MCTIt’s very popular, often misused and named after a citrus fruit.
Many users of the controversial software LimeWire have been heavily fined for downloading or sharing copyrighted music and programs.
To many students such as Kara Swift, LimeWire remains a convenience.
“My LimeWire is used a lot by my roommates and I as well as many people on my floor,” Kara Swift, a sophomore undeclared major, said. “The songs take no time to download.”
Other students are a little more wary.
“I know it is considered illegal. I actually haven’t used it since I’ve been at school,” freshman undeclared major Nicole Asay said.
Patrick Trencansky, a sophomore finance and accounting major, disagrees about the legality issue.
“I am aware that certain file sharing is illegal, but there is also a very fine line” Trencansky said. “It’s not always illegal.”
Trencansky is right; using LimeWire is not always against the law.
“LimeWire itself is technically not illegal, nor is peer-to-peer networking in general,” technical support specialist David Helfrich said. “The reality is that people rip music from CDs, or video from DVDs and share those files illegally.”
Fines have been issued depending on the content downloaded.
“The legal issues arise when such networks are used to share copyrighted material in a way that prevents the owners of that material from receiving proper compensation,” Helfrich said.
According to LimeWire.com, downloading LimeWire from their website is also agreeing that the product will not be used against copyright infringement laws.
When LimeWire is used as it was created for, legal file sharing, it can have benefits.
“A band that is just starting out might share mp3s of their music for others to download in an effort to gain exposure,” Helfrich said.
Trencansky agrees.
“LimeWire is just connecting you with a larger network of friends who are sharing their music with you,” Trencansky said.
Legal action aside, Helfrich also warns of the risks that peer-to-peer sharing can create.
“Peer-to-peer networking, by definition, gives users direct access to other users’ hard drives,” Helfrich said. “This leaves users open to hacking and computer viruses can be spread very easily through such networks.”
He adds that some file-sharing programs come bundled with spyware that could pose security risks.
“Once a file on one computer is infected, other users will keep downloading the infected file to their own computers.”
Avoiding the harmful situation all together is junior exercise science major Craig Lowrie. Lowrie uses Napster, another peer-to-peer sharing software that was the original hotspot for copyright infringement. Napster is now a media device that solves the problem of infringement by charging a small fee per download.
“I use Napster for DJing. It’s the cheapest legal thing out there,” Lowrie said. “All files Napster has to offer are the original unaltered files directly from the companies that produce them. There are so many songs, it offers basically whatever I need.”
Beyond the legal actions and the possible hazards, Trencansky still protests.
“If you share a CD with a friend, is it really illegal?”
