Is it Safe??

A friend suggested a P2P network for online file sharing like Gnutella - Is it safe? Can other clients transmit viruses onto my computer? If I download a file from a host, and the file is contaminated, can my computer catch the virus too? What about if it's in a format that only hurts certain systems, is it possible for my computer to be exempt at all, even if I have antivirus software and firewalls?? My friend uses it on a Compaq Presario SR1212NX model, which is a pretty good system, but intermittently, it hums. Not a loud, malign hum, more of a gentle "woosh," like a fan motor. I understand that these computers are designed with internal fans to cool down the systems, but I'm wondering if that is, in fact, what it's doing, or if that's an indicator of when someone is downloading files off of you. I'm worried that someone might steal my personal files or that the network will hurt my system. Does anyone use P2P networks like LimeWire? Does it work okay for you? Thanks for the input.

Is it Safe??virus protection

I can assure you, the hum of the PC is not a result of folks downloading files. They get old, and loud, it happens. Especially when the hard drive starts to get old, you can hear it working much more loudly. Either way, P2P is safe for the most part, they usually have built in virus blockers, which I would not depend on competely. You should always have an anti-virus installed on your PC, like Norton, for example. These are always running in the background and check any file being loading into your hard drive or memory. And as long as you keep your antivirus up to date, you shouldn't have any problems. And only download things that look legitimate (I am not condoning software or media piracy in any way) Don't download files that claim to be large programs or media files and have a file size of 22KB. A 2 Hour video file should range between 600-800MB (600,000-800,000KB) Full CDs are 700MB. You have to learn to recognize this sort of thing. If a file ends in ".exe" always be cautious because that is a PROGRAM file and could potentially be a virus. Always check the description of the file you are downloading by moving your mouse over the name of the file.