Secure icon (lime) indicates official Lime Wire LLC communications. Only messages with this icon are from Lime Wire LLC in New York City......This has to do with messages telling you to update LW and other official communications. It's not to do with d/loading files.
The stars show the quality of the connection of the files host to the network. 4 stars is best, 1 is worst. The more stars means the better chance you'll be able to d/load that file. The exception is fake files.
Read through this page for a better explanation:
User Guide Search Basic - LimeWire