Spyware in Limewire ???
 

Although it is repeated all over www.limewire.com that Limewire has no Adware or Spyware, Pest Patrol reports many DLL's included in the Limewire installation as Spyware or malicious code.

Who should I believe in?

SheenGone

Hi paotri,
Use the search function (top right, between f.a.q. & home). This topic has been dealt with at length on the forum, you'll find some answers.

What I did is let Pest Patrol clean the "infected" files. Now it doesn't report any evil and LimeWire still operates perfectly.

If it was adware, or spyware or errorware, it doesn't matter now.

Thanks

SheenGone

im pretty sure of this but dont hold me to it.. limewire does not have any dll's.

look at my siggy down there \/ :)

Limewire does contain spyware. In fact, it contains a few traces of it, including PRO. It contains KaZaA, Grokster, and a few others. Grokster installs: Active Delivery, CasinoOnNet, ClipGenie, CommonName, Cydoor, DelFin Media Viewer, DownloadWare, eUniverse, FavoriteMan, FlashTrack, Gator, IGetNet, IGetNet/ClearSearch, IncrediFind, IPInsight, Look2Me, Lycos.SideSearch, NetworkEssentials, NetworkEssentials/SCBar, PeopleOnPage, RVP, SAHAgent, Search-EXE, SearchEnhancement, TOPicks, VX2/e, VX2/f, and Webhancer. It also degrades your network performance vastly. You can't fully remove KazaA and Grokster unless you remove limewire and scan your computer and remove these programs. These are located in the magnet folder and the registry.

this is nonsense...did you download LW from a bogus site?..if you did that would explain all the crap it dumped on your computer...I use the top spyware scanners (ADAWARE,SPYBOT,SPYSWEEPER) and have NEVER ONCE found anything negative related to LW.....also....it could also be that the spyware you found was not part of LW but came from something you DOWNLOADED using LW...LW itself is clean. period.


thank you and have a nice day

Imsteve, first I downloaded LW from this site: www.limewire.com. Second I also use top scanners(PestPatrol, Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta, Ad-Aware SE, Spybot: Search and Destroy, Spy Sweeper, etc.) But I also searched the registry for keys which indicate what has been installed on my computer. I have tested LW and LW PRO they both have the same thing.

did your run tests on your computer before you installed limewire? limewire is opensource anyways, if you dont believe them, just look at the source code.

Yes I did run tests on my computer before limewire. I run tests every week. I have looked at the source code and I didn't find anything bad in it, but my question is why does limewire not let there be any clean limewires out (which the only one contains cydoor) and why is there no EULA with the software.

limewire comes ABSOLUTELY free of that crapware, if you dont want to install it, you can always download the source code and build it yourself, atleast thats peace of mind if you dont believe the folks at limewire.

there is no EULA, well technically there is, but its called the GNU GPL (WWW.GNU.ORG) which is a license for free and open source software.

[edited the gnu link: the tld is .org instead of .com like i had it before.]

Thank You Ultracross for the GNU and I have tried to build limewire myself but every time I always get a problem with Ant. I've tried everything but it just doesn't work.

All of those extras...are things that Grokster installs. Mainly you'll find KaZaA and Grokster. Microsofts Beta does not find them. cheak your registry if you don't believe me.

Some antispyware proggies "suck" and do not find the real spywares. As soon as an app includes magnet link support, they find the "Grokster spyware" lol. Problem is that majora is using one of this POS apps. Get adaware, spybot or MS antispyware, they all really work. Hell some POS apps anti spywares even install their own spywares...

Ho and majora, search the forum, this has been discussed to death: conclusion is that your app lies or is defective.

:rolleyes:

I do have spybot, ad-Aware, and MS Antispyware Beta, and I know that some antispyware progs instal their own spyware but I have Looked in the REGISTRY and found that grokster and KaZaA is in there. Plus I have ran tons of tests expecially with disk space and internet activity a found grokster is on my comp.

Majora2007

Could you say where in your registry you found all those adware and spyware you have listed, a screen print of the registry area would be better.




