by Mark Stone

Created on: February 19, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

In 1999, Shawn Fanning created a little program called Napster, which allowed users to share files over the Internet. Little did anyone know then that Napster would end up being the catalyst that changed the music industry forever.

Since then, we've witnessed many changes. Napster went on to die a not-so-quiet death at the hands of the Notorious RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). Soon after, Limewire surfaced and remains the predominant file-sharing program used by millions of users.

In Canada, the legalities of downloading music are not exactly black-and-white since obtaining files from a file-sharing site is legal, though uploading a file is not. This explains why Limewire is more popular in Canada than the United States, where laws are significantly stricter since the inception of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

There are risks involved with having Limewire on your system. My estimates from talking to people over the last few years are that 70 percent have Limewire installed. Most kept Limewire on their system despite knowledge of the risks!

So what are you getting yourself into having Limewire on your computer? Depending on whom you talk to, the answer ranges anywhere from "no problems at all" to "you are opening a door to your computer for the world to see". At various points in the Limewire timeline, both of these answers were true. In early 2005 the then-current version of Limewire had a flaw that supposedly exposed your hard drive to anyone else on the Limewire network; this flaw has since been fixed.

The biggest problem facing Limewire users is the vast amount of viruses and malware that hide within the files being traded on the network. When you download a file from Limewire, can you really be certain that the file is legitimate? No. Also, the files you download can be imbedded with malware. An overwhelming percentage of those I talk to who are experiencing slower computer performance eventually admit to having Limewire on their system. I don't think this is a coincidence.

There are accusations that Limewire can divulge your file-sharing habits to third parties. I am unable to find any substantiating evidence, but to me, the threat of this privacy invasion is enough to warrant my not using Limewire. Another huge issue is the amount of pornography that appears on almost any file search. If you are a parent and your child is using Limewire, I urge you to take the time to know what your child is doing on the internet.

Slow computer performance, viruses, spyware, privacy issues, and pornography I strongly believe these reasons not to install Limewire outweigh the need to download free music and movies. I don't think it's worth the hassle.

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