Same thief as before, they abuse the copyright of LimeWire and the GPL licence. How can people buy a software from a site that does not even show any street address and no people name at all?
Isn't the official LimeWire web site enough referenced in many download sites, and major search engines, or many MP3 sites?
Does this scam affects too with other legitimate Gnutella servents (BearShare notably)?
May be it's time to include in the downloadable installer a certificate which, when present, will avoid displaying alerts in search results.
For any other installation of LimeWire, there would be some results that would immediately appear in searches, that would show a warning about the true download site of LimeWire.
We need something to inform users in Gnutella, and a security feature bundled in the installer that would filter those administrative alerts.
Of course this certificate would not be part of the open-source project. There's a need to collaborate with BearShare about something to detect abusive servents.
One of the most useful thing would be really to create a Gnutella-promoted Chat system where users would interact and discuss directly, by adopting in the GDF some common IRC channels hosted by neutral IRC server.
One advantage with IRC is that it can also work outside of Gnutella too from the web using one of the many IRC applets or ActiveX components.
For now Gnutella users are too much isolated, and they are too much exposed to such threats, and there's a lack of education.
Chatting was one of the effective reasons why the past P2P programs succeeded. The Chat option in LimeWire is too much basic, and limited to 1-to-1 without possibilities to create effective contacts between friends.

Remember the ONLY official web site to download LimeWire:
http://www.limewire.com/
(also http://www.limewire.org/ for the open-sourced developement versions)

The official package is fully open-sourced, and subject to the GPL licence requirement: this means that a derivated work is possible according to the licence, but the GPL requirement still applies, and LimeWire clones MUST provide their sources as well, along with a copy of the GPL licence and information about how to get the sources of their clone. The GPL licence also requires that the copyright notice must be kept. Scammers that steal the sources to sell a product under their own licence are infringing the GPL licence, and they steal your money.

Also you won't get any support from this scammers that don't even show their official organisation name and street address.
Compare this to what the LimeWire web site displays for you: a physical address in NYC, USA, and people names (and their photos!). Nobody should ever buy anything on the Internet without being able to identify precisely who is the reseller.

Also some credit card processors should really be avoided for any online transaction: IBILLCS is a wellknown heaven for scammers and porn site spammers that steal your money: their identity verification is VERY weak (a "seller" can create an account with a fake identity in a few minutes with them, and they will immediately start collecting money; IBILLCS will refund those that complain, without taking any action against the scammer, that will continue to collect money). Serious credit card processors consider security more scrupulously and assist users legally: your national street banks, PayPal/eBay...

There's nothing that LimeWire can do about these scammers if you have been stolen, except publishing information about known thieves, and learning you how to use Internet more securely, notably when performing online transactions. Users should know that thieves exist everywhere on the Internet under fake identities. Those that receive hundreds of spam each day from around the world know that fact. On the Internet you NEED to be PARANOID and not trust anyone for which you can't even verify basic identity information.

LimeWire will also inform you about what you can do with the software and offers you a FREE try of the fully functional software, with the Basic version. If the Basic version works for you, be confident that the Pro version will also work for you; after your trial, that LimeWire thinks will be conclusive for you, you can then opt to support the LimeWire development project by buying a LimeWire Pro licence.
Note that the LimeWire Pro licence is NOT limited in time (only the free upgrade and free support which are exclusive to the Pro licence, are limited in time).

All serious Gnutella servent vendors offer you a free try of their software, even if they sell you licences to a Pro version to cover their development costs (this includes LimeWire.com, BearShare.com, GTKG), and they also have extensive online support areas, forums, and their developers are present in these forums, or in the Gnutella Developers Forum (GDF) on Yahoo Groups, where they discuss the protocol and help each other to detect possible bugs and quirks, or enhancements, and where they publish their own working or experimental specifications, to maximize interoperability.

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LimeWire is international. Help translate LimeWire to your own language.
Visit: http://www.limewire.org/translate.shtml

Sponsored links on Yahoo! or on ZDNet/CNET/Download.com does not mean approval by these services or quality or popularity. It's just an indication that the "sponsors" payed to get a placement on their search result pages.

I never follow such sponsored links on any site, unless this was the site I really wanted to visit before making the search...
Anyone can buy a placement on these services even for a poor and bogous product. There's no a-priori control, except for the payment itself. Of course if the sponsored link reveals to be a scam, Yahoo can make something after scrutiny, but only if the sponsor broke a Yahoo TOS policy, or if there's something illegal according to the US law. A link by itself is not illegal, unless the whole sponsored site is declared illegal. It will be easier to demonstrate a breach in the Yahoo TOS policy, if the sponsor uses its link on Yahoo to perform abusive operations such as spamming (the link alone shown on Yahoo results is not a spam), or abuse of a reserved trademark (if that link uses "LimeWire" in its domain name and describe its service without permission from Lime Wire LLC, NYC, USA). What can be done in this case is that LimeWire contacts Yahoo to claim its ownership on the registered trademark.

