After the free version of limewire was closed in 2010, Limewire Pro 2011 is now the only way to download music, movies and software on the internet. The number of files available for download has grown heavily in recent years and the team of Limewire pro has worked hard to make the software even more secure. Automatic filters delete threats such as viruses, malware, spyware and trojans so your computer will not get infected.

Why was the free version of limewire closed?

Free version limewire was closed because of pressure from the music and movie industry who did not want to share files for free. Now the only way to access free files is to download the professional version of limewire pro simply by clicking the red "Download Now" button. You can download any software, music or movies file you have ever searched for! LimeWire is an Internet based, peer-to-peer network designed to enable users to download and share files with other users on the system.  The program was developed in 2000 by its creator, Mark Gorton.  Over the years the creative development team introduced a host of extremely cleaver enhancements to the system and by 2010 the package presented a truly top class site for users needing to download files (notably music files) from the Internet.  These things resulted in LimeWire becoming the most successful file sharing site on the Internet up to October of 2010.  Its features are what drew the users to it and this kept it going from strength to strength. In 2010, Lime Wire LLC (the owner of the LimeWire system) was hit with a lawsuit which accused it of copyright infringement.  This is understandable of course given that the main activity on the site involved the transfer of files for no cost to those receiving them.  Many of these files will have comprised copyrighted material so the court case was perhaps inevitable.  The judge,  Kimba Wood, found that the site was indeed guilty of perpetrating and enabling the illegal distribution of copyrighted material.  She directed that the LimeWire operation be closed down with immediate effect and this was done on October 27, 2010.  If you go onto the official LimeWire site you will see a notice of the court injunction on the disabled home page. The question then, is can we still use LimeWire pro and if we can, should we be doing so.  To answer the first question – yes LimeWire prostill works.  Because it does not rely on a central server to operate, people who had the program on their computers before 2012 can still use the system.  It still runs on the Gnutella network.  Whether one should continue using the service is another question.  Obviously the service will not be upgraded with new versions and no technical support will be available from the developers.  You may be able to get help from fellow users via discussion forums.  If your requirements are merely to download a tune every now and again then your original version of LimeWire pro will probably continue to provide an acceptable tool.  You could continue to use it until something happens to render the program unworkable.  If you are new to downloading and you are deciding whether to sign up with LimeWire then you need to proceed with caution.  The versions of the program which advertise on the Internet have nothing to do with the original LimeWire developers.  Each of these sites have taken the code created for LimeWire and used this code to develop a file sharing service.  Your problem with this is you know nothing about the people or person behind the site.  You cannot be sure what type of support you are going to get, whether enhancements are going to be produced (unlikely!) or how your sensitive personal data is going to be handled.  For these reasons it is advisable to be extremely careful in your choice of service provider.  If you are set on signing on to a program with all the LimeWare pro features then you should investigate WireShare.  This set-up is thought to be run by the original LimeWire development team.  They took the LimeWire code when LimeWire was shut down and have been developing their service ever since.  If the team is the original LimeWire team then you will get the support, future enhancements and some confidence regarding the security over your sensitive personal information. To conclude, if you have the old LimeWire pro program on your computer since before the then consider changing updating your version.  If you are set on staying with the old LimeWire pro system then look at Download now button.  If you want a complete change in the way you download then consider one of the limewire pro clients on the Internet. The illegal downloading of copyrighted material from the Internet is an ongoing problem for artists who own the material, downloaders who break the law and the download/file sharing services which enable this behaviour.  The recent LimeWire case where the court found in favour of a group of record producers against LimeWire’s owner is an example of an unhappy ending for the downloading community.  One of the best file sharing sites was closed leaving millions of subscribers with no service provider and the creator of an excellent product was shut down.  In this day and age, creativity should be encouraged not punished and we run the risk of stifling some really ground breaking developments in information technology if we fail to resolve the problem of copyright theft.  No one wants to rob artists of their earnings so what is needed is a win-win solution which can benefit everyone.  Solving the problem is not going to be easy but it should be possible. One approach is to harness the power of advertising to create a solution.  Here is a walk-through of a scenario which could represent a helpful model.  A downloader called A signs up with a new peer-to-peer file sharing service.  This new service belongs to a body called The Association for Ethical Downloading which attracted A, an ethical individual.  On signing up A is asked to provide a detailed personal profile which is recorded and saved (age, sex, likes, dislikes, hobbies etc).  Our downloader A has joined the site and now wants to download some music for his iPod collection.  He does a search on the system and discovers the song he seeks.  When he clicks on the song it downloads immediately and he is presented on his screen with three adverts.  These are all for things which appeal to A.  Furthermore they are all extremely good offers and he buys five Tshirts from one ad, a computer game from another and a really cheap but high quality watch from the third.  