hi,
whenever i launch limewire and check the "connections" tab, i see there are many hosts connected to my computer. even if i turn off file sharing, i still see ip addresses connected to me for what seems to be a long period of time if i'm not sharing any files.
if my computer is on and my dsl active but WITHOUT limewire open, can people still connect to me? if filesharing is off, is there anything i need to worry about?
i'm a bit worried about having an open port authorized for Limewire. can't someone just hack into my computer thru that open port?

thanks a lot.

This is normal. When you open Limewire you connect to several hosts - you need them for the searches without them it would be impossible to find a file... even if you don´t share you stay connected until you disconnect (close Limewire, I am not sure if LW has a disconnect button). This is a very short explanation.

No.

Yes. Limewire has a freeloader option, people can block you if you don´t share. You want to download your files so share YOURS!

If somebody will hack you they don´t need to do it via Limewire, while you are connected to the internet there is at least one port open for your browser. 100% security is a dream... as long your firewall is good configured I wouldn´t worry about hackers, or are you a millionaire or do you have top secret information?

You should read this thread to learn more about Gnutella and how it works:

http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...&threadid=4638

Morgwen

ah ok. thank you very much. yes, i do share files, but i turned them off to see if people could still connect to me, which they could. but now that you explain it, it makes sense as to why.
yeah, i don't have any top secret information or anything, and no, i'm no millionaire. maybe one day.
one day....

thanks again.