The VLC team experienced the same kind of crapware in 2013 but on Sourceforge and decided to move away.
https://blog.l0cal.com/2013/05/02/rethinking-vlc-mirrors-inf...
What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
191–200 of 395 posts
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#192The article, while informative, feels like a subtle Avast advertisement. It's mentioned 16 times in the damn article, and the author even vindicates it for not preventing problems and also compares it to AVG saying its better.
it's almost like he's covertly bundling it into his article
My world has just been shattered.
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#193And sometimes the crapware is bundled with legit free/open-source softwares :( (I ranted about that some time ago: http://blog.httrack.com/blog/2013/11/24/i-do-not-want-your-s...)
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#194Download.com is just the beginning of this crap. At least a lot of people now realise that download.com is shady. Google is just as bad as download.com, but people still think of Google as a reputable site. Even in this discussion people are recommending just googling the product name to find a download. Please don't tell people to do that. It's dangerous. If you type terms like 'firefox' into google search much of t…
This is the exact reason why the first thing I do for a friends computer is installing adblock on chrome.
As an aside, I wonder how prevalent the adware would be when searching for "download chrome"?
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
What does download.com have to do with this? Anyone in their right mind will figure out that it's terrible. I don't think the App Store really competes with download.com. It competes with independent websites that use PayPal downloads and license keys. Download.com, macUpdate, softpedia, download.cnet.com, and the like don't give anyone an excuse to lock down their platform this tight. The cure is worse than the dise…
independent websites that use PayPal downloads and license keys As of 1 Jan this is now economically infeasible in the EU (see "VATMOSS").
How about using a provider like Fastspring? Or are their fees too high?
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
It stinks for the user. It's way better for developers who aren't into having their software pirated though. Which in the end is better for the users.
Piracy is rampant on jailbroken iOS devices.
It's like complaining that prisons are full of criminals. While playing around with a jailbroken iOS device is fun I would never do it with a device I use myself for something real.
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Has anybody in HN worked with a company which does this crapware bundling, let alone creating? If anyone here has worked for Adobe (Flash included crapware for a long time), Oracle (Java updates used to or still do include crapware), Google (browser toolbar was crapware), or Apple (Quicktime for Windows attempted to install iTunes and Safari), then yes.
Every sane piece of Mac software: download a big disk image (dmg), mount it, copy the application folder to /Applications. To uninstall, drag it to the trash. Adobe software: download a tiny disk image, launch the hideous Adobe installer program, give it root, have it download and install God-knows-what to God-knows-where. To uninstall, open a terminal and go medieval on everything with a name containing "Adobe", "Ma…
They have, sadly, been doing this on MacOS for years. It was like that in the Classic days as well, they were always one of the few companies who actually used an installer, and cleaning up after one was an annoying process of combing extension and preference folders for lingering cruft. Fortunately there were apps to help find useless leftovers, but it was still a pain compared to how otherwise pleasant the MacOS software experience generally is.
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#198In 2012, YC invested in a company InstallMonetizer[0] which, from my understanding, helps align software products with bundling other installers for additional revenue. [0] http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/installmonetizer
That's by far the worst company they ever invested in.
See here for PG's take on this:
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#199Mobile computer tech, here. War story follows. I handle high single-figures of these adware and/or potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) infestations every week. Mostly it's Windows 7 and 90% adware/PUPs-centric, occasionally ransomware. In the huge majority of cases, the following will get a computer back up and sorted in a sensible amount of (billable) time: First, bring known-good copies of AdwCleaner, Junkware Rem…
The problem with using cleaning tools like the ones you mention is that I'm always left wondering, "What did I miss?" when they've finished. Since it's a long process that's always potentially incomplete, I abandoned that approach years ago. The first thing I ask a client is "What data do you want to keep?" Then I scan the drive offline (mostly for my own curiosity, but also to get an idea of what I'm dealing with),…
I agree there's an element of wondering with the tools. Part of the reason I use a bunch is to remove as much as possible. Even on the fifth scan, there are still things found. That's the cutoff where, in my experience, subsequent scans by other tools just don't find things.
I second the `what do you want to keep` sentiment, too. The downside to this is having them effectively sign off on what they want, and then they forget something until 6 months down the line. I have provision for keeping a drive image of their drives for 28 days, with prior permission, and I check in with them after 7, 14 and 21 days to make sure all is well. The comfort of a familiar desktop is a powerful thing, and the Windows Easy Transfer process makes it easy and straightforward.
Re: What Happens When You Install the Top Download.com Apps
#200In 2012, YC invested in a company InstallMonetizer[0] which, from my understanding, helps align software products with bundling other installers for additional revenue. [0] http://www.crunchbase.com/organization/installmonetizer
There's a wide variety of these "Pay-Per-Install" (PPI) type services, all of which profit by installing some form of malware on your machine. Sketchier services pay more, but also install stealthily rather than asking. Any kind is a pretty disturbing way to profit from your users. They're the kind of things you see script kiddies deploy to a small botnet. Not something you expect from a legitimate company.