I harboured similar reservations about Hobo's advice, but chose not to air them since others know more than me about these things. He is to a large degree correct in what he says however. There are pluses and minuses to all technological advances Bob. So far as our masters are concerned the major drawback is the free flow of information, which they've had little success in staunching so far. Soon, however, they will compel ISPs to install black boxes as standard (national security of course).

You know in spite of all I've said I do wonder if the wonders of the internet are not greatly exaggerated. Politically unacceptable opinion is easily suffocated. All the controlled media have to do is ignore it, pretend it doesn't exist, deny it the publicity it seeks. After all people get their information about what is going on in the world from television, not the internet. Control terrestrial and satellite outlets and you control how people think. I agree about newspapers being in bed with politicans, but I doubt the world wide web has done anything to alter that particular arrangement.

Look before you leap is good advice. That's the problem. I DID look. I looked and found nothing untoward, nothing to indicate that installing the software meant agreeing to file-sharing. I'd have stepped back at once had I done so. So would most others, which is probably why they don't draw attention to it until your money is safely in their bank account.