To limewire programmers and potential and current limewire users:
Although I understand that limewire designers work very hard and need to make money, they way they have chosen to do it is unconscionable. Limewire has completely lost my trust.
I first started using Limewire a half year ago (July 2001). At this time there was a big message on their website touting the fact that they, contrary to many of the popular filesharing programs, did not use spyware.
Spyware are programs that monitor your online actions and relay these actions to advertising companies. Advertising companies pay software developers to include this spyware in their software downloads.
I used limewire for a few months with no problems whatsoever.
Then, three or four months ago, came version 1.8. This version included advertising banners and optional installs of 3rd party "ad-ins."
Right away users posted that they had researched and monitored the actions of these ad-ins, and had found that they were notorious spyware programs. The developers first denied it. Then they were evasive. Then they said the ad-ins were optional.
Several anti-spyware websites also said that Limewire was installing spyware, with or without user's permission.
Further updates came, but the ad-ins remained.
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"Cydoor is not an optional install, but Cydoor does not collect any information about you -- it's just an ad-engine." -- a. fisk, limewire developer
-- December 2001
from "future of limewire?:"
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...1&pagenumber=1
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Then, in late December 2001, several commercial anti-virus programs started listing one of the ad-ins as a backdoor trojan virus.
In early January 2002, limewire admitted that it did use this ad-in. Limewire said they had no idea what the program did and had hoped that "the company in question would have investigated it's package better" for them:
http://www.limewire.com/index.jsp/trojan
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From a link in the above url (wired.com):
"A Trojan horse program masquerading as an advertising application was included with recent versions of programs BearShare, LimeWire, Kazaa and Grokster. The Trojan, dubbed "W32.Dlder.Trojan" by antiviral companies, is contained within an application called "ClickTillUWin" which promises users a chance to win prizes."
"We rely on Cydoor to deal with our ad deals and bundled software. We assumed that they did their homework on this [clicktilluwin] package but that does not seem to be the case," said Bildson [limewire's chief technical officer].
-- January 2002
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Limewire released a new version shortly therafter that did not contain that
ad-in. The other ad-ins remained, but were switched to optional installations.
Here we are a month later, and questions about the spyware still remain (you may need to copy and paste these links in sections):
"keyboard sniffers built in?"
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...?threadid=7401
"going around behind our backs again?"
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...?threadid=7357
If you want more detail on the history of this debate:
"Limewire 1.8 beta" -- present:
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...5&pagenumber=1
"Do you accept spyware?:"
http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...5&pagenumber=1
If I have ommited anything, or if I am anywhere misinformed please add it below.
Feel free to share your opinion on the spyware debate.
Peace