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Looks Like the End of the Line For LimeWire

Posted by timothy on from the all-squeezed-out dept.

tekgoblin writes with news that a federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against LimeWire for copyright infringement and unfair competition. A notice on the LimeWire home page says "THIS IS AN OFFICIAL NOTICE THAT LIMEWIRE IS UNDER A COURT-ORDERED INJUNCTION TO STOP DISTRIBUTING AND SUPPORTING ITS FILE-SHARING SOFTWARE. DOWNLOADING OR SHARING COPYRIGHTED CONTENT WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IS ILLEGAL." An anonymous reader points to coverage at CNET, too.

67 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Easy fix... by vistapwns · · Score: 2, Informative

    www.emule-project.com - open source, so it can't be shut down. I guess the servers could be shut down, but it also operates with a distributed peer2peer network as back up. I've been using it for years, it has almost everything.

    --
    "...I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease." - Linus Torvalds
    1. Re:Easy fix... by PCM2 · · Score: 5, Informative

      The base LimeWire client is also open source, released under the GPL.

      --
      Breakfast served all day!
    2. Re:Easy fix... by jd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Even easier fix - if a service is "Common Carrier", it is not responsible for the content on it. That is why phone services can't be sued if someone does something illegal over them, same with the post office. (Which is one big reason it's Bad Juju for ISPs to differentiate between users. If they aren't Common Carrier, they ARE liable for content. Same as newspapers or magazines are, even if the author of an article isn't a member of the staff. They're not Common Carriers, they select. Slashdot isn't liable for comments again because they're Common Carrier - they're not selecting who can post and everyone plays by the same rules - even though in many ways they look like a newspaper.)

      In the Old Days, when people used Archie to find files, the authors of FTP and Archie weren't liable for a damn thing. Common Carriers. LimeWire is perceived (right or wrong) as not a Common Carrier. Fix that perception (if necessary by fixing the code) and the law will protect it in every country that recognizes the notion. (Which is most of them, US included.)

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    3. Re:Easy fix... by Jimmy+King · · Score: 2, Informative

      Perhaps I've misunderstood, but to be protected as a common carrier, don't you have to have the government classify you as one? I don't think you get to just wake up one day and say "hey, I'm a common carrier, you can't touch me! na na na na na!" once the court/feds/whoever decide they don't like what you're doing

      This suggests that there are requirements for being considered a telecom common carrier including reports that have to be filed yearly, etc. - http://www.fcc.gov/wcb/filing.html

      I know a lot of websites put up statements about not filtering user comments, not being liable for user comments, etc. But has that ever actually been tested in court? The closest I am aware of (and I have not researched this) would be The Pirate Bay and well, that argument hasn't exactly worked well for them. Although they were not prosecuted in the US, I suspect it would have worked no better here in the US or they'd put their servers here.

    4. Re:Easy fix... by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's also still available from limewire.com

      I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to get it. :)

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    5. Re:Easy fix... by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The fact that it's open source has nothing to do with it.

      Actually that does matter. In Bernstein v. United_States the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that source code is Constitutionally protected speech.

      --
      Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
      You cannot wash away blood with blood
    6. Re:Easy fix... by exomondo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The fact that it's open source has nothing to do with it.

      Actually that does matter. In Bernstein v. United_States the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that source code is Constitutionally protected speech.

      How so? That's just the publication of source code. You certainly can't - for example - provide/run an application/service that infringes the patents, copyrights, etc... of another party just because it's open source. Otherwise all limewire would have to do is open-source their software and they'd be back in business.

    7. Re:Easy fix... by Kirijini · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Slashdot isn't liable for comments again because they're Common Carrier - they're not selecting who can post and everyone plays by the same rules...

      No.

      Slashdot isn't liable for certain kinds of "illegal" material (namely, defamation - i.e., libel) because of section 230 of the Telecom Act of '96. Basically, because it is a "provider of an interactive computer service," and because comments and even stories are provided by "another information content provider" (i.e., users like you and me), Slashdot is immune from any liability it would normally have for being the publisher or speaker of "illegal speech" (like defamation, but potentially also intrusions on privacy and the like).

      Section 230 *does not* provide immunity for copyright infringement - instead, the DMCA's notice and take-down system gives Slashdot immunity so long as it promptly takes down infringing material after being served notice by the copyright owner. A common carrier, however, would (I think) be immune to liability for copyright infringement even with notice that a user was using its service to infringe copyrights.

