Reduce the risk and avoid getting busted by the RIAA and MPAA

The MPAA and the RIAA target specific file sharing (pirating) activities. Namely, the distribution of copyrighted material. Those that seed and share downloads through P2P file sharing networks are highly targeted. Thus, protecting yourself is of prime importance. The best part is that it only requires a few simple steps.

Go Private
Use private torrent tracker sites only.
Public torrrent sites leave you wide open to be discovered. Your IP address can be easily found out which can lead the authorities right to your door.

Use 3rd Party Tools

Use a service like PeerGuardian and most importantly, use an updated peerguardian file.
If you don't know what PeerGuardian is, you should check it out. You can also download it (free) at http://phoenixlabs.org/pg2/


Use Proxies or VPN's
Either use a proxy that is based in a foreign country that won't care about U.S. DCMA and copyright laws, or only connect to torrent and file sharing sites via a vpn connection.


Use Built in Encryption
Use the encryption setting on your torrent program.


Fly Under the Radar

First and foremost, avoid the *hot* new release titles. Movies and albums that are recent will have more attention focused on those that are sharing them. These are always watched for much closer than older movies and albums.
For example, 'harry potter and the half-blood prince' will have more net cops tracking it than 'ghost busters'.

Use 1-way Downloading

Use limewire or frostwire to download files. These are one-way programs, so you can download directly without ever having to uploading.

These steps are not a complete guide, but rather a quick few tips to follow. They will undoubtedly help the casual user. For the more serious file sharer, you will need to follow some additional steps.