what is happening to Limewire ?
 

Hi, have used the Limewire free version for months now. It has been the best tool to find what I was looking for on the net. However, things seem to be different now... I get plenty of porn stuff, links to rubish websites and it is really difficult to find what my searches are looking for : less files available, constant "need for more sources" and incorrect files under wrong titles...

Should I move to the Pro version ? Do you feel the same at the moment ? Tips to enhance the search ? I have already read many comments on the forum to improve things without anything around the quality of the current contents...

I want to get my good Limewire back... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Upgrading to Pro isn't going to stop the spam/fake files showing up in your search results. Having said that, i have Pro and would reccommend it to anyone.

Try changing up your search results. Search for just the artist and not the title. Try using the all types search and the audio search. Try using just part of the artists name and not the full name. I'll help cut down on the spam files. Then look through the search results that bring back the least sources. The rest is trial and error and luck.

still not ok but thank you
 

Pac,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I have already tried everything you said. I think the problem is more important than that. It looks like as if Limewire results were not as good as before. For example, I was able in the past to download many seasons of a TV series. And now trying the 5th season, it does not work anymore, even though it was on TV last year and the site shows plenty of files available. Every time it says "needs more sources" or "awaiting for sources".

Very frustrating. And I am not looking for something unknown...

It's the network not LW's fault. Spammers are the problem!!! See the following links to get an idea of the groups sponsored to spam the gnutella network with fake, corrupt, & virus ridden files:
(1) Overpeers, (2) MediaSentry, & (3) Mediadefender

So how do we beat them? They only target copyright material. So if you're not searching copyright material you won't get the fake files. Though you may still get some of the basic spam such as (a) autogenerated spam results, & (b) autogenerated mp3 spam results, but those are very easily filtered out using the Junk filter.

To overcome the issue, using bitzi will definitely help for videos to check whether they are valid files or not! How to use Bitzi Web Lookup. Also see plays at 32kbs. Use 6_pac's advice. Also when you see search results that have 100 for one, 99 for next on the list, etc. instead choose those with 10 or 10 or so sources under the # column of the search results. Check the file sizes also to see if there's any small difference between those with less sources & those with 100. ;)

(clicking those with 100 results are fake & you'll never download them!!! They'll spend ages pretending to try to connect, & then eventually go to Need more sources!)

Oh & about porn sponsored files, filter them out using these terms Direct instructions to eliminate porn from results

Looks like we are many having the same issue...
 

I have been reading a lot on this forum since my first posting. And it looks we are many with the same issue:
- we have been using LW for months without issues and suddenly it does not seem to work anymore.
- Main issue is to click on files and get "connecting" for a few seconds before "Need more sources". This even on 4 stars files with many #....

My connection is strong (5 bars), I have not changed anything at all (simply updated to the latert LW version). So it is more than spamming. Something seems to have changed on the network....

Any help from the administrators ? And please no "enhance your search" type of answers as I never had any problems with my searches before.

Thanks in advance

To answer your question, yes the network is being spammed. The present spamming became particularly stronger in recent months. The fake file syndrome started a few months ago. Check tips here about avoiding fake files http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...highlight=fake