      Both of those safe harbors (230 and the DMCA notice and take-down) look a lot like the protections normally given to common carriers - so it's understandable that you might think that that's what they are. But its not the case. Slashdot cannot be a common carrier because it does more than "carry." It chooses what stories to publish on its website, and that kind of discretion means that it doesn't provide "common" access to its service. Further, as another poster points out, common carrier status has to be provided by law; one doesn't qualify for common carrier protections just by adhering to a certain kind of business practice.

    8. Re:Easy fix... by Khyber · · Score: 2, Informative

      "Otherwise all limewire would have to do is open-source their software and they'd be back in business."

      Limewire HAS ALWAYS BEEN open-source.

      And because of that (they tried to charge for it like morons,) Frostwire and many other fuller-featured versions came out, that worked better and had the EXACT same interface with a different-colored skin.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    9. Re:Easy fix... by lxs · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah keep the Gnutella network running!
      It diverts attention away from the kademlia network.

    10. Re:Easy fix... by MareLooke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Pirate Bay not being in the US might also have something to do with the unhealthy amount of influence certain lobbying groups have in the US compared to the rest of the world. And the legal system in general favoring groups with big wads of cash to throw at it.

    11. Re:Easy fix... by GooberToo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be an American and anti-gun is to be, literally, a walking oxymoron. But to specifically address your question, anyone who attempts to push an anti-gun agenda on Americans is a crazy person as well as Un-American. If you don't like guns, fine; I completely support your right. But to attempt to go crazy, subverting the very rights which allow you to have such an opinion, is crazy, anti-constitution, and flat out Un-American.

      I feel the same way for anyone who believes they have the right to censor speech. When you can reasonable argue people should be arbitrarily censored, then I will support your right to be anti-gun. Either case represents a serious detriment to liberty and freedom.

    12. Re:Easy fix... by jd · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm Anglo-American, raised in Britain but have birth certificates (legally) for both countries. My view on guns is non-trivial, but can be summarized as:

      • Nations with few or no guns are probably better off not getting more.
      • Some nations have been highly successful in developing an understanding between the legal and criminal organizations. Where this balance works in practice, disturbing the balance with firearms is probably not a good idea.
      • No nation has the right to tell another nation what their Constitution should be.
      • In order for the above three to be held true, nations that Constitutionally or legally protect the right to own firearms would necessarily carry a moral obligation not to export arms to countries that hold different points of view, even when that would create a technical infringement at the borderline.
      • As someone who grew up within the British perspective, I do not have the right to dictate gun policy within America.
      • However, I equally hold that nobody has the right to tell me that I should/must carry a gun or be trained in the use of one, regardless of whether I happen to live in the US at the time or not.
      • The Second Amendment is ambiguous - probably deliberately so. However, since there is no real possibility of a gentlemen's agreement being reached with criminals, interpretations that restrict gun ownership should be done with extreme care and should be done only under close supervision by criminologists and psychologists.
      • Weapons that have absolutely no psychological defensive value and whose physical defensive value is grossly outweighed by the collateral damage likely, and have no meaningful hunting value, have dubious merit. I cannot tell you they should be banned or even restricted, only that a lack of restriction doesn't appear to achieve anything. Of course, not everything "has" to achieve something.

      So, to sum up, I'm not "anti-gun for America" (because I think the situation has long-since deteriorated past the point where that's practical), but I AM "anti-gun" in the sense of America has no bloody right to tell other nations that the Second Amendment should apply to them whether they like it or not.

      I am ALSO anti-gun with regards to myself, in that I will not handle a gun under any circumstance, I will not take any orders to do so and will not tolerate any viewpoint that says I should believe otherwise. Anyone who holds that I am "Un-American" for refusing to own a gun can take a long walk off a short plank, in my opinion. Preferably off the top of a skyscraper, but I'm not fussy.

      I also firmly believe that if the situation in America changed radically, that some sort of truce could be achieved, that gun advocates should at least consider putting something on the table. Nothing for nothing. It may be that those advocates would reject giving up any freedoms, but it should be by choice and not by obstinacy.

      And that is really my bottom-line on any of this. Any view held "just because" - regardless of what it is - is stupid, naive and ultimately very destructive. Views should be considered, rational and based on the best information available at the time.

