How To: Avoid downloading infected MP3s from LIMEWIRE.

How To: Avoid downloading infected MP3s from LIMEWIRE.

Consumers of shared files are familiar with downloaded music viruses.  Here is a method to minimize your chances of accidentally downloading an infected file.  Many zero-day virus attacks are not detected by your software, so the following instructions will assist you in minimizing the danger.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Don't use a version of Limewire later than 4.8.1.  This perfectly good version of Limewire has the settings, options and displays needed to detect many viruses.  The entirely cosmetic changes of the newer versions are not any improvement in performance and simply make navigation more difficult.

2.  Set your filter to remove all titles with "Best Of",  "GOOD", "RARE", "WORKING" or "Original Version" in the display.  These are sucker sites meant to lure in the unwary, and are a truly great source of viruses.  Urban legend has it that media manufactures lace these files with viruses to retaliate against peer-to-peer file sharing.

3. My advice is to never download anything but MP3s from Limewire.  Avoid particularly .au and .wma files.  These require special codecs and some want money before they will play.  Such people are a little unclear on the Limewire concept.

4. Look at the size of the MP3 file.  An MP3 requires approximately 1,000 kilobytes (at a sampling rate of 128) for each ONE minute of music.  Chances are, you will have an idea of the length of the tune you are seeking.  Thus, a three minute tune should have around 3,000 kilobytes, a four minute tune around 4,000 kilobytes and so on.  This is your BEST check for reasonableness.

5. NEVER download any file that has a decimal point in the file size.  Example, if the file is 868.7 bytes long, it is more than likely a virus.  A nasty virus.

6. NEVER play a tune using the on-line player like the Limewire Media Player.  Many people are tempted to do this to see if the music is the correct version they are seeking.  Wrong!  Download all versions and listen to them later, deleting the bad copies.  For that matter, never run any file on-line either.  Download it and run it locally.

7. Scan your Limeware share directory using your anti-virus custom scan after each batch of downloaded MP3 files.  Move the files that pass the virus test out of the share directory so that the share directory is empty before starting each session.

8. If worst comes to worst, don't play the downloaded MP3s on your computer at all.  Instead, burn them to a CD and play the disk on your portable CD player.  Portable CD players can't catch viruses, right?

OTHER INFORMATION

When downloading MP3s, please see my article:

How To: Use MP3Gain - and why.

[Author's note: As a professional bass player, I am sometimes taken to task on my views of copyright infringement.  Let me state that I am, thank my lucky stars, a live performer and most definitely NOT a studio musician.   If all musicians worked a forty-hour week (like me), there would be no such thing as piracy.  There ain't enough room on the stage.]

Source: Tales From The Trailer Court™ .

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Disclaimer: veryatlantic™ is a non-technical source for advice and entertainment and is not responsible for any damages under any theory. All posts sacrifice technical accuracy for user-friendliness. If unsure, get help. Please feedback errors for correction.

Comments (5)

iTony said:

	... I have been using Limewire and I keep it up-to-date for 5 years and never had a virus by downloading MP3 files and I use the Limewire Media Player. But you still want to be careful using any peer-to-peer softwares
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March 27, 2010
Votes: +1

iTony said:

	... There has not been any reported mp3 viruses for PCs. Even if an MP3 contained viruses , it could not run, as your media player does not compile or run executable commands.You want to avoid files with the extensions: .exe and .bat you can get a virus to your mp3 player but not with mp3's. You can however get firmware or apps with a virus
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March 27, 2010
Votes: +1

iTony said:

	... Great article and information about Limewire.
	report abuse vote down vote up

March 27, 2010
Votes: +0

lighthouse1958 said:

	... I've been using Limewire a long time too and never had a virus but I only download MP3 or Music Video's. When you start downloading software or pictures then you run into your virus problems.
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March 27, 2010
Votes: +1

djeff37 said:

... God article on Limewire. As mentioned above viruses can not be executed by media players. Malware (malicious software) can be deceptively given a mp3 extension and reside on your computer waiting for a program rename its extension to execute the coding contained within. This way the attack comes in two harder to detect parts. Best suggestion in using Limewire or any other file sharing program is stick to downloading audio/video files and refrain from downloading programs.

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March 31, 2010
Votes: +1