Scared!?

[shante]

Hello All

Been using LimeWire for some time and hearing all this bad news about LimeWire and other Peer-to-Peer users getting busted for downloading music and other questionable "bootleg" items using LimeWire I am getting a bit worried.
Is there an official buzz on this? Should we be concerned?
I am running on a Mac which loads a FireWall upon boot up and also have a router (though not sure if I can configure it to also act as a firewall mechanism. But if FireWalls are in place how does LimeWire get files to download/upload through them?
How are people getting busted using LimeWire and how do we prevent it?
I read some universities are actually banning LimeWire use. How are they finding out who has it and when and for what purpose it is being used?

I have stopped using LimeWire until I can get a clear idea of my safety using it or until someone can shed a better light on these issues.
Thanks for any replies.

[Lord of the Rings]

Universities can use various programs to detect p2p programs & either shape or block them. Similar to how some ISP's use them. Here's an example of how a p2p bandwidth shaper can work against Gnutella: Bandwidth Shaper Sample - typical of how some ISP's use it (click on link) ie: giving priority to net surfing & low priorities to p2p sharing. One of the main reasons universities are blocking or shaping p2p is that they pay a lot of money for the bandwidth, & p2p programs tend to eat up a lot of bandwidth. Similar reason why some ISP's have been "secretly" shaping or blocking p2p.

Some tools to help with safety are Peerguardian (FREE) & I guess also http://www.gnutellaforums.com/open-d...-limewire.html though the latter is more-so for just blocking spammers. PeerGuardian will help prevent unauthorised entry to your computer by known agencies. Examples of organisations that are sponsored by the RIAA, etc. to spam the p2p networks are Overpeers, __ MediaSentry, __ Mediadefender (this company recently embarrassed themselves ... read for details).

AFAIK some authorities such as the RIAA, MPAA, etc. try to track those who share large quantities of copyright files. Then attempt to get evidence via the person's ISP. Whether the ISP is forthcoming though is something else. Depends what country for a start since their authority is limited & they may need to go thru legal proceedings to obtain such information. Experience has shown these organisations try to use the propoganda thru public media with big exagerated stories of individuals being caught & summonsed. It is these stories that affect people like you, which suggests their propoganda trick has worked on at least people such as yourself. It is a battle that such organisations will never win. They can only hope to have an effect to help reduce copyright sharing.

The power of local authorities upon these issues varies according to country & each country has its own laws & approaches.

In my country, nobody has been sued for p2p sharing within our territory. But people have for a long time been taken to court for piracy. Piracy here is selling (making a profit out of) copyright materials where they did not own or pay copyright fees, licences, etc. Such as copying music or videos & selling them. There has been recent changes due to the trade agreement with USA, something we really didn't need.

Routers block a range of ports. Especially those typically used by the type of people who try to access other people's computers without them knowing. Software firewalls can also block ports, but also attempt to stop unauthorised programs accessing your computer. I am not a knowlege about the full purpose of these things. I hope this is at least a little helpful.

Hopefully other members will give their knowledge & opinions.

[shante]

So how does one determine for example, if their cable based provider is "Bandwidth Shaping" or controlling what one uses the connection for: regular web browsing, e-mail or for PtoP connectivity?

[Lord of the Rings]

One good way is downloading a magnet link through LW & seeing what speeds you get + MagnetMix.com +: The Source for Good Content I presume you should be able to get over 100 KB/s normally so if you get less than this ...

If you also already know what speeds you can get via speed tests, this will help you to know also. Choose nearest location for a speed test & only have your browser open: Speed Test Internet Speed Test DSL Speed Test Broadband Speed Test Bandwidth Speed Test. ISP speed tests are usually measured in bits per second (kbps) whereas LW measures them is bytes per second (KB/s). So after doing your speed test, divide it by 8 to give you the equivalent in B/s

[ukbobboy01]

Hi Shante

You have asked some interesting questions, I won't be able to answer all of them but I can deal with a couple. You asked:

But if FireWalls are in place how does LimeWire get files to download/upload through them?

OK, just imagine that you have a wall protecting your home from a busy high road (wall = firewall, busy high road = internet). Now, to get to and from that road, in order to get to work etc, you have to go through a door, i.e. opening a port (or several ports) on your computer to get to the internet. So basically, that is what you do when you allow LW access to and from the internet, you open a number of doors to and from your computer.

Therefore, when ever you run LW, or any other internet enabled app, you are giving that app access to and from the internet via your firewall. Those access ports will stay open until the application is closed, i.e. ended, or until you use your firewall to prevent further access.

Going off topic for a moment, must people don't know this but whenever you boot up windows a lot of its mini-apps (parts that make up windows) access the internet without your knowledge, the two that spring to mind are "svchost" and "Windows Explorer" (yes, Windows Explorer). Now, there is no reason why "Windows Explorer", and for that matter "svchost", should want to access the internet. Therefore, I have used my firewall to block them.

You also asked:

So how does one determine for example, if their cable based provider is "Bandwidth Shaping" or controlling what one uses the connection for: regular web browsing, e-mail or for PtoP connectivity?

Usually, you find that you can still surf the web, as normal, but you can no longer use your P2P app to download anything.

I found this out when I was with Virgin (a UK ISP) one Saturday I found I could no longer download film clips, when the week before I had no problems, while my internet browsing/surfing remained unaffected.

After doing some research, because Virgin would not admit anything was wrong, I came across an internet article that publicised that Virgin had started (secretly) bandwidth shaping.

That was last year, now Virgin has publically stated it will monitor it's customers usage and take appropriate action where necessary.

Hope this aided your understanding.


UK Bob

[shante]

Thanks
Thankfully I am on a Mac and many of those stupid issues that seem to run rampant in the Windows environment just don't apply.
I am getting a bit closer to understanding some of this but still I have my fears of getting busted for merely downloading files of undisclosed types that ate being shared across the international web. I am not selling or making money off any of the items I use LW to download in fact a lot of the stuff is merely archived for future reference or use (except for music of course). But I do see individual people getting busted, for instance, here in the States (as shown on the evening news last week) for downloading/sharing music. Not sure how easy or prevalent it is but she got busted as, according to the broadcast, have many others, for sharing/downloading thousands of music files.

Assuming the quantity of connections and available files has only diminished and not altogether ceased (as was your case with Virgin), can one merely assume there are just fewer people out there sharing certain type files or applications or can one still assume my ISP is controlling my PtoP sharing functions somehow?