08-26-2011, 03:45 PM
By Lee Mathews on August 22, 2011 at 12:26 pm
There was a time long, long ago when Download.com was the place I went for software. Itââ¬â¢s been years, however, as the site repeatedly showed signs of devolving into a site every bit as bothersome as the many third-tier software repositories that hide genuine links below clever-placed advertisements and bundle toolbars with their ââ¬Åcertifiedââ¬Â local downloads.
At Download.com, page designs have been repeatedly tweaked over the years to push its updater software (now called TechTracker), TrialPay offers, and the siteââ¬â¢s mailing list. Bothersome, perhaps, but certainly not inexcusable. Theyââ¬â¢ve got to make money off the site somehow, after all, and banner ads donââ¬â¢t always do the job. Now, things have taken a turn for the worse: Cnet has begun wrapping downloads in a proprietary installer.
Wrapping installers is a terrible practice. For one thing, it can be a violation of a programââ¬â¢s distribution terms ââ¬â but Download.com has no doubt ensured that its TOS states that if you let them mirror your files youââ¬â¢re giving them free reign. Itââ¬â¢s also a serious slap in the face to users, who wind up not with a clean, genuine version of the installer they tried to download but a modified beast that shoves toolbars, home page, and default search engines changes down their throats.
But it gets worse. Cnet knows that thereââ¬â¢s something wrong with what theyââ¬â¢re doing, and theyââ¬â¢re trying to deceive developers and users. On the Upload.com FAQ, thereââ¬â¢s a note posted to let developers know why the bundling is taking place: ââ¬Åfor the users.ââ¬Â Yes, Cnet thinks weââ¬â¢re clueless enough to believe that their motivation is really to provide users with a less painful download and installation process. Because opt-out toolbars and homepage changes make software setup less annoying.
If the installer was designed so that users could opt-in to the toolbar install or browser setting changes, things might be a little different. The way it stands now what Download.com is doing is totally unacceptable. Hereââ¬â¢s hoping they come to their senses ââ¬â or that Microsoft at least steps in to temporarily put a halt to the practice. Cnetââ¬â¢s bundling Bing, after all, and having your brand pushed as bloatware is never a good thing.
Update: Not every program is currently being wrapped ââ¬â but they will be wrapped once a new version of a program is uploaded and distributed via Download.com. If the downloaded filename begins with ââ¬Åcnet_ââ¬Â then look elsewhere for the download. As you can see from the image above, even the GPLââ¬â¢d free-as-in-speech-and-beer VLC is wrapped by Cnet.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/935...otivations
There was a time long, long ago when Download.com was the place I went for software. Itââ¬â¢s been years, however, as the site repeatedly showed signs of devolving into a site every bit as bothersome as the many third-tier software repositories that hide genuine links below clever-placed advertisements and bundle toolbars with their ââ¬Åcertifiedââ¬Â local downloads.
At Download.com, page designs have been repeatedly tweaked over the years to push its updater software (now called TechTracker), TrialPay offers, and the siteââ¬â¢s mailing list. Bothersome, perhaps, but certainly not inexcusable. Theyââ¬â¢ve got to make money off the site somehow, after all, and banner ads donââ¬â¢t always do the job. Now, things have taken a turn for the worse: Cnet has begun wrapping downloads in a proprietary installer.
Wrapping installers is a terrible practice. For one thing, it can be a violation of a programââ¬â¢s distribution terms ââ¬â but Download.com has no doubt ensured that its TOS states that if you let them mirror your files youââ¬â¢re giving them free reign. Itââ¬â¢s also a serious slap in the face to users, who wind up not with a clean, genuine version of the installer they tried to download but a modified beast that shoves toolbars, home page, and default search engines changes down their throats.
But it gets worse. Cnet knows that thereââ¬â¢s something wrong with what theyââ¬â¢re doing, and theyââ¬â¢re trying to deceive developers and users. On the Upload.com FAQ, thereââ¬â¢s a note posted to let developers know why the bundling is taking place: ââ¬Åfor the users.ââ¬Â Yes, Cnet thinks weââ¬â¢re clueless enough to believe that their motivation is really to provide users with a less painful download and installation process. Because opt-out toolbars and homepage changes make software setup less annoying.
If the installer was designed so that users could opt-in to the toolbar install or browser setting changes, things might be a little different. The way it stands now what Download.com is doing is totally unacceptable. Hereââ¬â¢s hoping they come to their senses ââ¬â or that Microsoft at least steps in to temporarily put a halt to the practice. Cnetââ¬â¢s bundling Bing, after all, and having your brand pushed as bloatware is never a good thing.
Update: Not every program is currently being wrapped ââ¬â but they will be wrapped once a new version of a program is uploaded and distributed via Download.com. If the downloaded filename begins with ââ¬Åcnet_ââ¬Â then look elsewhere for the download. As you can see from the image above, even the GPLââ¬â¢d free-as-in-speech-and-beer VLC is wrapped by Cnet.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/935...otivations