Free music download software?

[roc17]

My daughter is looking for some free music download software (LimeWire, etc.) and I have no idea what to suggest. As far as I'm concerned, they're all probably a bit risky with the prospect of spyware, malware, etc.

However.....anyone have any suggestions for the lesser of all the evils?

Thanks......


Locked. Discussion of how to commit acts of piracy is not allowed. -AnandTech Moderator ShotgunSteven

 

[Chapbass]

this could be an interesting thread.....


you know you're asking for a referral for something completely illegal right? I dont think youll get too many people willing to go out of their way for that.


On the legal front, if she wants to listen to music mainly on her computer, then something like rhapsody and napster are ways to listen to a whole bunch of music. not free though.

 

[roc17]

Whoops.......

didn't know that...honestly. Co-workers are always lamenting about how their kids use yada-yada to download music and it ends up screwing up everything....they always comment on how it was some free-bie program too. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[0roo0roo]

bad bad bad bad idea. first of all, your kid should know more than you about this. that she doesn't know enough that she has to ask papa means she's going to get freaking caught by the riaa/mpaa because of her clumsy fumblings online. shes exactly the kind of user those organizations target, easy pickings.

give her a couple bucks and tell her to buy a couple mp3s off amazon every month and leave it at that. and use sneakernet..aka friends that won't turn you in

 

[roc17]

Understood.....and thanks.

So I guess the question should be...."are there any PAY sites out there that are worth subscribing to where music can be downloaded/shared?"

 

[Red Squirrel]

Setup VMware server/client (both free), put win2k or even win98 as the OS then install shareaza. Be sure you get it from shareaza.sourceforge.com. shareaza.com is a SCAM. They made it look like shareaza to screw with people. The real shareaza has no spyware.

If you're in Canada this is 100% legal btw, so don't even have to worry about that aspect. If you're in the states you'll want to put a firewall and block all the RIAA IPs and stuff. Think peerguardian does this. (then again even in Canada, not a bad idea to do anyway)

But educate the users about the danger of these programs. Music is not so bad but its very dangerous when getting software. Install an up to date AV right inside the VM. If you want to get serious even put the VM on a separate external IP so your network is inaccessible from it.

 

[roc17]

Holy Smokes......That's over my head....but thanks much for the strategy.

this is for a college kids laptop.....she just wants to 'share' mp3 files (limewire, napster, etc.?) without getting too complicated. I'd be willing (or she) to pay for one of those many music sharing programs that I know that are out there....but that's my dilema.....I don't know which one is best...or better yet....safest.

 

[Red Squirrel]

shareaza I know for sure, linewire=bad, (spyware) bearshare=even worse (hijacks+more) not too sure of others I'm sure theres still some decent ones left out there.

If it's mp3's that she actually made (like music and such) best and easiest way is setting up a website or ftp.

 

[QueBert]

limewire isn't bad, what spyware does it have? no scanner I have picks any up. And you can find a lot of approved content in Limewire which is perfectly legal to download, not all p2p is pirating. I've downloaded about 2 gigs of indie tunes off Limewire over the past few years every one of them is legit and I broke no law.

 

[Hork]

You mentioned this kid is in college. What she chooses probably will also depend on where she is accessing the net from. If from home, no worries. But if from college, certain filesharing programs may be blocked by the college's IT department.

In this case, it is best for your daughter to seek out a computer geek and date him at least long enough to get him to configure a file sharing program on her computer. If that doesn't appeal to her, she should at least ask around about which program others are using.