This is an expanded list for protection against spammers and other abusers of gnutella.
Place the list in this archive, called "hostiles.txt", into the folder C:\Program Files\BearShare\db.
The smaller copy already there will not be lost, as it is already built in to BearShare.

LimeWire users:
Place "hostiles.txt", into LimeWire's settings folder.

On Windows : C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_NAME\.limewire
Alternate location: C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_NAME\Application Data\Limewire
(You may have to change a setting in Explorer to be able to see this folder.
Go to the Tools menu, then Folder Options, switch to the View tab and turn on "Show hidden files and folders".)
On Mac OSX 10.4 and up : Macintosh HD/Users/YOUR_NAME/Library/Preferences/LimeWire


Expect a significant delay as BearShare starts up.
Loading this list is the first thing it does, and apparently it has to convert it internally as it does so.
Update - Feb, 18 2005: BearShare 4.7.0.70 and up now load the list almost instantly. Thanks, Ed!

CPU usage will be higher if you are running an ultrapeer, but BearShare will stay in leaf mode unless you have a fast computer.
If you find it too heavy a load, go to Setup/Service and put a checkmark on "Never become an ultrapeer"
Update - Feb. 23, 2005: BearShare 4.7.0.71 and up now run the list more efficiently. Thanks again, Ed! ;]

Update - July 12, 2005:
A new bug in versions of BearShare (5.0 and up) makes older versions of the hostiles list
block many innocent IP addresses. DELETE AND STOP SHARING ALL HOSTILES LISTS OLDER THAN
JULY 12, 2005.

Update - July 16, 2005:
All LAN ranges are opened, so be careful about files from your own local network.

Added about 8800 hosts infected with the prolific VB:CC worm. The source list
for this worm will be rotated slowly enough for most of the blocked hosts to
detect and clean themselves before they drop from the list. Those few that
fail to remove it will roll forward to a longer term blocklist. The VB:CC list will
probably stabilize to slightly over 10,000 for the next few months and taper off
to near zero as people update their antivirus scanners.

Update - September 26, 2005:
More worms and trojans added. The list is now about as big as it will ever get,
with 223,916 rules, and I'd need more RAM to make it any bigger. ;]

Update - September 28, 2005:
Catching up with a notorious spammer who just happened to change tactics as
the list was updated on Monday. A coincidence, I'm sure…

Update - December 4, 2005:
Added many more worms and heavy spammers, with thousands of sites, but
constantly improving intel results in a slightly smaller and more effective list.

Update - February 1, 2007:
Notice the name change? That's right, it's not just for BearShare anymore.
LimeWire 4.13 and up can use this list now.

Update - February 11, 2007:
New Worm. It's still small, so get stomping! ;]

Update - March 3, 2007:
Skyrider (that new commercial P2P spammer announced last year) finally pops up on our RADAR! ;]

Update - July 22, 2007:
More info makes raw input top 800.000, but better intel shrinks the final result to less than half.

Update - January 12, 2008:
Continuing improvements in intel are still shrinking the list while covering more
address space, and most of the worms that were a major problem a year or more
ago are quickly going extinct. We're mostly fighting the last few desperate
spammers now, and recent updates to LimeWire are helping stomp them out of the
network.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO DELETE THE PREVIOUS LISTS!
They go stale and should be replaced often.

Here's a web link to the ZIP file:TechNutopia Fullsize Hostiles List
…and another: TechNutopia Fullsize Hostiles List

Those first two links are 404 and the last looks really suspicious. Is this still working?

It was updated, but I forgot to update the links too.
I'll just leave the links pointing to the simpler undated filename.

I see nothing suspicious about video-gamer91.com.
What bothered you about it?

I cannot remember now, it just looked funny at the time, anyway, I got it and I am using it now. Do I come to this the page in order to update the list? Or does it do it automatically?

You have to come here to download it.
If you click on the subscribe to this thread
link you'll get an email every time I update it.

Aaron.Walkhouse !

Accidentally I found a search giving hundreds of spam results in one run. If you have interest, I can send it to add to your searches.

I'm always interested in those. Send me a PM. ;]

Hopefully you get my 1st PM.

Yeah, I know that one. They try to flood out a lot of searches.
Here's how to defeat them: Sticky: How to spot and avoid fake search results.

I have been using limewire for a few years, but this is my first post. I wanted to share what I had learned about fake files at least in the software and video categories.

First of all, Peer Guardian is a must have. Their lists are upgraded daily, and they block about 966 million IPs. That puts a dent in who gets thru to your machine.

Using Bitzi for movie downloads is an excellent way to prove your file is legitimate. And that's even before you choose the file to download. The size of a standard 2 hr movie is around 700 MGs. Some are lower, but anything below 690 MG isn't going to be good quailty. Many movies exceed 1 Gig, because the ripper did a quality job. They're going to look real good on your screen, and reencoding to DVD will produce excellent results.

A standard 1 hour TV show is usually around 350 to 400 MGs Again, check it with Bitzi. Also study your search results... after a while, you'll get a decent hunch what is real and what is fake, just by looking at the file name, and other clues. If you see comments like "the real thing", "not a cam", "excellent quality", and other such phrases, it's a good bet that they are fakes.

The overwhelming majority of movies and TV shows are AVIs. (99.99%) They could be encoded in DIVX, XVID, or the like, but they end up as AVI file, usually. A movie in MPG format is likely not going to be of good quailty, or might be a fake. just stay away from them. (on the other hand, little snippet videos, usually under 100 MGs, will be in MPG format. I usually don't have a need for these little files, so I can't really speak for them.

As far as software is concerned, picking out the fakes may seem daunting, but it's not really that hard. Just a little common sense, observation, and detective work will improve your chances of getting the real thing. A rule of thumb: DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY SOFTWARE FILE UNDER 1 MG. Your chances of avoiding trojans and other baddies planted there by anti P2P groups will vastly improve. Dead giveaways: file sizes of 228KB, 197.7KB, 750KB (+ or -), 851KB (+ or -), are obvious hoaxes. Even files over 1 MG can be hoaxes. Look for a variation of the software title. Good bet it's a hoax. A ridiculous version number is a pretty good giveaway, too.

As for the file size, go to the software's homepage (actually their download page), and see what size the real file is. Compare that to the file sizes in you search results, and that should help you make an educated guess. There is no guarantee that you'll get the real thing, but at least your choices are narrowed down.

A word of advice: If you are looking for licensed software, save yourself the legal and guessing hassles; there are hundreds of freeware titles out there (that you can get legally from software sites), that are comparable or better than commercial versions. Why put a commercial over-bloated resource hog on your machine (ie, norton, ms office, macafee, Adobe, Macromedia, and other "suites" when you can get free apps that actually perform as good if not better. Yes, there is bogus freeware out there, but there are a number of sites that advise you what is good and bad. The vast majority of my software is freeware. There are a few paid programs, such as windows, limewire, and a few others, but I do just fine with freeware. Sourceforge.net is an excellent site for freeware; they are the kings of open source software. But I'm getting off topic. For every piece of commercial software, I could mention a freeware app that would match it. For the most part.

I have tried many P2P apps, in addition to limewire, but either I'm too stupid, or they are too confusing to use. I always come back to limewire, even though over the past year or two, it seems as if quality downloads have shrunk, while bogus stuff has increased. That's not the fault of limewire - it is the result of a@#$holes out there who don't have a life, and distribute malicious apps. But there is a growing turn-around of business types who see a real future in P2P, and eventually, the danger will decrease.

Anyway, good luck in your P2P activities, and I hope I may have helped a little in my advice.