- Publisher
- Tom Clarke |
- Date
- October 28, 2010
The popular P2P program which was finally shut down yesterday was a mine of pirated, illegal and malicious content.
LimeWire, the banned peer-to-peer file sharing application, was a pioneer in its field. Launched in May 2000, it enabled millions of users to download an unimaginable quantity of almost exclusively unlicensed content (I can't work it out but it's somewhere up there between an exabyte and a zettabyte). But few in the know are mourning its demise, even if it comes at the hands of the sometimes reviled RIAA.
LimeWire, you see, despite having the most complete feature set of any of the major Gnutella clients, was not a piece of software that engendered much love from software experts. Sure, it was hugely popular. But with network-specific software, popularity just breeds popularity: it is not a sign of real objective quality.
In its early days, LimeWire was bundled with spyware. It quickly became one of the most important vectors for computer virus infections on Windows machines. At one point, around 30% of files shared on the Gnutella network were infected with malware. The only major successful viral assault on Macs was also launched via LimeWire. Recent attempts to sell a 'Pro' edition of the open-source program upset many users too.
And then there is the pirated and objectionable content. I'm aware that I'm going to sound like some sort of arch-conservative writing this, but the truth is that LimeWire users, when not downloading trojans, were generally downloading shoddy cam versions of films currently showing in the cinema. Or pornography, some of it illegal. The LimeWire user forums, when they were still up, were full of users worried about having downloaded illegal material: it seems that this was quite a common problem.
In many ways, LimeWire is a relic of an age that is passing. There is evidence that the popularity of P2P is waning in Europe, and that many US users are happier to use NetFlix or Hulu than bother with illegal downloads. As people get used to safe, affordable or even free streaming services, the popularity of illegal downloads will continue to decline. This initial 'Wild West' era in internet history won't end soon but its days are certainly numbered.
I don't think for a second that we're approaching a time when we'll have a risk-free internet. But I do think that the internet is getting safer and that this is a good thing. LimeWire was a program that was rotten to its very core and that promoted the dissemination of malware, illegal pornography and pirated content of insultingly poor quality. The internet is evolving. LimeWire was a dinosaur. Its demise shouldn't be mourned.
Commented
what do we use now. I could find all of the "really different" music on Lime Wire. WHAT DO WE USE NOW TOO FIND THE MUSIC CHOICES WE LIKE?
i personally think that the internet should be lawless not to the point of selling slaves via internet but the law should be after more important things but problem is the bureaucrats have nothing better to do than go after people that pirate because they think that were bad people when in truth a lot of people pirate because of money issues like the poor man who steals his loaf of bread or they do it because they hate demos and buy whatever it is they pirate after they give it a good try if not they get rid of it then there is the people that the government should go after that have no lives except to make the rest of us look bad but i digress limewire will not be missed in my eyes it was nothing more that a mere pawn of the pirates but no pirating is bad and i do not condone it but i can agree with it sometimes also they should not be after pirates but instead just monitor the internet for the bad crimes such as drug dealings and sex trafficking and then going after them because these companies were so called "stealing" from have so much money and even if we were to actually "steal" from them which i might add pirating is not for stealing implies the loss of something of someone to the gain of someone else does not occur for it is nothing more than a mere copy of what was initially bought in the first place so technically the product was paid for
Davien (post just prior to mine),
-- Are you like 9 yo? Cuz that post, by far was the longest, hardest-to-read run-on sentence that didn't even qualify as a sentence because it contained ZERO PUNCTUATION! It was full of run-on sentences that weren't sentences. It was so difficult to read. You not once used capitalization of letters, no beginnings of sentences or beginnings of new thoughts could be identified visually. -- Do you always write like that? If so, it's horrible, hard to read, & just plain lazy. STOP DOING THAT. Learn to write correctly so people can read your post.
Allan you deserve a cookie man for downloading Limewire Pro through Limewire itself! Limeception.