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LimeWire

LimeWire is a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) client for the Java platform, which uses the Gnutella network to locate files as well as share files. It also encourages the user to pay a fee, which will then give the user access to LimeWire PRO. Recently LimeWire opened its own store.

Features

Written in the Java programming language, LimeWire is able to run on any computer with Java Virtual Machine installed. Installers are provided for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Support for Mac OS 9 and other previous versions was dropped with the release of LimeWire 4.0.10. From version 4.8 onwards, LimeWire works as a UPnP Internet Gateway Device controller in that it can automatically set up packet-forwarding rules with UPnP-capable routers.

LimeWire offers the sharing of its library through the Digital Audio Access Protocol. As such, when LimeWire is running and configured to allow it, any files shared will be detectable on the local network by DAAP-enabled devices (e.g., iTunes).

Versions

Lime Wire LLC, the New York City based developer of LimeWire, distributes two versions of the program; a basic version for free, and an enhanced version, LimeWire PRO, sold for a fee of $21.95 with 6 months of updates, or $34.95 with 1 year of updates. The company claims the paid version provides faster downloads and 66% better search results. This is accomplished by facilitating direct connection with up to 10 hosts of an identical searched file at any one time, whereas the free version is limited to a maximum of 8 hosts. Prior to April 2004, the free version of LimeWire was distributed with a bundled program called LimeShop (a variant of TopMoxie), which was considered by computer security experts to be spyware. Among other things, LimeShop monitored online purchases in order to redirect sales commissions to Lime Wire LLC. Uninstallation of LimeWire would not remove LimeShop. With the removal of all bundled software in LimeWire 3.9.4 (released on April 20 2004), these objections were addressed.

Being free software, LimeWire has spawned several forks, including LionShare, an experimental software development project at Penn State University, and Acquisition, a Mac OS X–based Gnutella client with a proprietary interface. Researchers at Cornell University developed a reputation management add-in called Credence that allows users to distinguish between "genuine" and "suspect" files before downloading them. An October 12 2005 report states that some of LimeWire's free and open source software contributors have forked the project and called it FrostWire. The makers of the LimeWire software have now installed a security device that can track most viruses in files.

LimeWire was the first file sharing program to support firewall-to-firewall file transfers, a feature introduced in version 4.2, which was released in November 2004. LimeWire also now includes BitTorrent support, but is limited to 3 Torrent-uploads and 3 Torrent-downloads, which coexist with ordinary downloads.

Criticism

LimeWire has experienced several trials of criticism. According to a June 2005 report in The New York Times, Lime Wire LLC was considering ceasing distributing LimeWire due to the outcome of MGM v. Grokster.

Gregory Thomas Kopiloff of Seattle was arrested on September 7 2007 in what the U.S. Justice Department described as its first case against someone accused of using file sharing computer programs to commit identity theft. According to federal prosecutors, Kopiloff used LimeWire to search other people's computers for inadvertently shared financial information and then used it to obtain credit cards for an online shopping spree.

A known trojan exploiting a vulnerability involving Apple Remote Desktop started to be distributed via LimeWire in late June. It affects users of Mac OS X Tiger and Leopard. A recent investigation showed that of 123 randomly selected downloaded files, 37 contained malware. Though this is a very small sample size, it illustrates that the level of risk associated with the Limewire sharing model was about 30%.