I suspect your bad experiences with your Dell machine were probably caused by some kind of p2p software you installed that also installed spyware. I am aware that this was a problem on Windows, the fact that you then conclude that the same problem must therefore exist in OS X just shows your complete ignorance of the platform.

You say, “It will literally eat away at your computer for months without you realizing”. Okay, so the first problem is that when you say “literally” you actually mean figuratively. The second problem is that you are incorrect. Limewire does not grant outside users complete access to your system, which is I believe your theory of what causes the problems. If there is an exploit that allows evil-minded hackers full access to a system running p2p software, it would have made news. If you can explain how this software negates a firewall, please explain.

There may well have been a problem with your friend’s computer, but you have failed to point out any relation to any file sharing software. If you can point out a link between a program like Limewire or Acquisition and a slow degradation of performance on the Mac, I would love to hear it. Instead this article sounds like it was written by someone who has very little computer knowledge, and who has done zero research on the subject.

Can’t wait for your anti-jailbreaking article, I’m sure it’ll be a doozie!

I had a foster son who downloaded a ton of music through illegal means — he did not have access to Lime Wire or any other P2P software by our design — which he accomplished through a website that shifted across the web. He told me that he thought it was a legal process. It definitely is not — and I’m sure he knew it. The net affect on our computer: Zero. It’s a six year old Mac that works great even after his 15 months of abuse. My points: don’t completely rail against Lime Wire users and try to verify the negative affects of illegal downloading on a Mac.

BTW-this is not a rant against foster care. We’re glad we did it, and we will continue to take in kids. There are always some negatives, but the positives outweigh the difficult parts.