Quite the tricky method that the RIAA has come up with. I haven't downloaded in freakin' MONTHS because Limewire has so many viruses. It's not like RIAA could slow down my computer any more!
Limewire community has gone downhill tons, most people jumped on the bit torrent wagon a long time ago. Frankly, I find it easier to just buy the mp3s on itunes(when I'm desperate) or amazon(DRM Free!). As for security, there are programs that allow your IP address to be encrypted, and blockers to block known IP addresses that are used to track, but those you'll have to search for on google.(Peer Guardian is great for this) If you want to listen to music legally, buy it on amazon or itunes, or use Pandora Radio. (
http://www.pandora.com) it's free, and has no commercials, just the occasional popup that you click yes, I'm still listening on. You build YOUR own radio station, it's quite awesome.