Well, yes and no. Napster was virtually 100% safe as you couldn’t obtain viruses from MP3 files. However, with the new breed of file sharing programs, you can now download not just MP3s, but also executable files, zip files etc. that could contain viruses. This is the major hazard of using file-sharing programs. From personal experience, I have never actually obtained a virus from any file-sharing program before, but you still have to be careful for what files you are getting.

Here is a list of what file types you could obtain a virus from:

.exe
.com		 These files are the most dangerous file types that can contain viruses. Only download a file with this extension if you are absolutely certain that it isn’t a virus.

.bat This one could be dodgy. It's an MS-DOS batch file that can be as dangerous as an .exe or .com file, so once again, only download it if you are certain it is safe.
   
.doc
.xls
.ppt
.mdb		 Any file with this extension is associated with the programs Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Access. Now although these files are thought of to be completely harmless, they could actually contain macros which could run an embedded virus. These file types are pretty low-risk ones anywho, but download with caution...
   
.vbs This is a visual basic file script. It can be very dangerous as viruses are usually written in visual basic coding. Make sure it's safe before downloading.
   
.scr This file extension is for screensavers and might contain a virus. So be cautious.
   
.htm
.html
.asp		 These file types are associated with web sites. Now, some of you may be surprised to learn that you can actually obtain a virus from these if your Internet security settings aren't right, but this is unlikely. Another low-risk one one.


Files that are generally thought to be safe are:

.gif
.jpg
.jpeg		 These are image files. You'd find them on any webpage and that, so you are pretty safe from viruses when downloading these.
   
.mp3 These files (everyone knows what they are), are completely safe.
   
.avi
.mpeg
.mpg		 These ones are video files, and you are can't get any viruses from downloading and viewing these.
   
.txt This is a simple text file, and you can't get a virus from these files.
   
.pcx
.png
.pdf		 These pretty much function as an image file and so you are safe downloading these files. You probably recognise the .pdf format which requires Adobe Acrobat to read.
   
.dat
.fil		 These are just data files and so you aren't susceptible from obtaining any viruses from these files.

By the way, these aren't ALL the file types out there that are available, just the most common ones which you are more then likely to come across.

Oh and one file type that you may have noticed is not on those tables are .zip files. Now these files are completely safe as they are. So say when you double-click on a zip file, you can't get a virus. However, the files that are within that zip file once you've unzipped it, which could be anything depending what you downloaded, COULD contain viruses. So watch it.

Anyway, in conclusion, file sharing IS safe - as long as your careful in what you download. If you mainly just download mp3s and mpegs/avi's, (which is what most people do do), then you have a pretty much zero chance of getting any viruses.

If you are the type that downloads .exe files regularly or any of the possibly dangerous file types in the first table, then it may be a good idea to purchase Virus Protection software such as Norton's Anti-Virus, (er........or you can download it from one of the file-sharing programs ;). Oh, and remember to keep it up-to-date - Rish