      I don't have to agree with a view to agree that it is rationally-held. I don't have to disagree with a view to believe it irrational. If you believe that 1+1=2 because a purple ant told you so in a dream, it's an irrational belief. That it is true is of no consequence.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  2. Rise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    a thousand more to take its place.

  3. There are still non-torrent filesharing networks? by Arancaytar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Talk about a blast from the past.

  4. Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by decipher_saint · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... to the last virus I had (2003?).

    I'm surprised its lasted this long frankly.

    --
    crazy dynamite monkey
    1. Re:Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by hedwards · · Score: 2

      Indeed, I thought that pretty much everybody that was into that sort of thing had already switched over to torrents.

    2. Re:Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by Rockoon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The advantage of P2P's like Limewire was that it did not share crappy_commercial_music.mp3 while you were downloading crappy_commercial_music.mp3, and as such you could not be fingered for the crime of distributing crappy_commercial_music.mp3 since you were in fact not distributing it.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    3. Re:Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Informative

      That is patently false.

      Actually correct. Check out Ray Beckerman's blog if you want some more information on that subject. If you're using a Gnutella-style network and you turn off sharing you aren't distributing anything. So far as I've been able to tell, all of the 30,000-odd RIAA lawsuits have been about illegal distribution, not downloading.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    4. Re:Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Informative

      The advantage of P2P's like Limewire was that it did not share crappy_commercial_music.mp3 while you were downloading crappy_commercial_music.mp3, and as such you could not be fingered for the crime of distributing crappy_commercial_music.mp3 since you were in fact not distributing it.

      Uhhh...yeah, and clearly your "logic" with "one-way" downloading of illegal content somehow saved them from a legal injunction...

      You're confused. The GP wasn't talking about why Limewire got screwed by the courts, that was an entirely different matter. He is, in fact, talking about the Limewire user base, and there he is correct, at least for those users with a functioning cerebral cortex. The bulk of RIAA lawsuits were for people that stupidly didn't turn off file sharing on their various Gnutella clients (Limewire being only one of many) and "helpful" clients that automatically shared everything they downloaded, thereby making targets out of their users. Downloading isn't where the illegality came it: it was the illegal distribution of copyright materials.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    5. Re:Ahh Limewire! That takes me back... by Rockoon · · Score: 3, Funny

      It in fact HAS to be about distribution.

      Imagine the scenario where they try to jack you up for downloading crappy_commercial_music.mp3.

      Defense: "How do you know I downloaded it?"

      Plaintiff: "Its in our logs"

      Defense: "How do you have logs of this event?"

      Plaintiff: "We were offering crappy_commercial_music.mp3 for download"

      Judge: "Case dismissed"

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
  5. Good Riddance by Haedrian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm pretty sure that the closure of limewire will cause the amount of malware in the wild to drop dramatically.

    1. Re:Good Riddance by jnpcl · · Score: 3, Funny

      .. but where am I going to get my Anna Kournikova XXX Screensavers?!

    2. Re:Good Riddance by Haedrian · · Score: 2, Funny

      "a hotbed of virus and trojans"

      This sentence could be referring to the stuff you could download, or whatever came with the installation program itself. What a mess.

    3. Re:Good Riddance by modmans2ndcoming · · Score: 4, Funny

      I thought you guys were talking about a frat party.

  6. They can't distribute the client any more? by guyminuslife · · Score: 4, Funny

    If only there were some way for people who had Limewire to share the executable.

    --
    I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
    1. Re:They can't distribute the client any more? by Haedrian · · Score: 2, Informative

      Far as I know, if you take down the Limewire servers, the entire thing collapses. It isn't distributed like a torrernt network, and I'm pretty sure there's no peer discovery either.

    2. Re:They can't distribute the client any more? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah. There are plenty of torrents available! ;)

      --
      My blog
    3. Re:They can't distribute the client any more? by PCM2 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Gnutella (the protocol LimeWire uses) is decentralized, but you have to "bootstrap" the client to find your first few peers. I believe LimeWire LLC operates servers to facilitate this, but it could be done any number of ways. If you had a friend whom you knew was always on LimeWire and had a static IP, you could connect to him. The client could also cache the addresses of nodes that had worked in the past, and try them. I don't know exactly how LimeWire does it, but it seems to me LimeWire's failing is that by insinuating itself between its users and the network (for the purposes of operating a business), it makes itself the single point of failure.

