Problems staying connected.

I can't seem to stay connected long enough to download anything large. As soo as I step away from Limewire for 10 minutes or so all the downloads stop and the indicator says I am "disconnected" or that it is "Starting Connection". It never completes. Sometimes however, even though it shows as disconnected or starting, some of the downloads are still going??? The Connections tab shows all the Ultrapeers as "Connecting". The only thing that seems to fix this is to restart Limewire, Windows or both. I just tried disabling my software based firewall, but my DSL modem has a hardware firewall. Do I need to disable this to use DHT? Is this even related to my issue? I would like to leave my Trend Micro firewall up for my own protection. What do you recommend?

Also, I would like to find some way to block certain users (I think they are invasive bots) like whatisnewxoxo from constantly bombarding my computer. It only takes a few minutes after I start Limewire that these guys start showing up in the Monitor tab. If you try to Browse Host, no IP is given and all you get is a list of bogus files, most of which contain viruses. What is this? Please someone reply either here or by email.

Leave your Trend Micro firewall on, but make sure that it's configured to allow LW. Make sure that any other software firewalls are off.

Try the tips here: Reduce the drag caused by LW
To disable ultrapeer capabilities in new versions, tools > options > advanced > performance. You can also try disabling Mojito DHT capabilities & see whether that has any effect.

The Java version that you'll link to from that post is now Java 6 update 3. Some people have had problems with the latest Java versions, so it's up to you if you want to try that one or not. I'm using it & it's fine for me.

This older version of Java has worked better for some of people. Download
the JRE offline installer & remove your current Java before you install this one.
Archive: Download Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Update 11

Your modem's firewall might be an issue...do you see the firewall icon (brick wall in front of the blue globe)? If so, go to the site below
PortForward.com - Free Help Setting up Your Router or Firewall
and see if your modem's on the list. If so, you'll find instructions for port forwarding. If setting up a static IP is part of the instructions, don't miss this step. LW's listening port, port in the 'manual port forward' box & port forwarded within the modem's config should all be the same number.

For those crappy hosts, try adding this hostiles list: The TechNutopia Fullsize Hostiles List for BearShare and LimeWire

Yeah, I'm having similar issues with staying connected. When i start the program, i start out with a turbo connection, which slowly dwindles to starting connection. Not only that, but my downloads have slowed down incredibly following this problem. I don't get it.