This said, the first two "sponsored results" on Yahoo are not working now (domain name parked?):
- www(dot)limewire-downloads(dot)com
- www(dot)limewiresoftware(dot)com
But the three others are still working:
- mp3downloadhq(dot)com
- www(dot)mp3sharing(dot)us
- www(dot)mp3musiczone(dot)com
The last three include the terms "with LimeWire" in their description, and this is an abuse of trademark. Additionally, none of these sites respect the GPL licence for the software copyright. Who will pay $1/month for these scammers that want you to pay to download a free software, modified with spywares and an illegal licence?

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Visit: http://www.limewire.org/translate.shtml

Wrong: the official LimeWire download page says exactly the opposite. There's no ad-ware bundled in the Basic version since now very long (all has been removed since version 2.9.8 which was the last one with bundled software).

There's only some text adds with a link displayed in the LimeWire window, and a dialog at startup proposing to buy the Pro version.
And the next release will no longer have the optional "LimeShop" tab (that displays within the LimeWire window only a static HTML page.) The Pro version guarantees that even these small items will be absent, and adds some more connectivity for faster searches and some more connectivity and speed for swarmed downloads. You may use the CA tools or Spybots&D or Ad-aware to remove completely LimeWire 2.9.8 before installing a new version of LimeWire. After the installation, neither SpybotS&D or Ad-Aware will complain about anything in LimeWire Basic 3.x or 4.x.

Note that Computer Associates will warn you about any LimeWire version or any other Gnutella or P2P program, because of the support of MAGNETs: LimeWire has a MAGNET URL handler, but this is NOT spyware or ad-ware as stated by Computer Associates. The CA database is outdated, bought from a company that ran out of business and has not maintained it to remove false alarms.

If you run Computer Associates' tool, it will remove the support for Magnets in LimeWire as well as BearShare or other P2P programs, because it detects the Magnet support falsely as "WinMX", and WinMX is effectively a spyware and adware by itself and is active you use your regular HTML browser or email agent for something else than P2P activities... This tool does not check the target handler for this MAGNET URL-scheme support. Also the tool bases its data on old LimeWire 2.9.8 Basic, and does not check for the current versions of LimeWire.

If you have had a bad experience in the past with LimeWire 2.9.8, try with at least a version 3.x or the current 4.x versions... You'll see the big difference in performance, and understand why LimeWire is now more than 60% of all Gnutella-compatible servents installed.

__________________
LimeWire is international. Help translate LimeWire to your own language.
Visit: http://www.limewire.org/translate.shtml

Yes, Kforcat... Please come back and tell us what site you went to where the different 'membership' offers were sold...
And, please mention what other, if any, filesharing programs were also offered...

Thanks

btw, if you just did that 'purchase' a very short time ago, do try to cancel the payment with your card company... As Soon As Possible... As in like Right Now !

__________________
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Tomorrow's forecast:
Sunni in places, Shi'ite in others...

Sorry, Kforcat...
There isn't much that you can do... Well, more like nothing, actually...

But, remember, in future do not pay for anything on the internet that you cannot first test for FREE...

The site you visited where they cheated you is typical of this sort of deception... They take advantage of the people who hear about filesharing (and other computer related stuff such as games, etc., etc.) and try to rely on the 'newness' of people...

Now, you are not so 'new' anymore, right ?


Oh... The weird time display ?
You mean in this forum, right ?
That is probably because you are not registered here...Yet

When/if you do register... FREE... than you will have settings to make about your time-zone and other stuff...

It is not exclusive to LimeWire, as I know you know, stief...

It applies to all of the better clients and networks.

I mention this now only to make it clear that it is not only LimeWire being used as a 'tease product' to encourage 'new users' into a trap.

As others have said, read the fine print and you will see that these groups are 'legal' in the letter of the law.

If you think there is any possibility of cancelling the transaction, than yes... Immediately try to stop payment...
And, be certain to alert - IF possible - the card company as to the nature of the 'scamming' company trying to rip you off...

There is no membership, only 6 months of free upgrades for 18.88 (pro version). Seems to me you have bought something at scam site Please say where you saw that, you've been had! Now be more conscious of your purchases next time...

Ciao

Edit: Prices as of 2008-9 are: Lime Wire » Download LimeWire _ Pro for 6 months support $21.95; _ Extended Pro support lasting 12 months for $34.95 __ LimeWire occasionally offer specials such as $13.95 with no support or updates, just a single copy of LW Pro.

__________________
Liens d'intérêt /Links of interest:
Gnutellaforums en français /The House's rules you have to respect / First search the forum, then create a thread / Free software alternatives! - Logiciels alternatifs gratuits!/

This site is a scam. What a bunch of you know what Hope you learned to be less naive next time, especially with the marketing they employed on their front page.

Ciao

__________________
Liens d'intérêt /Links of interest:
Gnutellaforums en français /The House's rules you have to respect / First search the forum, then create a thread / Free software alternatives! - Logiciels alternatifs gratuits!/