Are there really such things as "busters?"?

Question

My friend told me once that if you download music from a free source, people called busters will bust your computer because if you download it free, the artists can't make any money. She said that they would just basically somehow get something into your computer that would keep it from working. It sounds very silly to me, but I was wondering whether this was really the truth? Also, if not true, what *could* happen if you download music from free sources?

Answer 1

Yeah the sources are free but they are not totally legal.  The busters cannot enter your computer and cause any harm.  They are actually monitors and they check the IP addresses of people using the sites.  The problem is that you may think you are downloading a song and someone loaded a virus in it.  

Answer 2

With all the debate on this issue right now, the most likely answer is that your internet service provider could be looking at the type of data you are downloading and report you to the RIAA or MPAA.

I have never heard the term "buster" before and don't think that it is the case at all.

If I were you, I would be careful about your ISP and their practices as they are getting more and more watchful of their users downloading statistics.