Yes, Every Freeware Download Site is Serving Crapware (Here’s the Proof) [View all]

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http://www.howtogeek.com/207692/yes-every-freeware-download-site-is-serving-crapware-heres-the-proof/

Yes, Every Freeware Download Site is Serving Crapware (Here’s the Proof)
Lowell Heddings, Published 01/21/15

When we wrote about what happens when you install the top ten apps from CNET Downloads, about half of the comments were from people saying, “Well you should download from a trusted source.” The only problem is that there isn’t a freeware download site that is free of crapware or adware. And here’s the result of our investigation to prove it.

We were unable to find a single freeware download site that isn’t listing bundleware awfulness, and while a few of them attempt to do the right thing and alert you when something is bundled, it’s just not good enough. Nobody reads the fine print, just like nobody reads the installers when they are clicking through.

And some of these installers are extremely tricky. They move the buttons around. They change the text or, in some cases, they make it look exactly like a terms and conditions screen. They hijack browsers, insert ads, and they even use hidden services with deep dark API functions. The latest trend is pushing lookalike copies of Google Chrome with adware bundled directly into them.

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We had more geeks write in defending MajorGeeks as a trusted source than any other site, so we were really hoping that they would be the one site that doesn’t allow any bundled crapware. Sadly, that’s not the case. The first thing we downloaded — some stupid screensaver — included four pieces of really terrible crapware, including two that had adware like ShopperPro and BoBrowser that just take over your system.

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One of the most common responses to our article was that people should just download from the official site. And as everybody knows, you use Google to find anything.

Ohhh… that’s unfortunate.



Sadly, even on Google all the top results for most open source and freeware are just ads for really terrible sites that are bundling crapware, adware, and malware on top of the installer.

Most geeks will know that they shouldn’t click on the ads, but obviously enough people are clicking those ads for them to be able to afford to pay the high per-click prices for Google AdWords.

So if you absolutely must download some stupid freeware from somewhere, you may as well punch yourself in the face. And then either find the real site (ignoring the ads) or use Ninite or test it out in a virtual machine first. Or consider just buying software from a programmer that deserves the money. Or maybe switch to OS X or Linux.

Because like we told you last time, when the product is free the real product is YOU.