The LimeWire Fullsize Hosts Filter!

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

I have been pounding cranium against LimeWire today, in order to port the
Fullsize list into it. After a few hours I finally found how to do it, but it's pretty
inconvenient because the poor beast isn't designed to make it easy.

As it is now, LimeWire will be sluggish when you save settings because it tries
to save everything when you make one small change. Make sure you have it
set just the way you want it before adding the full list.

Here's how:

1. Download the list attached below
2. Unzip and open it in a text editor (Make sure word-wrap is off at all times)
3. Find "DIRECTORY_FOR_SAVING_FILES=C\:\\Shared" and change it to point where you choose.
   (Or just leave it that way if your text editor can't handle the file without damaging it)
4. Close the file
5. Shut down Limewire
6. Go into your user profile and find LimeWire's folder [C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\.limewire]
7. Rename "limewire.props" to "limewire.props.bak"
8. Copy the new "limewire.props" to that folder
9. Start Limewire

Limewire will now have the whole list in Tools/Options/Filters/Hosts.

PLEASE NOTE that there will be a delay of 5-10 minutes on startup before LimeWire begins connecting to hosts.
This is normal because it has to process the list before it starts.

[limefan913]

You have FTP access, you can just add it to the page, and I'll change the links to Gnutella Hostiles Links.

Also, you should consider mentioning that to some devs over there

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

Already done, along with a request to turn it into a separate file.

I've already uploaded it to you, but editing the page will have to wait because I'm off visiting and feasting with relatives. ;]

[gregorio]

LimeWire's host filter isn't really designed to handle that kind of host files. You won't really be able to use it without editing the source code - namely adding a second IP filter that takes the IPs to block from an independent file - ideally storing the IPs in some sort of binary format.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

It's working fine now. There is a short delay of a few minutes on startup but overall CPU load seems to be unaffected, so all that is needed is to streamline the code like Ed did for BearShare and to allow it to use a dedicated file.

Once it becomes easy to install, more people will try it and everyone will enjoy the benefit of freedom from those wasteful parasites on the network.

It should be easy enough for you to use, so give it a try and see what happens.

[gregorio]

Nah, I'm not into blocking IPs.

[Beethoven]

I sure am, I don't think blocking RIAA/MPAA hired hackers and blocking zombie spammers is a bad thing at all. Anyway, shouldn't people have the option which way they want to go on this? Peer2Peer is littered with landmines compared to three years ago. Why not use a sweeper? I don't think we should worry too much about spammer's rights... honestly.

[gregorio]

Sure, anyone is free to write a patch that will enable LimeWire to handle that kind of host files gracefully. All I said is that I would certainly not do it, because personally I believe that blocking IPs is useless and only encourages spammers to use dynamic IPs - and when they do that you are right back where you started from, - so why bother.

[Beethoven]

That's a good point, and I'm sure some spammers already use dynamic IPs, just as some some P2P users use the patches. But for whatever reason (eg the patches are large), only a small security-minded subset of the community use these patches. But for those who care and do, they're a real blessing.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

You keep arguing theoretically against it. Have you tried it yet?

The fullsize list successfully blocks a lot of spammers and hostiles of all kinds because it is compiled from many sources which are updated much more frequently than dynamic addresses are shifted around. Spammers cannot move around to different commercial spaces anymore because virtually all of them are blocked permanently now. The few who resort to private addresses are routinely caught and included in the list by dozens of volunteers when found.

If you want 100% freedom from spam uninstall your P2P and email programs, otherwise you'll just have to settle for the terribly low >95% efficiency of this list.

[CyberWraith]

I must say that although I am not completly Au Fait with the ins and outs of the hostiles list, i used it on Bearshare and if the improvement in Limewires user experiance is half as good as the improvement I got with Bearshare then to not use it is just plain foolish, IMHO.

[gregorio]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Walkhouse

You keep arguing theoretically against it. Have you tried it yet?

Not this particular blocklist, - but I suppose they're all the same.

Spammers cannot move around to different commercial spaces
anymore because virtually all of them are blocked permanently now.

Baby? Bathwater?



EDIT:

I already spotted addresses from reserved ip ranges that aren't even commercially available.



blocking addresses from the following subnets really doesn't make much sense

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

[Beethoven]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Walkhouse

You keep arguing theoretically against it. Have you tried it yet?

Here's something I'd like to know: can the whole list be imported into my IE security settings (Prohibited Sites) or into my Sygate firewall in one large blast?

[Major Tom MIB]

Originally Posted by gregorio

...blocking addresses from the following subnets really doesn't make much sense

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Why would an application send you a private IP address as a public IP address, unless it's a bug or spam? Proper firewalled IPs are public and have public push routes.

[gregorio]

Originally Posted by ThomasWalton

Why would an application send you a private IP
address as a public IP address, unless it's a bug or spam? Proper
firewalled IPs are public and have public push routes.

Gee, I don't know but LimeWire for example may send you those private
IPs if it doesn't accept incoming connections.



(also quite interesting: http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space )



(EDIT: and LimeWire sending private addresses is not a bug, the behaviour is even intended in certain situations... )

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

That's no problem anyhow. The real IP addresses come with any connections, so those aren't blocked anyway. I removed the most common ones to save space but having them in there does nothing at all.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

Originally Posted by gregorio

Not this particular blocklist, - but I suppose they're all the same.

Nope. This is the big one that's up to date. I include all the others (the P2P relevant ones) as sources and add another 70-80 thousand more that I find myself. ;]

Baby? Bathwater?

Nope. Show me a legit user on those commercial ranges, and I'll show you a thousand hostiles and spammers. Anybody using a company line to share files is downright stupid and should be blocked for his own good and that of his company.

I already spotted addresses from reserved ip ranges that aren't even commercially available.

blocking addresses from the following subnets really doesn't make much sense

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

I strip out most of them to save space and to let most local users through, but it hardly matters anyway. Those addresses don't mean a thing outside their own LAN.

Or does LimeWire filter these sources out of search results? I could always add a line or two to my scripts to strip them all out.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

Originally Posted by gregorio

Gee, I don't know but LimeWire for example may send you those private
IPs if it doesn't accept incoming connections.



(also quite interesting: http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space )



(EDIT: and LimeWire sending private addresses is not a bug, the behaviour is even intended in certain situations... )

All irrelevant, unless LimeWire filters out search results too, because the real IP addresses are revealed as soon as they connect.

Also, note how many unassigned and hijacked ranges I block. I've been catching some commercial operations "borrowing" those ranges and some of the largest anti-P2P operations try to use those ranges to evade the blocklists too.

[Aaron.Walkhouse]

Originally Posted by Beethoven

Here's something I'd like to know: can the whole list be imported into my IE security settings (Prohibited Sites) or into my Sygate firewall in one large blast?

Don't even try it. I'll bet all your favourite web sites are in there. There are some useful lists you could use but mine is far too comprehensive and specialized.

[gregorio]

Originally Posted by Aaron.Walkhouse

All irrelevant, unless LimeWire filters out search results too

Now, guess what....