You've just got a new Zune or other media player, and you're dying to get that song that you used to have on a record. You search the internet and find it!

It's free! All you have to do is give them your email address and it's yours. So you start to download it and the next thing you know, you have pop ups every time you open your browser, your anti-virus is complaining about trojans and trackware and your personal information is being copied around the internet.

There were signs. A page full of banner ads (some of which you had to avert your eyes from), pop-ups, flashing icons - and you thought you could just download it and transfer it to your Zune.

This happens everyday - all they want is a free song - it won't hurt to download one free song - and they immediately regret it.

This happens every day. The reason these illegal copies are free is that the people who steal them don;t have the highest moral character! They take advantage of people downloading music, and steal much more than music copyright.

Fortunately, people are realizing that illegal downloads from these sort of sites are something to stay away from from the beginning. They are starting to realize that they aren't really saving much, and the damage to your computer, and possibly your life, could be significantly worse.

There are options, today, to download music that are proven to be cost effective - pay per download from Zune Marketplace or amazon.com or membership sites where you pay one fixed charge for unlimited, lifetime downloads. These are places where you can look for that tune, and download it knowing that you won't be downloading viruses or spyware.

It is worth it, for your computer and your peace of mind, to always download songs from a legal source that you can trust.