2P networks, like LimeWire and Bearshare would be the same as a crack addicted prostitute that service 100 guys a day, passing from person to person.

@poisonedantidote as poignant as your metaphor is, Frostwire and Bearshare are not themselves viruses. They are simply computer applications. The files that you can download with these services might contain viruses, but are certainly not like prostitutes. Whereas prostitutes are violated by every person that “uses” them, most people that download and share files via these services do not attach extra viruses or malware to them. There are plenty of legitimate uses of peer-to-peer filesharing. Of course, as you so aptly pointed out, anyone can share files, so a high level of caution and side-by-side antivirus packages are requisite. If you’re cautious and a savvy user, your chances of getting infected is quite small.

@desiree333 for better quality, use Bit Torrent instead of Frostwire or Bearshare.

Personal exprience, Bear share ruined my computer. Do not, I repeat do not use bear share.
Use UTorrent, my computer works great using it. But be sure to downlaod ‘trusted’ torrents.

@camertron Yes, the applications them selves are not viruses, but the rest of what you said is only mostly true. There are some exceptions where the files may be infected and shared.

e.g. User1 uploads a video game, ripped directly from the store dvd, no viruses at all, they upload it as “red alert 2 (full game)”. User2 downloads the game, but, they need a crack or a keygen, they download a crack and a keygen that are infected with viruses, and they reupload the whole thing as “red alert 2 (full game) + crack and keygen”. User3 downloads the file, and the virus spreads.

Also, directed @desiree333 i should point out, that Limewire, Bearshare, and all these P2P programs all tend to connect to the exact same networks. So by changing from one to another, in most cases, all you end up changing is the app and not the source.

@poisonedantidote fine, but that’s really nothing a good couple of antivirus programs can’t handle. If you’re really concerned, you could always do your downloading inside a virtual machine.

@camertron Well, anti virus will only protect you mostly, its the metaphorical condom. 99.9% safe.

Personally, i go with rapidshare, megaupload, hotfile, things like that, and i just download them to an actual other machine, an old one that dont matter. (I like the virtual machine idea, had not thought of that, would help a fair bit, specially against mallicious DLL’s)

btw, im all for downloads, i just dont trust p2p too much is all

Lets be honest the risk from downloading stuff from p2p isn’t from getting a virus but from atravting the attention of some dodgy unscrupulous law firm that’s gonna try and make a fast buck from you.

The programs themselves are purely a middle man for you downloading a virus or trojan.

Personally, I have yet to get a single virus from P2P so I am going to say that most people are rather paranoid, or at least uninformed.

That said, it is easy to get a bad file that is infected with something. The main reason I have yet to be infected is not that I run a better-than-average anti-virus program (many commercial AV programs are <95% effective, and some of the popular ones are <90%), but that I can separate the wheat from the chaff. The file sizes are a large clue, and there are other hints, but weeding out the bad apples really is almost an art form and thus not easily taught.

The truth is that P2P is about as dangerous as driving a car. With a little skill it is quite safe, but for the untrained and/or klutzy people it can be quite dangerous. P2P is a solid example of Caveat emptor, but given that many people seem perplexed by technology (and especially computers) many otherwise intelligent people get into big trouble with P2P and wind up downloading the wrong thing and not having a good enough anti-virus program to stop what happens next.

P2P is not inherently dangerous. It won’t give you a virus, but it will let you go out and get one for yourself if you tell it to. The trick with all things tech-related (including P2P) is to remember is that it will do what you tell it to, so make sure that what you tell it to do is what you want it to do. For instance, if you want to stop a car, most people hit the brakes. That will tell the car to stop the wheels from rotating, but whether or not that actually stops the car is another matter entirely, as anyone who has ever driven in the snow can tell you.

Thanks everyone for your opinions. I have decided to uninstall Frostwire and start using Demonoid.

@jerv my thoughts exactly. Good antivirus and a healthy dose of common sense will keep you safe from most P2P virus possibilities.