      --
      Breakfast served all day!
    4. Re:They can't distribute the client any more? by athakur999 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Peer discovery is the very essence of the Gnutella protocol used by Gnutella. The Limewire client probably uses Limewire's servers to get an initial list of peers to connect to but beyond that, they shouldn't be needed. There are alternative methods to do this initial peer discovery as well so even if you take away Limewire's servers, things should still work fine, it just may take longer for your client to discover a decent amount of peers.

      --
      "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
  7. Well it's a good thing by loafula · · Score: 4, Informative

    That I prefer to use Frostwire.

    --
    FOXTROT UNIFORM CHARLIE KILO
  8. Re:They're still around? by MrEricSir · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm still using iMesh and WinMX.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  9. Yay! by Rix · · Score: 5, Funny

    Piracy is solved forever.

    1. Re:Yay! by SomeJoel · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's about time. Those Somalians with AK-47s can release the hostages now. Ugly business, piracy - ships destroyed, sailors killed, lives ruined. I'm glad the government is finally doing something about protecting shipping lanes. Apparently LimeWire is some sort of service that these pirates use to track ships or something.

      --
      <Complete your profile by adding a signature!>
  10. Re:FTP by countSudoku() · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yes, FTP is next. ;) Not my sneakernet though. Thanks for the reminder, I need to obtain a 1TB drive for more sweet, free, sneakernet content. Really, we only need one person to buy any single piece of media, then we dist. Everyone is invited. RIP, share, enjoy. Never been to limewire.

    --
    This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
  11. Re:They're still around? by lanceran · · Score: 2, Funny

    Real men still use Napster.

  12. CAN SOMEONE TELL THE JUDGE? by martin-boundary · · Score: 4, Funny

    Can someone tell the judge to not use so many caps? It's like YELLING!

    1. Re:CAN SOMEONE TELL THE JUDGE? by tehniobium · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lawyers understand it better that way ;-)

      --
      No kitty, this is my pot pie!
  13. Frostwire? by supersloshy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Frostwire's still up. http://www.frostwire.com/. Limewire != Gnutella, which is decentralized and thus impossible to shut down completely.

    On a related note, I can't believe how stupid this ruling is. It's a Gnutella client! That's it! Limewire is responsible for nothing; it's the illegal distributors of copyrighted works, which LimeWire isn't, that are legally responsible for any of this. What's next, making HTTP/FTP/BitTorrent/the Internet illegal because it "encourages illegal file-sharing"? Give me a break! Some of the best legal to download music I've found was promoted by Frostwire! The problem isn't file-sharing, obviously, but an outdated business model and a resistance to change.

    --
    "Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
    1. Re:Frostwire? by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Insightful

      On a related note, I can't believe how stupid this ruling is. It's a Gnutella client! That's it! Limewire is responsible for nothing; it's the illegal distributors of copyrighted works, which LimeWire isn't, that are legally responsible for any of this.

      Part of what got Limewire shut down was their marketing.
      Ontop of everything else they put on their website, they bought keywords like kazaa, morpheus, and napster.
      Limewire did this to themselves in their rush to fill the void left by previous filesharing programs.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
  14. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by tehniobium · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually people should continue making shitty file sharing services and basing them in the US. That way the *IAA's of this world can feel like they're winning even as they are completely unable to do anything about torrent.

    ...And while you're at it, make those programs easier to use than torrent, so all the newbies make them popular and it seems like BIG NEWS when one gets whacked on the head with a hammer!

    --
    No kitty, this is my pot pie!
  15. Re:They're still around? by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 2, Funny

    It better not be shut down! I mean with limewire gone, what am I going to populate the new android port of winamp with! My nostalgia must be properly formatted!

    --
    Everything will be taken away from you.
  16. Ignorance by cosm · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Either I am ignorant, or the judge is.

    DOWNLOADING OR SHARING COPYRIGHTED CONTENT WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IS ILLEGAL.

    Yes, that is correct. But how can they shut down LimeWire through the vicarious actions of its users? It is the user's who are responsible. They share the data. Unless LimeWire themselves is hosting the copyrighted bits, what are they doing wrong? If they provide some helper service for getting nodes connected, perhaps that is the 'gotcha'. But even then, if they are just managing connections, they still are not hosting the data (AFAIK).

