i got an e-mail reply
 

"Dear kidzapper@aol.com:

Thank you for contacting Optimum Online regarding your question about third party programs. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you and will be happy to assist.

We would like to advise you that Optimum Online allows full connectivity to the internet. Firewalls to have the capability of blocking out ports. Program like you mention may need certain ports open and it's possible a firewall maybe blocking access.

For additional information, please feel free to review our FAQ located at http://www.optonline.net/Support . If you require further assistance you may contact us via:

Email: http://www.optonline.net/Cservice/Ar...icle%3D1993861

Live Support: http://ool.hopto.org

Phone: http://www.cablevision.com/index.jht...ype=phone_list

Thank you again for contacting Optimum Online. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,
Technical Support
3672"

they gave me bullsh*t

Yeah, they gave me a similiar line of garbage. Obviously they will not come clean and tell us the truth.
I'm extremely dissatisfied with them.

hughes

This is not the first time Optimum users have had this happen to them. It happened Back in Dec. 2005. The first link is when we noticed a sudden influx of Optimum users not being able to connect.

The second link is when Optimum admitted the problem was on their end and were working on it. They never admitted they were blocking or shaping P2P traffic though.

Now the same thing has happened again all of the sudden a few days ago we started seeing a large group of Optimum users not being able to connect all of the sudden. Which strongly points to the problem being on their end. You might want to read through the links at the very least it will give you some knowledge of Optimum's previous behavior.

With that knowledge at least the service rep will not be able to lie to you. There are a couple of links in those threads that explain what technology they use to shape of filter P2P apps.

http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...hlight=Optimum

http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...hlight=Optimum

Grandpa,

I read through the previous posts, and judging from everyone's complaints it seems as though Optimum recently began using a program that detacts p2p programs and cuts the bandwidth of those users so they can free up bandwidth to sell more subscriptions.
http://www.sandvine.com/products/p2p_element.asp
http://www.ipp2p.org/docu_en.html

OOL's user agreement states that it "reserves the right to protect the integrity of its network and resources" by port blocking and putting limits on bandwidth. However, there is nothing indicating the integrity of their network has recently been compromised by a shortage of bandwidth. If that was true, at the very least they wouldn't lie to their customers when they call tech help to complain, they'd simply say they were working on the problem. It seems as though they are deliberately blocking p2p programs for the sole purpose of selling additional subscriptions. The problem is proving it.

Other posters have mentioned a previous lawsuit about an ISP out west that was taking similar action. I did a quick search and couldn't find much. I'll try to look into that further and see what the outcome was.

In the meantime, here's a suggestion to get Limewire up & running! I came accross a program that will assign you a new IP address not owned by your ISP. If it works, your ISP will no longer be able to determine that you are using a P2P network and will not be able to block or throttle your usage.

http://www.secureix.com/index.shtml

If anyone tries it, let me know if it works!

It Works ^^^^^^^^^
 

Yo0o0 I Got Great News Use The Information Mentioned Above About That Secureix Thingy It Works My Limewire Is Workin Perfectly Now Thanx Guy I Realli Appreciate It. Omg This Is The Best Invention I Bet Ool Feel Like ***** Now Lmao :d :) :d :)

It's girl, and you're welcome!

Glad to hear it helped. Now spread the word!

Any idea on how to set that up with windows 98? i think the setup steps they provide does not correspond with win 98.

mine limewire is working perfectly...i dont know how but i left the room and my 5 year old brother started screwing around with the computer and limewire started working again. I AM SO happy! it has been working for 3 hours now

Mine still doesn't work and OOL refuses to tell me that they're blocking ports.

I tryed it it worked 1 time and after that it said unable to establish the VPN connection. Are they blocking that now to?