Is Limewire safe these days (a 2-part question)?

Question

FIRST: I've had 2 hard drives crash in the past and both times the infected files were in songs I'd downloaded from Lime Wire.  It happened a third time but I caught and quarantined it in time.  

NB/ I virus scan every file I download, especially music, videos, pictures, etc. INCLUDING the files (songs) that caused the hard drive crashes.  They scanned as okay but obviously still caused the damage.  I only knew because they started to flash red on and off .

SECOND: I thought I heard that the music industry started cracking down on free music sharing sites like Lime Wire.  I don't really want to go looking for trouble.

JayPVIP · Accepted Answer

Use it. Just have a good firewall and make sure it is turned on.

Firewall reviews: http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/results.php#firewalls-ratings

The music industry did crack down on them. You must pay for the song first before download. Most people just download it without paying.

satan_se_chingo_al_papa · Answer

Hundreds of thousands of people use Limewire, Kazaa, Ares and all those p2p services.  It's up to you to have a good spyware, anti-virus and knowing what you are downloading.

I have been using this svcs for years and nothing has happened because I always have a good antivirus and I know what Im downloading.  Just make sure you dont click on anything with a file extension other than MP3 or MP4, and if you see the file is less than 1024 kilobytes don't download or click on it, it's simple as that.  Another thing is always preview the songs you are downloading, if your Limewire player can't play the song while the song is downloading almost halfway then don't let it finish, just delete.

? · Answer

Lime wire is definatley illegal. If you get caught, you'll be sorry. People can sue you and you'll be fined for all the songs you download. My sister was kind of dumb and kept using it. Even when we told her to stop, she still kept using it. We eventually blocked limewire. So no more downloading for her. So do not use limewire. Better to stay on the safe side than to risk everything.

Derek88 · Answer

I don't use Limewire that much theses days. I highly recommend using Monzilla Firefox 3.0 with the 'Download Helper' plugin. This captures all the streaming content from the web-site you visit and give you the option to store it on your hard-drive. Visit a web-site like Youtube click on a video to start it then click on the animated icon for Download Helper. This also works with music that is streaming on a web-site.That easy, and it is safer than Limewire.

Anonymous · Answer

1 You basically answered you own question...as you now have found out, even the best antivirus programs miss about 20% of all malware. They MISS a lot. 

And the P2P network that Limewire connects to is loaded with viruses and other malwares.

#2  " Jammie Thomas makes $36,000 a year but says she's not looking for a handout to pay a $222,000 judgment after a jury decided she illegally shared music online and did it on purpose...Record labels have sued more than 26,000 people they accuse of sharing music online in violation of copyright laws."
From:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071006/music_nm/musicindustry_lawsuit_dc

More info:
http://timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/2007/10/jammie-thomas.html

------------------------------

#2A (Ok you didn't ask)...
SpiralFrog. Free (it's website is advertising supported), and unlike Limewire, Spiralfrog is both legal and virus free.
http://www.spiralfrog.com/

Enjoy.

Anonymous · Answer

Stay away from LIME WIRE period.  You answered your own question,  You ave been infected before what could possibly have changed?  Think about it.  Go iTunes.  It is very safe & remember getting something for free is never free.  You will get more & more viruses that will cost you money to have them removed.

Tracdoor · Answer

LimeWire contains viruses, trojans and other malicious programs. Not worth it for a free song you could get of YouTube?

And yes, someone recently got fined $20 000 for using LimeWire, if the authorities catch you, you'll be fined. And yes, it's easy to catch you once they get your IP address (easy).

Bill · Answer

I wouldint use it. My freind crashed many computers from lime wire

Anonymous · Answer

Do not use limewire it violates national internet usage protocalls.

JohnT · Answer

the best way  for you is to get  ur  music  off  videos  from youtube  its  much safer  and   very  discreet  http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/free-dvd-video-software.htm

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Is Limewire safe these days (a 2-part question)?

10 Answers