UK Bob

Humm listen to me please. If you installed Kazaa or groskter before it is normal that you find those in the registry. HOWEVER if it is your spyware app that identifies Grokster software in registry after installing LW, it is because that spyware app is broken.

Thing you should learn here, as I said before: broken spyware apps identify magnet link support (when you click on magnet link it will open the default Gnutella client) as a Grokster install which is absolutly bullshit. Please understand that and search the forum, it has been discussed many times.

Ciao

Yes please do as ukbobboy01 says I searched my registry an could find nothing. I scanned my system with all the spyware detectors you talked about, what a Paine in the *** that was. And nothing so please tell me where to look as ukbobboy01 says a snapshot would be better.

I will. Groskter:
hkey_classes_root \magnet
and KaZaA:
hkey_local_Machine \software\magnet

Registry
 

Majora2007

I have checked my registry and I cannot find any of the stuff you say is there, especially since I have been using LW Pro since version 4.0.5 (May last year).

I think you have gone wrong somewhere with your perception of events, i.e. between picking up these malware and loading LW.

However, you've got rid of them and that's all that really matters.



UK Bob

Morel to the story..They don't but there buddys do!

At the top of my page there are ads for Spy ware and Ad ware detectors. Use them. Grokster and Kazaa are only bad in so far as they do install too much of what we don't want; spy ware and ad ware. Somewhere along the line we must learn to trust something. I trust LimeWire. No passwords, no ip scans, no popups or popunders, no adware, no spyware, nothing, Nada. If it did I would be the first to SCREAM BLOODY MURDER!!!

If you ever downloaded Kazaa, Grokster, ICQ, or AOL to name a few, you will find so much garbage in your registry it will hours to clean the registry. I have never found so much as a (, )from LimeWire.

NUFF said.

Finally got a chance to search my registry same results as bob. Sorry you must have got them from somewhere else but not LW

It does contain adware. I went to the correct site and download the free version. I scanned by computer and every time I download limeware it contains all of these files including adware. Maybe the purchased version doesn't contain adware, but the free one does and NO it's not a bogus site that I'm going through. I download winmx and it doesn't contain any of that spyware or adware mess--but it's trippin, so I downloaded limeware. After I download my music, I just delete every file, by going to search and type in limeware and all of those files come up. I just delete every single one.

Guys

I've grown wary of this discussion, I will no longer take part in it because there will always be some inexperienced newbie saying that LW has adware in it.

JustCurious2005

Rather than just saying LW has adware why don’t you provide some proof?



UK Bob

Hey Bob should have used your approach but I didn't just for the fun of it I downloaded basic installed it scanned it and have no idea what dorkster above oops I mean JustCurious2005 is talking about search limewire delete files maybe if we are lucky he will delete limewire and we wont see him back here showing his intelligence. Any way sorry DUDE NO SPYWARE.............

O-whell I will probably get in trouble for this one just getting tired of people talking out of there ***

Face!!! don't respond to me anymore--you are taking this shitttt a little too serious aren't you? Who gives a flying fukc. I do get adware when I download limewire. Why the hell would I lie. DORK? ha...ha--you sound like the damnnn dork. Maybe you don't get it on your computer, but I sure do get it on my fukcing computer. Limewire is a good program to download music, but I still get that mess when I download it everytime. Don't respond to me you god-amn tard. I will not be responding back to you-- crazy azzz.

Hi JustCurious2005

As has been said all along in this thread. The official version of LimeWire basic and pro have no spyware.

Now if you got your version from an unofficial website, which there are know to be some, then it is possible those websites have loaded it down with spyware. After all LimeWire is open source.

This topic has been discussed numerous times. Do a forum search and you will see.

And there is no need to insult or flame each other. Read the Forum Rules. Enough said.

To end up this disscussion, cause its getting out of hand. There probally isn't anything in LW. but on my comput there is. Maybe because I got LW Pro off LW. I don't know. but it doesn't really matter. what matters is that we dont get caught downloading copyrighted materials.

ummm...
 

