Limewire OS X - Spyware?
 

Would someone would like to comment on this one:

To expand on the previous poster’s comment: Since moving to a .pkg install, LimeWire now includes something called "LimeShop," which is installed and executed completely without notifying the user. To remove it, delete the prefpane in ~/Library/PreferencePanes and kill the java process that is running it. Two related items are also placed in the active user’s login items, so be sure to delete those as well.

In short, LimeWire is now confirmed to contain what I consider to be spyware. I suggest you avoid LimeWire entirely.(1/5/2004, Version: 3.7.3)

LimeShop was previously only included in the windows installers but seems like OSX users are finally able to enjoy LimeShop, too.

http://www.limewire.com/english/content/moxiefaq.shtml

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place, but you're on a subject I'm attempting to rectify.

Limeshop will not delete under "Add/Remove Programs". It gives the error "Java Virtual Machine Launcher - Could not find the main class. Program will exit."

Likewise, when I right-click the mouse, "LimeShop Preferences" is there, I would like to remove this as well, and any other associated files that you may know of.

If you could post it in plain English - I'm not a techie. Thanks in advance for your time.

Sharon
happyfeetprod@yahoo.com

Limeshop preferences
 

ANyone figure out how to remove the "Limeshop Preferences" from the mouse right click menu?

There are no more LimeShop bundled app in LimeWire 3.8, 3.9 and now 4.0. All what is installed is a "Limeshop" pane which is just a static local HTML page, which is renamed simply "Shopping since 3.9.9. This is exactly as if you pointed your browser to visit the URL of the "Shopping" link on the LimeWire web site.
This is not spyware, only advertizing, which is absent from the Pro version. The installer is clean and the LimeWire website does not lie.

If you are still not convinced run Ad-Aware or Spy-Sweeper (which you can use to remove the now dead local LimeShop tool, which was effectively adding a link in your browser but was not a spyware monitoring your online activities and was never changing your search page or diverting your from the page you wanted to visit; so LimeShop was a adware which shown some additional ads, but was not a spyware; two years ago LimeWire has broken its contract with Cydoor which was a spyware causing problems, and developed LimeShop instead to offer only ads; with the success of LimeWire, even LimeShop is no longer necessary and is no more bundled, even with LimeWire Basic).

Re: Limeshop preferences
 

Use Ad-Aware or SpySweeper (both are free and exempt of their own adwares, however the second is a commercial application where the free version is just missing the automatic update feature and proposes you to buy the Pro version). LimeWire does not need LimeShop to run successfully.

There is still a difference between LimeWire Basic and Pro, explained on the download page (in addition in the Pro version, you won't see any "Get Pro" dialog or the link displayed at the bottom of the status bar, and you'll get unconditional Turbocharged connections and more parallel sources for swarmed downloads, which means faster downloads if there are many sources available).

I hope that the comment currently shown in the CNet's download.com site will disappear when reviewing LimeWire 4.0 (I hope they will perform a effective review and will not reuse their old review which was made with LimeWire 3.7 or before).

Limeshop preferences
 

Thank you verdyp for replying to my post. I have successfully removed LimeShop from the right click menu for IE. I did this by searching the registry for all LimeShop references and deleted them.