A few years ago, P2P file sharing was fairly safe. We cannot say that is true in the present day. Malware writers are increasingly and aggressively exploiting P2P. P2P security measures are easily circumvented. A large percentage of files available P2P networks have been deliberately infected with some form of malware. Most P2P file sharing programs are configured to automatically launch at startup and are also configured to allow other P2P users on the same network open access to P2P network as P2P programs form a direct conduit on to your computer. This makes systems vulnerable to data and identity theft and enables them to be vehicles for spreading malware.

Some P2P programs will share everything on the computer with anyone by default. If your P2P program is not configured correctly, you may be sharing more files than you realize. Even if you change those risky default settings to a safer configuration, the act of downloading files from an anonymous source greatly increases your exposure to infection. That is because the files you are downloading may actually contain a disguised threat. Many very malicious worms and trojans, such as the Storm Worm, target and spread across P2P files sharing networks because of their known vulnerabilities.

Some malware removal forums ask folks to remove P2P before cleaning computers. The nature of such software and the high incidence of malware in files downloaded with them is counter productive to restoring the PC to a healthy state.

Below is a list of P2P and torrents. This list of P2P programs is by no means exhaustive.

List Courtesy of Hoov at SpywareHammer

360Share Pro	Aimini	AlienIdol	Alliance P2P	AllPeers
Amishare	AMule	Anatomic P2P	Anonymity application	Anonymous P2P
Anonymous remailer	ANts P2P	ApexDC ++	Apollon	Applejuice
Arctic Torrent	Ares Galaxy	AudioGnome	Avalanche (P2P)	AXXo
Azureus	BCDC++	BearShare Lite	Bearshare Pro 6.1	Bencode
Bitblinder	BitBuddy	BitComet	BitLord	Bitpump
BitSpirit	BitTornado	BitTorrent	BitTorrent Experimental	Blubster
Broadcatching	BT Queue	BT++	BTSharp	Burst~
Cabos	Clickster	Crazaa	CSpace	DarkNET Conglomeration
DC Pro	DC++	DCC Manager	Deepnet	Deluge
DirectConnect	Distributed Networking	eAnt	EarthStation 5	EasyTracker
Edonkey	EDonkey network	Emscher P2P	EMule	eMule
eMule MorphXT	eMule Plus	Epicea	eTomi	eXeem
eXeem Lite	ExoSee	Fast Network P2P	FastTrack	FileCroc
FilePipe	FileScope	Filetopia	Flash! Torrent	FlixFlux
Foxy (P2P)	Free Net Speeder	Free Net Speeder Lite	FreeCast	Freenet
FrostWire	fulDC	Fusteeno	G3 Torrent	GiFT
Gimme P2P	Gloster	Gluz	GnucDNA	GNucleus
GNUnet	Gnutella	Gnutella2	Grid casting	Grokster
Gtk-gnutella	Halite	Hornet	Hydranode	i2Hub
I2P	i2Phex	I2Phex – Gnutella over I2P	IFolder	iMesh
Imesh Light	iMule	JavaShare	JetiANts	JMule
JNapster	Jubster	Kad network	Kazaa	Kazaa Ghost
KaZaA Lite K++	Kazaa Lite Resurrection	KCeasy	Kdrive	Key-based routing
Kiwi Alpha	KMLDonkey	Kommute	Kontiki	Koorde
Ktorrent	Lan2P	Libtorrent	LimeWire	LinuxDC++
Lopster	LPhant	LPhant Plus	Mammoth	Manolito
Marabunta	MasterMax	MFC-Mute	MLDonkey	Mnet
MonoTorrent	MoodAmp	MooPolice	Morpheus	MorphXT
MP3Rocket	Musicom	MUTE	MyNapster	MyTunes
NapMX	NapShare	Napster	NeoEdge Networks	NeoNapster
NetShare	Network Magic	Nicotine	Nodezilla	Nova P2P
Nova Torrent	Orbit Downloader	OFF System	One MX	Open Media Network
OpenFT	OpenNap	Opentracker	Osiris	Osprey OpenNap Client
OurTunes	Overnet	P2P Muzic	P2P-Next	P2PStorm Client
P2PTV	Pando	PeerCast	Peersites	PeerTracker
PeerWeb	Perfect Dark	Phex	Phosphor	Piolet
Poisoned	PowerFolder	PPStream	Proxyshare	QQLive
Rapid Finder	Razorback2	RetroShare	RevConnect	Rodi
RShare	rtorrent	Ruckus	Rufus	SababaDC
Scour	Seedbox	ShakesPeer	Share	Shareaza
Shareaza Plus	Sharelin	ShareNow	Sigster	Sneakernet
SocksCap	SolarSeek	Soribada	Soulseek	Speedy P2P
StealthNet	StegoShare	StrongDC	StrongDC++	SUMI Anonymous
Super-seeding	tamiltorrents	TED	Tesla	The Circle
Torrent Searcher	Torrent Swapper	torrentflux	TorrentFreak	TorrenTopia
TorrentSpy	TorrentStorm	TorrentVolve	Tracker scrape	Tribler
TrustyFiles	Turbo Torrent	TurboBT	Turtle F2F	uTorrent
Valknut	VeryCD	Vuze	Warez P2P	WASTE
WinLop	WinMX	Winny	WinZO	Wirehog
XBT Client	XBT Tracker	XDCC-Fetch	Xeem	Xfactor
XMule	Xnap	XoloX	Xtreme Mod	Yet ABC
YourBittorrent	Zeus	ZipTorrent	zK++	Zultrax

To remove the P2P program:

1. Click Start > Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
3. In Add or Remove Programs, highlight the program that you want to remove, click Remove.
4. Close the Add or Remove Programs and the Control Panel windows.
5. Using Windows Explorer (Windows key+e), search for the folder. If the program folder is still there, select/highlight . DELETE it. (File > Delete.) If Windows is not installed on the C drive, replace C:\ with the appropriate drive letter.
6. Close Windows Explorer.

Please refer to these articles for more information:

P2P file sharing: Anticipate the risks before you download your first file

Malware: Help prevent the Infection

IM And P2P Malware Threats Nearly Triple

How to Prevent the Online Invasion of Spyware and Adware

Cyber-criminals Use P2P Tools for Identity Theft, Security Analyst Warns

Identity Thieves Lurk in P-to-P Networks

Woman Fined $222,000 for Music Sharing

If you use P2P programs, you will probably get infected.

Wiki Articles

Perils of P2P File Sharing

How to Temporarily Disable Your Firewall

How to Disable Anti-Malware Scanners Before Cleaning

How to Disable Anti-Virus Programs Before Running Fix Tools

How to Install and Run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Computer and Browser Slowness: Malware?

Free Security Software