I have no idea what limewire is. But the soul of ANY P2P application (which I'm assuming based on the conversation that limewire is) is the fact that you share stuff between peers. For instance a game update is very cool to get as eg. a torrent for two reasons: 1. You dont have to run around a billion sites finding one that you dont have to be a member of to get the file. 2. You only have to download a miniscule file via the HTTP protocol, the rest you can download at your convenience, and usually at as high a speed as the peers will allow. This is also über cool for new linux distros where a lot of people want them the minute they're released, which ofcourse would tax a normal HTTP server beyond anything reasonable.
However, as someone stated earlier in the thread, you may or may not fear for your privacy. So let me first dispell a few myths:
1) You CANNOT hide your IP from a P2P application, if you do, then you cannot recieve any data, as the peers on the network send data to your IP.
2) You SHOULD not use a proxy, because this will slow down the process immensely, more or less cutting away at the otherwise great speeds you will be able to achieve when downloading with a P2P application. If you can find a good proxy, by all means go for it, but You usually can't, and you still have to trust the proxy admin wont keep logs, which otherwise might get hacked or subpoenaed.
3) PG2 DOES work, but what it does is it terminates the connection to ANY IP in the address range on it's list. However, it will NOT stop YOU from initiating the connection, so "the other end" will KNOW that you're there, but not anything more than that (like what you're downloading). You can for instance simply try to start PG2 WITHOUT starting any P2P application and you will notice that you get TONNES of hits if you have an active connection (your router log will show these attempts if you have a passive connection)
4) Use encrypted networks. Sure it's slower, and you have NO idea what data you will be requested to store, but it's 100% impossible to identify anything you've been watching. Downside is that you have little or no control over the data on the encrypted network. Second and far more annoying downside is that you MAY actually have illegal stuff among the encrypted data that you will be required to hold. Yes, the bad guys also know how to protect themselves.
5) VPNs are NOT safe no matter what anyone says. They'll stop the casual invader, but not the determined one. And even if you join a VPN group, you'll be limited by the other members of the group. This is fun if you're just sharing your work with you friends, like for instance in a cooperative effort to make a cartoon, some music, write a book, a game or whatever. However, you wont be exposed to anything that's outside the sphere of intrest of the group you're a part of (this can be solved by being a part of many groups, but then you'll ofcourse increase the chance that somoene will have an intrest in surveiling you)
6) Changing ISP or IP frequently will NOT work. By law most ISPs around the world are required to keep records of the data packages (though not the content) sent to and from each IP in their segment, and to what machine each IP has been assigned. Best bet is to find a freedom of speech ISP who wont go around giving out this information to anyone just 'cause they sound all official (or the buggers that put the info on a publicly accessible server !)
7) So simply accept the fact that you CAN be monitored at home, and any attempt to defeat monitoring will only make You (more or less) unable to use the program who's activity you dont want monitored !
So in essence, your best bet for anonymity is to use publicly available networks, like internet hotspots and dont pay for access with anything but cash, and use a wireless card, not something built into the PC (as the MAC adress can still be traced). Ofcourse most hostspots aren't really well suited for P2P networks, as they're either blocking the ports, or have a really terrible bandwidth. But it's fairly safe in terms of tracking.
However, as someone stated earlier in the thread, you may or may not fear for your privacy. So let me first dispell a few myths:
1) You CANNOT hide your IP from a P2P application, if you do, then you cannot recieve any data, as the peers on the network send data to your IP.
2) You SHOULD not use a proxy, because this will slow down the process immensely, more or less cutting away at the otherwise great speeds you will be able to achieve when downloading with a P2P application. If you can find a good proxy, by all means go for it, but You usually can't, and you still have to trust the proxy admin wont keep logs, which otherwise might get hacked or subpoenaed.
3) PG2 DOES work, but what it does is it terminates the connection to ANY IP in the address range on it's list. However, it will NOT stop YOU from initiating the connection, so "the other end" will KNOW that you're there, but not anything more than that (like what you're downloading). You can for instance simply try to start PG2 WITHOUT starting any P2P application and you will notice that you get TONNES of hits if you have an active connection (your router log will show these attempts if you have a passive connection)
4) Use encrypted networks. Sure it's slower, and you have NO idea what data you will be requested to store, but it's 100% impossible to identify anything you've been watching. Downside is that you have little or no control over the data on the encrypted network. Second and far more annoying downside is that you MAY actually have illegal stuff among the encrypted data that you will be required to hold. Yes, the bad guys also know how to protect themselves.
5) VPNs are NOT safe no matter what anyone says. They'll stop the casual invader, but not the determined one. And even if you join a VPN group, you'll be limited by the other members of the group. This is fun if you're just sharing your work with you friends, like for instance in a cooperative effort to make a cartoon, some music, write a book, a game or whatever. However, you wont be exposed to anything that's outside the sphere of intrest of the group you're a part of (this can be solved by being a part of many groups, but then you'll ofcourse increase the chance that somoene will have an intrest in surveiling you)
6) Changing ISP or IP frequently will NOT work. By law most ISPs around the world are required to keep records of the data packages (though not the content) sent to and from each IP in their segment, and to what machine each IP has been assigned. Best bet is to find a freedom of speech ISP who wont go around giving out this information to anyone just 'cause they sound all official (or the buggers that put the info on a publicly accessible server !)
7) So simply accept the fact that you CAN be monitored at home, and any attempt to defeat monitoring will only make You (more or less) unable to use the program who's activity you dont want monitored !
So in essence, your best bet for anonymity is to use publicly available networks, like internet hotspots and dont pay for access with anything but cash, and use a wireless card, not something built into the PC (as the MAC adress can still be traced). Ofcourse most hostspots aren't really well suited for P2P networks, as they're either blocking the ports, or have a really terrible bandwidth. But it's fairly safe in terms of tracking.