Have I been scammed?
 

A couple of days ago, I read a post to one of these fora by a guy who was very unhappy to have downloaded a bogus copy of Limewire that subsequently buggered his hard drive.

A couple of months ago, I downloaded Limewire basic and paid maybe 15 bucks as a one-time charge to do so. I also paid something slightly more than 15 bucks for the ability to download movies.

Also a couiple of days ago, I read something that said Limewire Basic could be downloaded free.

I've had trouble with my composter since downloading Limewire, though I can't say my trouble was coincident to that download.

I have ad aware, Norton Antivirus, Spybot S&D, Etrust and some other stuff looking after bugs...and I've had plenty. Just now those guardians tell me I'm clean, but my composter (AMD 3200+) sometimes seems to run slower than an old P-150.

Has anybody heard of people hijacking and selling Limewire dowloads? If so, do they tend to be malicious such that I might ought to dump the one I'm using now?

I have a 56k modem and I'm looking for some fairly uncommon audio tracks. What good would Limewire Pro do so far as increasing my download success for rare tracks? Limewire doesn't have a lot to say about that besides giving out some fairly nonspecific informatiion.

My movie "buy" proved really useless at 56k so I suppose in practicality, it only works with a broadband connection.

Any helpful hints and insights would be much appreciated,

thanks,

Yes it does look like you were scammed. Pity it's too late to cancel the transaction thru your bank/credit co. See This about the story. And see if you can recognise the site your purchased your LW from the list of scam sites here.

I would recommend you delete the program you have now & any traces of it. Then downld the free version from here http://www.limewire.com/english/content/download.shtml

Start with the free version & if you like it then consider LW Pro. LW Pro does improve performance but not drastically.

See some hints on LW use here: To continue files downlding (click on link) which has links to other valuable skills & tips. And also see this: Tip: Purge the Downloads Queue!
Other tips to reduce drag on your system are:
* After opening LW wait 10 to 20 mins or longer before using. Let it settle down 1st.
* Go to LW's prefs>Speed & tick disable Ultrapeer Cap. & press apply button.
* Set both uplds & downlds to autoclear.
* Reduce uplds to about 70-80% or more.
* Reduce downlds to 80 or 90%.
* Don't use the Resume button on all incomplete files. This can have side-fx such as affect LW's connection quality. May queue your files for much much longer. This will also stress LW & your comp. If you use Resume/Find sources then just apply it to a couple or so at one time.

Thanks, Lord

But now I have another question.

I thought I paid something for Limewire Basic, and I certainly (had) Limewire 4.8.1 installed.

I now recall my Limewire download experience more clearly. I went to the Limewire download site and tried to download the free version. For some reason, I couldn't get it to work. Then I noticed the "Buy" button below the free download button that wouldn't give. I clicked it, thinking somehow I'd have to pay anyway. I'm pretty sure I "paid" for my version of Limewire at...

http://www.limewire.com/english/cont...ypro.htmlally,

...thinking Limewire Basic wasn't free after all.

My creditcard shows a charge to mymusic*ipaycs.com (seemingly, a company located in Utah).

Like I said, I'm sure I didn't download Limewire Pro, because I downloaded Limewire Basic (LimeWireWin.exe, 2,261 kb).

How could that happen? Could it happen?

Now another problem.

Taking your advice, I uninstalled Limewire. Then, I searched for Lime*.* on my harddrive. I found a number of Limewire files still remaining. Must I remove those files in order to reinstall Limewire Basic?

Also, if I paid Limewire for Limewire Pro and didn't receive it, do they owe me Pro or a refund? What do you think?

Thanks,

More on my scamming
 

My credit card was charged by the good folks at MyMusicInc.com.

I find this strange because I specifically recall seeing the official LimeWire download URL
http://www.limewire.com/english/cont...uypro.htmlally

...thinking because the free LimeWire Basic download wasn't downloading that it wasn't free.

...so I clicked the "Buy" button.

How I got to MyMusicInc.com from clicking the Limewire Pro Buy button at http://www.limewire.com/english/cont...uypro.htmlally

...I do not know...like some wierd alcoholic memory loss.

How is it that these rogue sites are allowed to exist? Is this not a prima facie case of mail fraud, prohibited by law?

Where's Elliot Ness when we really need him?