The suppliers of all of these products are each charged an advertising fee because someone clicked on their ad and then went on to buy.  The artist who produced the song that was downloaded gets half of this advertising revenue and the hosting site gets the other half.        Let us take stock of what has happened.  The downloader found his rare song in record time and downloaded it quickly.  He also scored three of the best deals he has ever received.  The site earned advertising revenue and the artist was paid for the download.  The retailers who supplied the products moved some stock which was getting old and because in addition to A, there were one thousand other downloaders with his demographic, were able to clear their shelves of the advertised articles completely.  They had only to pay a small advertising charge for each transaction.  Everyone is happy and no-one has gained at the expense of anyone else.  The phenomenon of copyright downloading has been legitimatised and has been harnessed as a driver for commercial activity. The above approach is an example of the type of thinking which can help to solve the illegal downloading problem.  There will be plenty of other measures which could be incorporated into our approach – we need some creative brains to come up with them.  When we have a model which serves everyone there will never be cause for a repeat of the circumstances which led to the demise of LimeWire.     LimeWire or Limewire pro? LimeWire, as most Internet file sharers will remember, was a peer-to-peer file sharing program on the Internet.  This service was extremely popular and over the period of its life (2000 to 2010) was developed and enhanced to a high level of easy and efficient functionality.  In 2000, the developer of LimeWire made the LimeWire code available to the public.  This was as part of a freeware project and it has ensured that the program lives on and can be used by others to provide a file sharing service on the internet just as LimeWire LLC did with LimeWire pro.  In October 2010, Lime Wire lost a court case in which it was accused of committing and enabling copyright fraud and it was closed down by the court.  The LimeWire pro code is still available as stated above and you can sign up with a number of sites offering the program as it was when shut down.  You could also sign up with a totally different type of service if you are unsure about how the LimeWire code is going to be enhanced as time passes.  One such alternative to Limewire is Vuze. Vuze bills itself as the “most powerful BitTorrent on earth.” A recent review found that this program is ideal for novices who need an easy program to plug and play with no learning curve required.  The interface is very much like iTunes and is therefore easy for most users.  A significant website obtained a 4 out of 5 star rating from 1962 respondents for this product.  Reservations have been voiced around the downloading of full length movies but for music, most users have no complaints.  Vuze was previously Azureus which was first released in 2003.  It was released to the public as free software shortly after its release and it remains in the public domain.  Recent upgrades however are owned by the developers and anyone wishing to incorporate these upgrades is obliged to accept some restrictive licence terms.  Content on Vuze is nicely organised into categories and includes TV programs, videos, films and music.  Like LimeWire pro, swarm downloading is used to speed the process up.  LimeWire pro was developed to a high standard over many years and it includes features  such as the ability to launch files while you download them.  The XMPP protocol allows for enhanced social interaction between users with similar interests and the system permits firewall-to-firewall transfers. The two systems are different in what they offer.  LimeWire pro is probably more advanced in terms of social interaction whereas Vuze is more concentrated on the actual downloading of files.  Vuze is a current program with developers constantly upgrading whereas the original LimeWire pro was not closed down.  This leaves the LimeWire pro code in the hands of a group of service providers who simply use the code.  With all of the above factors in mind it is probably safer to go with Vuze than with one of the untested LimeWire pro sites.  This is not to say that these sites will not prove very good in future but at this time you should go with a program which has had time to develop and to prove itself to Internet users. One approach is to harness the power of advertising to create a solution.  Here is a walk-through of a scenario which could represent a helpful model.  A downloader called A signs up with a new peer-to-peer file sharing service.  This new service belongs to a body called The Association for Ethical Downloading which attracted A, an ethical individual.  On signing up A is asked to provide a detailed personal profile which is recorded and saved (age, sex, likes, dislikes, hobbies etc).  Our downloader A has joined the site and now wants to download some music for his iPod collection.  He does a search on the system and discovers the song he seeks.  When he clicks on the song it downloads immediately and he is presented on his screen with three adverts.  These are all for things which appeal to A.  Furthermore they are all extremely good offers and he buys five Tshirts from one ad, a computer game from another and a really cheap but high quality watch from the third.  The suppliers of all of these products are each charged an advertising fee because someone clicked on their ad and then went on to buy.  The artist who produced the song that was downloaded gets half of this advertising revenue and the hosting site gets the other half.        Let us take stock of what has happened.  The downloader found his rare song in record time and downloaded it quickly.  He also scored three of the best deals he has ever received.  The site earned advertising revenue and the artist was paid for the download.  The retailers who supplied the products moved some stock which was getting old and because in addition to A, there were one thousand other downloaders with his demographic, were able to clear their shelves of the advertised articles completely.  They had only to pay a small advertising charge for each transaction.  Everyone is happy and no-one has gained at the expense of.