Having a fast internet connection can be really great in that it makes it easy to achieve a lot of things. One of the many things you can achieve using a fast broadband connection is the ability to share your internet connection with other computer users around you. The great thing about doing that is that you get to save more money since you won’t be paying for another internet package but that also has disadvantages.
Sharing your broadband internet connection can be great if you know how to go about it, but it can also be very dangerous if you are not really careful about how you go about it. Below are some major disadvantages of sharing your internet connection. It is very important to consider them thoroughly before sharing your broadband internet connection.
Your Computer is More Vulnerable to attack
The first major disadvantage of sharing your broadband internet connection and something you should consider thoroughly is security. A lot of people share their broadband internet connection without thinking about the implications and later start worrying whenever they encounter any problem.
By sharing your broadband internet connection (especially wirelessly) you are making it very easy for others to be able to connect to and access your computer. This has a lot of drawbacks if you don’t trust those you are sharing your internet connection to and it can easily lead to your computer being hacked.
The best thing to do to prevent this is to ensure you don’t have any important file on the computer you are sharing. That way you will hardly be affected if it is hacked.
Your internet connection becomes slower
Another main disadvantage of sharing your internet connection is that it becomes slower. Whenever you share your internet connection you are allocating the same service meant for you alone to the number of people you are sharing your internet with. For example, if you share your internet connection with 4 or 5 people what that means is that those 5 people will be sharing the internet speed meant for you.
You can easily reduce the chances of having any problems by knowing the time your internet connection is very slow or the time you want to do something serious online and by not sharing your internet connection then.
You become responsible for other people’s act
Another disadvantage of sharing your internet connection is that you are making yourself legally responsible for other people’s act.
What that means is that since the internet connection is registered for you if those you share it with decide to use it for any illegal act you are the one who will be legally responsible for their crimes unless you can figure them out.
This guest article is written by Paul who regularly does broadband reviews for Broadband Expert.
Also, most broadband providers specifically exclude sharing your connection with anyone outside your own household – so allowing your neighbor to share would be a technical violation of your contract as well as risk the dangers noted.