Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Cnet's Download.com and the installer scam
mahesh2k:
Mouser, one user reported that softonic is creating google adwords campaign for his software without notifying him and are forcing readers to download installer. So i linked to that thread on stackexchange as it was one case against softonic. As for softonic targeting adwords campaign and making subdomains for software to rank higher than original developer, that is easy to confirm.
mouser:
As for softonic targeting adwords campaign and making subdomains for software to rank higher than original developer, that is easy to confirm.
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This is done to several of my software programs by competing companies (Techsmith which is otherwise a very nice company regularly buys google ads to redirect people to their SnagIt program when they search for my Screenshot Captor). I find something very distasteful about that, but not to the degree that I feel the need to protest.
For me the buying ads against someone else's software is not in the same ballpark as the downloader type scam that cnet is/was engaged in.
So if someone has evidence that softonic is going to try to copy cnet with this installer thing I'd like to hear about that specifically, so we can organize some protests and start spreading the word to boycott them. But for now I don't see any evidence of it.
mahesh2k:
In your case they're(Techsmith) targeting your keyword but redirecting to their own program, which in my opinion is fine as it's competitor strategy on SE. That is typical business tactic and hard to argue against. But if someone is using your keyword to redirect users to your software hosted on their servers then this is something different and deserves slap IMO.
+ e.g. Alternative Screenshot Captor download from an external server (availability not guaranteed by Softonic)
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This bolded part is traffic leak and it's like discouraging users to go to developers website.
Quote from - http://screenshot-captor.en.softonic.com/download
The program you want to download will be downloaded through the Softonic Downloader, making the download process much faster, showing a progress bar and ensuring the program is virus-free.
First, the Softonic Downloader will be downloaded, and through it you'll be able to download the main program. During the download process we show commercial offers, such as the Softonic Toolbar
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.
I checked your software if it goes to download manager. For me it is not forcing me to download that installer. I hope others can check this process and confirm if i'm the only person not getting download manager due to geolocation or others are forced to download this download manager.
Stoic Joker:
e.g. Alternative Screenshot Captor download from an external server (availability not guaranteed by Softonic)
--- End quote ---
This bolded part is traffic leak and it's like discouraging users to go to developers website.
Quote from - http://screenshot-captor.en.softonic.com/download
The program you want to download will be downloaded through the Softonic Downloader, making the download process much faster, showing a progress bar and ensuring the program is virus-free.
--- End quote ---
-mahesh2k (September 06, 2011, 08:02 AM)
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I get the same thing. Safe way vs. Beware the abiss ... They're trying to heard the cattle through their own DM.
mouser:
Well Softonic is really walking a narrow line there.
First the good things they are doing:
From the main page for the program they have a prominent link to the program homepage. To me this seems like an obvious no-brainer thing to tell people but we've already seen that cnet is going to extreme lengths to hide this information to keep people from leaving their site. So anyway that's good.
And they are at least including a link to the real original download of the program on the download page, at the bottom.
And they are at least explaining prior to user clicking download, that the user is going to first get the Softonic downloader which may install adware stuff, before they get the real program they want.
Now the bad:
Instead of presenting the user 2 downloads, one from the program authors home page and one with the softonic downloader, they are presenting their downloader as the right way to download, and then an additional link at the bottom labeled "Alternative Screenshot Captor download from an external server (availability not guaranteed by Softonic)" -- you can see they are trying hard to push people to download using their installer.
Just like Stoic Joker says -- they are deliberately trying to trick people to avoid the author's original site, as if it was somehow untrustworthy.
To me this is a clear case of trying to trick people to download your crap adware installer. Is it as bad as cnet? No, clearly not. But is it bad enough to warrant us trying to rally the troops to force softonic to improve this? I'm not sure. What do you guys think?
We are starting to see some glimpses into a really ugly possible future for free software (and uglier for donationware) if these 3rd parties can perfect a way of getting in between authors and users and profiteering from their role as middlemen snake oil salesman.
It's almost as if we are being told: Adware is the future and it's going to be injected into your software whether you like it or not. If you don't put it in yourself someone else will and they'll get the profits.
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