    Should we shutdown chat clients and protocols because they allow people to disseminate links to copyright infringed data?
    Should we shutdown production of all copy machines because they could be used to infringe copyright?
    Should we ban hard-drives because they could be used to store copy-righted data?
    Should we ban the human-brain because it could retain the contents of a copyrighted document?

    Re. Tard. Ed.

    Also, does the injunction necessitate YELLING? I know the out-moded channels are scared and all, but that is just icing on the cake.

    --
    'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
  17. Re:They're still around? by daveywest · · Score: 2, Informative

    Do you know the IP address to any good Hotline servers?

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

  18. Re:They're still around? by Haedrian · · Score: 2, Funny

    IP Address? That's one of them "Internet" things isn't it?

    Let me just insert this AOL cd into my drive and receive my X free hours and get online today.

  19. Re:They're still around? by MrEricSir · · Score: 3, Funny

    With AOL, you can get the internet in your living room!

    So I hope you have a really, really big living room.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  20. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by icebraining · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And the search sites can very well be hidden onion services... just add a Tor client to popular torrent clients and a button to launch the browser configured to use the Tor proxy, and anyone will be able to use it.

    --
    Dilbert RSS feed
  21. Now the real test starts by DodgeRules · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From the cnet article:

    "RIAA lawyers have told the judge that LimeWire costs the record labels about $500 million in lost music sales every month."

    So with LimeWire shut down, will record sales increase by $500 million every month? Hopefully they will use current sales figures including the 2 months AFTER the shutdown to calculate the lost sales prior to the shutdown and not just take the RIAA lawyers word for it. My guess is they will see little, if any, sales difference after the shutdown.

    1. Re:Now the real test starts by Haedrian · · Score: 2, Funny

      $500 million per month works out to be 6.5 billion per year.

      I'm amazed that we actually have record companies around with giant losses like these. Won't someone think of the children?

      This post brought to you by the foundation for sarcastic replies.

    2. Re:Now the real test starts by grapeape · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That wont matter the will just shift the blame to the next target, just as they focused on Limewire after Napster, as long as there is anything to pin blame on they don't have to actually have any real data to backup their claims. I fully expect that at an upcoming awards show we will see some digital holdout musician like Paul McCartney touting a new pay service calling itself Limewire attempting to live off past name recognition despite a poor business model.

    3. Re:Now the real test starts by BlueKitties · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm sure -- upon hearing these huge damages record labels have had -- the judge will promptly fine everyone involved infinity billion dollars.

      --
      "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
  22. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually I've found it was up to this day VERY popular with the clueless. As a PC repairman I ask my fellow repairmen to bow their heads in a silent moment and give thanks to the HUGE number of viruses from the fake files on Limewire and Kazaa, which made many of us mucho money. Hell the whole thing was plumb full of "name_of_popular_song.mp3.exe" viruses that the clueless would fall for time and time again.

    --
    ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
  23. A Victory For The American People. by BlueKitties · · Score: 5, Funny

    The media companies have stood up against rampant piracy to protect artistic expression and innovation! This is truly a victory for The American People.

    --
    "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
    1. Re:A Victory For The American People. by Haedrian · · Score: 2, Interesting

      parent.content.getSarcasmLevel();

    2. Re:A Victory For The American People. by BlueKitties · · Score: 3, Funny

      IT'S OVER... well actually it's about 31, I forgot to declare my int long.

      --
      "Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad." [Ecclesiastes 7:3]
  24. Well, by pdxp · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's the end of the lime for them alright, and it's sad to see such a historic piece of software going out on a such a sour note.

  25. Re:god damn it by daremonai · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Steve_Goldberg Even the picture there is kind of disturbing.

  26. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually people should continue making shitty file sharing services and basing them in the US. That way the *IAA's of this world can feel like they're winning even as they are completely unable to do anything about torrent.

    The *IAA's don't want to win. Winning would mean a marginal increase in new sales (from the downloaders who actually can afford the stuff they download), but a sharp decrease in profits from extremely punitive lawsuits. Their optimal move is to continue playing both ends of the game (dues from artists paying essentially protection fees and settlements/damages from lawsuits). All they really have to do is continue lobbying enough to keep the status quo and drown out any artists that attempt to call them out.

