Limewire is a peer-to-peer file sharing program that lets you search and share file with other people on the Internet. Limewire is free to download and free to use. There are several problems with using a file sharing program like Limewire. Here we will show you how to keep from exposing your computer and your personal files from viruses and identity thieves.

What not to shareWhen you install Limewire, the program asks you if you want to search you computer for media files to share. This is where the first security problem can arise. Limewire will automatically search your hard drive for any media files then ask you if you want to share the folder those files are stored in. Unfortunately this search almost always asks the user if they want to share the windows system folder. If you were to share your windows system folder you will be sharing all of your computer’s primary files to the internet and in worse case sinerios your password files will be exposed to these file sharing programs. The next folder to avoid sharing is My Documents. Let�s see what else gets saved in My Documents. Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, digital photos, your tax documents, scanned documents. Almost every program saves in My Documents by default. Then there are the people who find it easier to share their entire c:\ drive rather than go through the bother of finding the files they wish to share. These make everything on your computer accessible to the internet.
So what should you do to share files? The safest way to share files is to create a directory set the directory’s permission to read/write only. Then tell Limewire that is the only directory that you wish to share from.

What not to open

Anything, Do not open any files that you download from a file sharing network without scanning the file for viruses first. Viruses can look like any type of file and you are downloading these files from strangers. Virus writers and spammers will flood sharing networks with their malicious files. A favorite technique of virus writer is to name viruses similar to the most popular downloads.

Limewire is not a free iTunes

Downloading copyrighted material can get you into a lot of trouble. So how can you tell what material will not get you into trouble. Limewire will let you know when you are downloading unlicensed content. If it is unlicensed then it can get you into trouble. A good rule of thumb is if you have seen it in the movie theater or the music store then you probably could get in trouble for downloading.

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