Limewire...Is it safe?
By miamilady
@miamilady (4910)
United States
April 5, 2009 11:23pm CST
My kids have been dowloading music off of limewire.
I've heard different opinions about limewire. Some say it's fine. Others say it opens you up to the risk of viruses.
The way I understand it, limewire is a music "sharing" site.
People upload music for others to use. And those who want music go there and dowload it onto their computers.
I've been told that since you don't really know the source of where the music is coming from, it's kind of risky.
I assume the fact that you are aquiring music for free doesn't make it illegal.
But I guess I'm really not sure of that.
Who was it that made the news a few years back for getting into some sore of trouble for giving away music for freei? Naptster.
I'm not as internet savy as I should be. I usually here general stories about these things, but I never get all the details.
Are you familiar with limewire? Do you think it's safe or risky?
8 people like this
36 responses
@donnakristel (1704)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
as far as i am concerned, lime wire is safe but we can't count on that too. because you know how viruses hides themselves.
yes, it is a music uploading site and movies too. there are many sources but any downloading site is giving risk. viruses are everywhere.
2 people like this
@DavidReedy (2378)
• United States
7 Apr 09
Be aware of S773 and S778 of the so-called Cyber security act of 2009. The government is gearing up to start prosecuting (heavily) copyright laws, and with these bills/this act they (once it passes) the government will create a new division with the authority, this act gives it, to without cause or warrant scan your harddrive for copyright material (amongst other things). Be aware of that.
David A. Reedy...
1 person likes this
@pitstop (13791)
• Australia
7 Apr 09
Limewire is free, can be illegal and can be dangerous.
While you can protect your comp with a lot of spyware and virus blockers, there is no guarantee that limewire will not give you a virus.
About it being legal or not there's a huge debate and I wonder where it will end - to each his own!
@carolluvyou (460)
• United States
7 Apr 09
Anything off the Internet is risky for getting a virus, whether you upload or download to your computer. I've had limewire on my computer for a long while now. Yes I have had some viruses come up but I use an antivirus called advest and its free download and it works excellent. Its caught the viruses everytime before it even got into my computer. It's also the same way downloading movies - you can catch viruses.
1 person likes this
@snow_one (202)
• United States
7 Apr 09
i used to use it, and i never had not one problem with it. just use some common sense and don't download the stupid things that you know are not real. if you are looking for a song, and it shows some thing completely out of the ordanary then don't download it. and if you do get a virus you basiclly got it yourself. so just be aware of what you are downloading and limewire will work wonders for you and download whatever you want.
1 person likes this
@hisakatanokeishi (17)
• United States
7 Apr 09
Limewire is fairly safe so long as you are fairly cautious with it. I personally abandoned limewire and switched to frostwire. It has the exact same setup as limewire, but seems to work a little better and have less viruses floating around. If I were to recommend a program to use, frostwire would be first in line, limewire a close second.
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
6 Apr 09
My husband uses Limewire to download music but he does not share with others. You do have to be careful. He did get a virus from it one time. So be sure to have an up to date virus/adware program and periodically transfer the downloads to cd.
1 person likes this
@annjilena (5618)
• United States
6 Apr 09
i have used it and it seems to work fine except some thing they want you to upgrade before you get it.i have not had any problems out of it in the past so enjoy.
@rocky_rockbottom (125)
• India
6 Apr 09
I am not using limewire right now ... but I ahve used it many times.... Its safe to downlaod from lime wire .... but files with rar extensions can have viruses. So before using limewire dont forget to install & update your antivirus system...
1 person likes this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
6 Apr 09
yes, many times people will misleadingly name a file something else, like the name of a song or artist, and attach a virus or adware. Make sure you have updated and good protection on your computer.
I found it was just better to buy from a licensed site. The other is stealing, anyway.
1 person likes this
@blion23 (403)
• United States
6 Apr 09
I never have used it but I have heard that it is not very safe. There can be quite a bit of viruses because you do not actually know who you are downloading files from. It may have the name of a song but actually be a virus. I am not going to tell you to not use it but I would highly recommend it. I get my music from amazon.com in addition to a site that gets me free amazon gift cards. (it is on my profile if you are interested). I want to be safe and keep my computer virus free. Good luck and I hope you make the right choice!
@jbasalts (85)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
No! LimeWire isn't safe. Why? Because it's a FILE SHARING program. Sharing documents, music, videos, and the VIRUSES and SPYWARES of course. There are some search results that are somehow irrelevant and sometimes the file being downloaded is entirely different. There are lots of viruses being shared. This is one of the weak points of the program. So better secure your PC with a Firewall and Anti-Virus/Spyware program to protect your system before you try this program.
1 person likes this
@mhulsey (5)
• United States
6 Apr 09
Yes it was Napster that got people into a lot of trouble.
I find limewire to be very great. I use it a lot and have had no problems with it. The only thing I find is that you need an up to date Antivirus software running while you download and open zip. for ext. files. Those are the files that contain virus a lot. Other than that... I love it!
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
6 Apr 09
I've heard a lot of good reports about limewire and a few not so good, so I tried it. It didn't suit my computer and slowed everything down, so I uninstalled it again. I don't think it's illegal to take music from that particular site. It probably tells you that somewhere. Some are covered and others are not, because I believe they pay royalties, like YouTube.
Brightest Blessings.
1 person likes this
@mkchaves (530)
• Canada
6 Apr 09
i download music from limewire. But, it's not safe. :( Downloading from Limewire of Torrent is always risky. I minimize my download now because of the virus threats. But there are no other way we can download music/movies for free. :(
@00BleedingShadow00 (784)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
Limewire is safe only if you have the "Premium Account." But if you only have the basic, free account, your pc is at risk for viruses, worms, and spy wares. I have a friend who told me that you can avoid virus from invading your pc if you are going to scan the file that you have downloaded in limewire with anti virus software. Don't open the files that you have downloaded without first scanning it with antivirus program like AVG.
1 person likes this
@mira91 (985)
• Singapore
6 Apr 09
I think it's risky. I do not use limewire anymore, i think i heard it from somewhere that it was illegal even though it's a P2P software. I don't know why...There are still torrents, why don't authorities shut them all down and make everything in the world illegal.
Now I use my own way of 'obtaining' music. I hope you'll make your decision to find other ways to 'obtain' music and stuff.
1 person likes this
@SheillaBabes (9)
•
6 Apr 09
You cannot be sure whether limewire is safe or not. but dont take the chance. some files that you download may contain dangerous viruses because they are taken from other peoples computers but then again some files can be safe... just depends on what exactly you are downloading. IF you still want to have limewire and download stuff on it, its good to have a ANTIVIRUS a good one is NORTON. but if your computer is not protected then dont use limewire for your own safety.