Maj, think do you have like the first version becuase that had adwares and and i just installed the beta today no friggin spywares,adwares,trojans nothing I have AVG up to date ad-aware 6.0 spybot and a firewall and a NAT firewall on my router ive been using limewire for about 6 months now and nothing so....

asdfgh1224, You are right I do like the first one. Ahmm, I have also tested the beta and I haven't found anything yet, but I am still searching. Hopefully I will not find anything. To the rest of you good day!:D

lmao, all this time and he had an older version. just to let you know, i would never download and run anything that i download from p2p that is executable. especially p2p apps (unless they are digitally signed) i believe LW has been adware/spyware free since version 3.9.4:

3.9.4 (4.20.2004)
---
This release contains NO BUNDLED SOFTWARE OF ANY KIND. Yes, that means no
LimeShop, even in the Free version. (There is still an icon drop, but that's
just because we forgot to remove it. It'll be gone in the next release.)

I'm sorry Ultracross I downloaded Pro from LW not free.

I download from the "personal download page" (or whatever it is called) that I got when I paid for Limewire Pro.


I do not use Kazaa or Grokster, but when I run Pest Patrol, it finds their spyware. I am inclined to believe the earlier post that Limeware DOES HAVE spyware.


Limewire also advertises better functionality with their upgrades and "Pro", but it does not seem to be any better.


Just because Limeware says it doesn't have spyware is not reason to believe it.

Don't you people find it a little funny that you are the only ones finding spyware in limewire. I have been running LimeWire for a long time 2 years and I have only been using pro for the last 6 months. I use numerous spyware detectors and every once in a while I go in an manually edit my registry especially after I run bearshare manually editing your registry is the only sure way of knowing if anything is in there fore sure. I have never seen any spyware associated with LimeWire.
I have seen plenty with other P2P programs, There are allot of websites that will download spyware onto your computer. If you wish to say LimeWire has spyware in it then take a snapshot of your registry and post it here for all to see. If you are going to make a statement be prepared to show the proof the only real proof will be in your registry not some false positive from some spyware detector. Especially when there are numerous spyware detectors that say there is none.

Disbelieving Newbies
 

Ultracross, Grandpa and the senior guys out there.

Give it up, you will never convince disbelieving, inexperienced (know-nothing) newbies that LW and LWPro is free of adware and spyware.

You would get better responses beating your head against a brick wall, shouting in a hurricane, urinating in the ocean, etc. :(

Life is just too short.



UK Bob

Yes but all of thoes options would probally hurt:cool:

Positive Feedback
 

Well Grandpa, it probably would hurt.:eek:

But you would get positive feedback:).



UK Bob

You know what who cares anymore if there is spyware in limewire. I have edited my hosts file so I am good. I don't care anymore. Theres no point fighting over it anymore.

What there is, is an inability to sway the "true believer" rather than any genuine examination of the facts. LimeWire IS spyware, provided one recalls that one definition of "spyware" is software that "calls home" with out the user's knowledge or permission.

This LimeWire does all the time: how else could it find that an update is available? How else could deleted themes suddenly reappear? But then Saddam was intimately involved with the Attack too, I guess.
What else is it saying when it "calls home," huh?

Look, I'd post some Ethereal captures, but no one seems to be interested in facts. In fact, lets just stop all discussion of it and close the thread, and while we're at it, lets just ax any further mention of it, and call that "free speech."

LimeWire IS spyware, period.

hornet what about trying to prove your point with facts.

Your talk is only BS, compile LW from the source code, you'll see no difference :rolleyes:

I guess all they have is words I see no proof O that is right we wouldn't believe it if we saw it. Let me see how does the saying go Hmm Thats it (PUT UP OR SHUT UP)

Yes, that's the standard, cliched reply, but its irrelevant.

Any software that calls home without the user's knowledge or permission is by definition, spyware. How and who complies it makes no difference.

Peeps here need to read and listen and stop screaming the same tired mantra, which is a lie. As I said, no one here is interested in facts, just propping up their beliefs, so why bother?

BTW, thanks for the warm welcome; nice flame.

I see you are plain ignorant. I'll lock the thread and leave a nice linky to you.

http://www.benedelman.org/spyware/p2p/

oh, and another from softpedia where it is certified to be 100% free http://www.softpedia.com/get/Interne...re-Basic.shtml