What is Bandwidth Theft

Bandwidth Theft is a big problem on the internet. 

What is Bandwidth?  Bandwidth is is the measurement of useage of a website, measured in bytes, and is charged, usually monthly.

  When you go to a website, and the page starts to load, that uses bandwidth. Every picture, graphic, midi file, streaming video, all use bandwidth. 

If you find something you like at a web site, such as a picture, or a cartoon, or a pieceof clip art, and you decide to "take it" and use it on your own web page, or post it on a message board, and use the "copy and paste" method, you are stealing bandwidth.

That item remains on the server where you found it, and even though you are pasting it to another web page, it is still using bandwidth from where you got it.  It's as if someone has tapped into their water line.  The water useage is still being measured on their water meter, but the water is being used by the neighbors.  That's theft.

Most people who steal bandwidth, do it completely unaware.  They don't realize the huge costs incurred by the owners of the web sites or the web hosts.  Many sites areshut down every month when they've exceeded bandwidth useage simply because of the theft from other sites.  Many free media sites have disappeared because of this problem.  Free media on the internet is definitely jeopardized by this practice. The cost can quickly exceed the limits of a budget and many sites have closed downas a result. 

To prevent bandwidth theft, you MUST save photos and graphics correctly.  Do not copy the graphic and paste it into any web page.  You MUST right click and select "savepicture as".  This puts the item into a file on your own computer and disconnects itfrom the server.  From the file on your computer, you can upload it to your web page, message board, or personal albums online. 

Any item posted in this group found stealing bandwidth will be deleted.