  27. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by jonwil · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A lot of those are actually bots that listen for any query and based on it, return a plausable sounding result that really points at a virus.

  28. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by Pseudonym+Authority · · Score: 4, Informative

    profits from extremely punitive lawsuits.

    Would you believe that they actually lose money on that shit? Lawyers aren't cheap, especially evil lawyers (even though they make up most of the supply).

  29. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by promythyus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't get your panties in a knot, the virus he doesn't have disabled his spell-checker so he didn't know.

  30. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by Khyber · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "As a PC repairman I ask my fellow repairmen to bow their heads in a silent moment and give thanks to the HUGE number of viruses from the fake files on Limewire and Kazaa, which made many of us mucho money."

    *WHAP!* That's for implying that torrents are anywhere near safe.

    Do you know how many idiots have a fucking rootkitted Windows install because they got it from torrents? I live in Southern California, I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO shortage of business on that end.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  31. Re:Truth and consequences. by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hi. Let me walk you through turning the fucking file sharing off, since you are apparently TOO NAIVE to have looked through the entire thing in order to understand the workings of the system.

    You first install it (ignore the ask toolbar as always, uncheck it and move on)

    When it FIRST LOADS UP, it asks you where you want to download, and which folders you want to share - uncheck all the folders under 'shared' box, click them and hit 'remove,' and pick your download location or leave it default, click next.

    Tell Limewire your connection type, click next.

    A couple more menus in, it will ask you what file types you'd like to share directly with LimeWire itself, uncheck all of those, click next.

    Before you've even had the opportunity to download anything, you've been given the options to turn off ALL SHARING.

    You are no longer sharing files and will not upload whatever you download.

    Was it that hard? You didn't even have to look for a settings menu, THE INNER WORKINGS THAT MATTER THE MOST TO YOU ARE EXPOSED TO YOU BEFORE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO ANYTHING.

    Don't speak unless you've actually used the program, please. I re-installed it A. for nostalgia and B. to prove you know absolutely nothing of which you speak.

    Frostwire (the free 'pro' version of Limewire) has the EXACT SAME PROCEDURE, as does any faithful open-source LimeWire clone using LimeWire's open-source.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  32. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Winning would mean a marginal increase in new sales

    That's a fallacy. Music pirates have been shown in study after study to spend more on music than non-pirates.

    It has never once been shown by any reputable research that anybody ever lost a cent to piracy.

    The RIAA's war against file sharing isn't a war against pirates, it's a war against indies (their competetion), who use the internet to get their works in your ears. The RIAA has a monopoly on radio airplay, the indies don't.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!
  33. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by tlhIngan · · Score: 2, Informative

    *WHAP!* That's for implying that torrents are anywhere near safe.

    Do you know how many idiots have a fucking rootkitted Windows install because they got it from torrents? I live in Southern California, I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO shortage of business on that end.

    Funny thing about torrents. It turns out that usually the main install executable is perfectly fine - it installs a clean copy of whatever program you're pirating. And since most commercial developers even code-sign their setup.exe files, you can even view the digital signatures on the files and verify them.

    However, it's the attached keygen or crack that's usually either a trojan or has a malware wrapper around it. I'd say that most keygens and cracks are infected, and your antivirus is actually telling the truth when it says they're infected. It's practically impossible to get a clean keygen/crack, even ye olde crack sites often now unwittingly host them. It's far more profitable this way as it's trivially easy to release a crack and hope someone bundles it together with the software to make it easy.

    And even usenet's not immune. I can't remember a day when browsing I don't see thousands of identical posts containing the same virus executable with different names.

    Hell, it's even gotten into movies (the movie's 600MB, but it's just a 2 minute video saying "You need to install XXX to play, please visit www.fishysite.com to download").

    Explains the rise of the old .nfo file with the required serial number built in - you can't trust cracks and keygens to actually work.

  34. Re:They're still around? by Compaqt · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm still using Archie.

    Oh, and get off the lawn!

    --
    I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
  35. Re:There are still non-torrent filesharing network by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 2, Informative

    Many versions of Windows have a "disable file extensions for known filetypes" option enabled by default.

    That means that:

    Super cool video.mpg.exe
    Hot naked girls.jpg.exe

    Are not obviously executable when viewed in explorer. Typically the icon is changed to match Windows' default, to further the deception.

    It's not all the stupid user's fault. Windows is helping, too.