Free Toefl ibt Practice test complete: Kaplan & Barrons

Hi there mntbaqs,

This is a bit of a sensitive issue - so first let me say that it is great you really want to help out other test takers. Sharing ideas and resources is a great thing.

However, you (and all other netizens interested in downloading TOEFL publications) need to be aware that the files available there on rapidshare are pirated and completely illegal. The person who posted the files there is risking prosecution, and I believe copyright laws allow for people accessing and downloading the materials to be prosecuted as well.

I happen to know one of the senior managers at Kaplan, and he passed on some information about this to me. Not only are the Kaplan lawyers aware of pirated materials from their publications being loaded up on rapidshare, they are in the process of serving their second official take-down notice to them. That means you can bet that Kaplan, and possibly other major publishers as well, are carefully watching that site and monitoring who uploads and downloads pirated materials. Is it really worth being charged with a criminal offense to save yourself 40-50 dollars?

Piracy has other major effects as well - and as a published author I feel pretty sensitive about them myself. When many people start accessing pirated versions of publications for free, what do you think happens? Publishers and authors make less money, and in turn they may need to raise the prices for the publications they make. So in effect, the people stealing the materials end up making the materials even more expensive for those honest people who try to purchase them legally. Also, as an author I have a lot of iBT materials in progress. I often ask myself - what is the point of spending all these endless hours developing and making this stuff if someone is just going to steal it and start distributing to anyone and everyone? If time and expertise can be equated to money, then I am actually being robbed. I'm sure other authors and their publishers feel exactly the same. It isn't a good situation for anyone in the longer term.

Getting back to basics, the Kaplan and Barron's materials are reasonably priced, top quality, and can often be purchased second hand at a huge discount from people who have already completed the test and are moving on. If you are genuinely serious about your TOEFL preparation, you won't take shortcuts and waste time hunting only pirated versions of materials. Do it properly, and legally.

So please do share and help each other, but please do so within the bounds of not only the law, but also basic ethical consideration.

Best wishes,

~ Jason