[pchelpers] Re: Limewire

Hi Bonnie

Great that you asked first! Although opinions seem to differ, 
this one looks like it at least used to be another rogue program, 
but it may be OK now. In any case, there are good alternatives 
without any spyware.

Here are alternatives that have been proven to be safe by a 
reputable expert (the author of Spybot):
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/articles/infected_and_clean.html
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/articles/file-sharing-apps.html


Ekhart
.
.
.

PS
This part is only for those who want more info, not for any who 
prefer grass or prefer the wood to the trees, not to mention 
their names or more detailed info...

I also like to keep the results of research so that i don't have 
to again spend time on the same topic if it comes up again. I 
hope no one thinks i should put the results in some separate file 
on my computer or that they and the time spent should evaporate 
when i close the browser, and if someone does, they shouldn't be 
reading this anyhow (-: Soon i'll have time to put this 
information on Scott's site so that i can just put a link in my 
answer instead of scaring people with too many "trees".

Here they talk about a spyware-free version of Limewire:
http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/2002/cleanlimewire.html
Clean LimeWire is the parasite free version of LimeWire that hit 
the Net in its official release version on January 5th

but this links to the "official" download site 
http://www.geocities.com/burk017/
where they say
The Clean LimeWire Project has been voluntarily discontinued at 
the request of the developers.
At the time of this writing, LimeWire no longer includes spyware.
Please visit the official LimeWire Website to download this program.

Very few negative comments, none very convincing or savvy:
http://www.download.com/3302-2166_4-10340249.html?pn=1&fb=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limewire

But:
http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/l/limewire.asp
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/LimeWire_win95/


General tips on determining the safety of a program:

The easiest way to find information on a program is to just enter 
the name in Google. The first few entries will lead you to the 
program's manufacturer or author, so you have to read anything on 
those sites very critically. I usually don't spend more than a 
few seconds looking at those because i don't like reading 
legalese and fine print. Also, if the program is provided by 
scammers or criminals, it wouldn't mean much if their privacy 
policy etc. promised to be honest...

So, skip the first few entries and look at links to any reputable 
sites, if you recognize any. This can be misleading though. Some 
big magazines have become unreliable or downright dishonest due 
to commercial interests. For example, i was very surprised to see 
a positive article on an old version of Limewire (probably still 
full of spy- and adware) on PCWorld, even though this is usually 
reliable.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,8221,00.asp

(If a Google search produces dozens of short references to 
different sites that all offer program, it is almost certainly a 
rogue program whose promoters have bought dozens of sites to 
flood the beginning of the Google search result)

The next step is a Google search with the name of the program 
plus the word "spyware".

The next step is to search one or two reputable security sites 
for info on this program:

http://forums.net-integration.net
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm
www.spywareinfo.com
Tech Support Guy
TomCoyote

Looking at user comments at Download.com is also a good idea, 
especially since they offer so much junk there -- that way, 
there's a good chance even dubious program will be reviewed there 
by others who got hurt before you. This kind of research might 
take 10-60 minutes, but it will save you hours and hours of time, 
nerves, and maybe lots of money too.

Installing SpywareBlaster is also very important because it 
prevents installation of known spyware (keep updating it regularly)
www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html






Bunnywebbit wrote:
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> Hi...anyody here familiar with a music program called "Limewire"?  Think =
> it is safe or not?  Thanks for your ideas...Bonnie
> 
> 
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