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Are unlimited media downloads legit?

Posted By : of Data Doctors on August 5, 2004

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What can you tell me about www.winmx-software.com as a download media for movies/music, etc. Their prices seem reasonable (perhaps too reasonable) and I am curious if they are a legitimate outfit or one that is trying to scam the music industry. Trying to avoid getting involved with litigation such as occurred with Napster and Kazaa not long ago.

- Jay

This question was answered on August 5, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.


The popularity of file-swapping on the Internet has created quite a bit of confusion among law-abiding, well meaning Netizens When Napster went from an illegal downloading program to a legitimate pay-per-song download site, it just added to the confusion.

When it comes to any media related site that deals with copyrighted materials, the first sign that something is not above-board is when a site offers an ‘all you can eat’ plan for music, movies or software for a fixed fee.

In order for an artist to be properly compensated for the materials they create, there must be a way to charge for each time that the item is downloaded.

In the case of the Winmx-software site, how could a measly $1.50 per month even begin to cover the actual costs for the thousands of songs, movies and software programs that could be downloaded by a single user every month?

How could legitimate sites such as iTunes.com possibly stay in business charging $.99 per song if the competition could legitimately charge $1.50 per month for an unlimited number of downloads?

The answer is simple…they can’t If you read closely the site states that it is “100% legal software” which technically is true…the software itself is legal but what you do with it is a completely different subject all together.

And, they fail to mention that the software that they are selling you for $1.50 per month is actually freely available at hundreds of other sites, including (you guessed it) www.winmx.com.

These sites are trying to fool you into thinking that since you paid (someone) that you are somehow absolved of all copyright laws, the laws of gravity, inertia and cause and effect for that matter!

Do not pay any site that does not specifically charge you per song (as that is the only way for the artists to get fairly compensated) unless you want access to a worthless music library (no big name artists) or worse yet, encourage you to participate in illegal activities.

By the way, another obvious tip-off on the www.winmx-software.com site is the fact that if you try to view the “Privacy Policy” by clicking on the link at the bottom, it takes you to the order page If you to click on the “Technical Support” link, it takes you to the order page If you click the “Contact Us” link it takes you to the order page.

These clowns didn’t even take the time to complete the fake website knowing that a majority of the users would blindly fall for the scam because it was ‘such a great deal!

This is just another example of the old adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, especially on the Internet Kudos to you for checking before clicking!

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of Data Doctors on August 5, 2004

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