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Author Topic: EULAlyzer™ 1.1  (Read 10845 times)

mouser

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EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« on: April 04, 2006, 06:25 AM »
EULAlyzer™ 1.1

You should always read license agreements before agreeing to them.
But now there's a way of making that much easier.
EULAlyzer - Making it all easy
EULAlyzer can analyze license agreements in seconds, and provide a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases. Discover if the software you're about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more.
Discover potentially hidden behavior about the software you're going to install
Pick up on things you missed when reading license agreements
Keep a saved database of the license agreements you view
Instant results - super-fast analysis in just a second



from lifehacker.com

m_s

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2006, 08:41 AM »
I've used this for awhile - along with their excellent SpywareBlaster and MRUBlaster - and it's great!

brotherS

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2006, 01:11 PM »
Funny idea :) But since I mostly install trusted stuff (lots from http://fileforum.betanews.com/ where many other users already voted and left comments) I have no real need for this tool.

mouser

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2006, 01:28 PM »
I have no real need for this tool.

you've obviously forgotten about this:



http://www.pcpitstop...om/spycheck/eula.asp

consider.jpg

PC Pitstop offered a financial incentive in its EULA, and it took four months before anyone responded.


jgpaiva

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2006, 01:54 PM »
I have no real need for this tool.

you've obviously forgotten about this:

PC Pitstop offered a financial incentive in its EULA, and it took four months before anyone responded.
;D ;D ;D Damn, i think i'll start reading those!
On the other hand... It'd take me so much time, that i think it wouldn't compensate the work ;)

brotherS

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #5 on: April 04, 2006, 08:26 PM »
I have no real need for this tool.

you've obviously forgotten about this:

PC Pitstop offered a financial incentive in its EULA, and it took four months before anyone responded.
;D ;D

Reminds me of that quote saying you can put mean words in the middle of any company profile brochure that is just focussing on the company itself - probably noone would notice!


Curt

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2009, 11:24 AM »
- upgraded to version 2.0 today. They don't tell in what way version 2 differs from version 1, but if you desire to get their $20 PRO version I must advice you to also study their license: >>A EULAlyzer Pro license includes the use of EULAlyzer Pro, and all new versions released, within a 1 year period (from date of purchase).<<. I will however test their free "Personal" version ;-)

http://www.javacools...om/eulalyzerpro.html

EULAlyzer works on Windows 2000, XP, 2003, or Vista.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2009, 11:30 AM by Curt »

40hz

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2009, 02:17 PM »
EULAlyzer is a great little app. I've been a fan of it for quite a while. :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:

--------------
Three easiest ways to screw yourself royally:

1. Lie on your mortgage application

2. Pad your resume

3. Enter into a legal agreement you really don't understand

-------------

EULAlyzer can help you make sense of software licenses and avoid #3.

Do yourself a favor and give it a try.

Curt

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2009, 02:44 PM »
I test far too many programs to bother with the free version; only the annual subscription will make sense to me. And twenty dollar PER YEAR sounds very expensive, I think (except of course, if I too get a $1,000 check from one of the license holders)!

mwb1100

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2009, 08:11 PM »
only the annual subscription will make sense to me. And twenty dollar PER YEAR sounds very expensive
Once again, the wording of this type of annual license is a bit unclear - when I read it, it sounded like you get a license to use EULAlyzer Pro (the main advantage of which is the EULA-Watch feature) - and that you also get any upgrades that occur in the one year period.

I would have interpreted/guessed that the right to use EULAlyzer Pro/EULA-Watch does not end with your annual fee - just the right to upgrades/updates.

Or is this really the type of license/software that becomes useless without the annual updates/upgrades?  I do wish vendors would try to make that more clear more often.

Curt

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2009, 01:54 AM »
- I am not a teacher into English, but Yes, the interpretation may vary, because of the comma following "released". As it is right now, one cannot use the program after a year, I would say, because of that comma. If they removed this comma, one may use the program for all time, but not have it updated after a year. Maybe I should write and ask them to clarify? Yes, I will do just that.

Curt

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2009, 04:28 AM »
- and their answer was:

For the duration of the EULAlyzer Pro license (1 year), you get access to:

1.) All EULAlyzer Pro features, including EULA-Watch.
2.) All updates / upgrades.

We don't charge for major version upgrades - the duration of your license covers any and all updates to EULAlyzer Pro. This is important, and helps to maintain active detection of the latest installers and license agreements, as well as detection of the latest Interesting words/phrases.

After your license expires (1 year later), you can either renew (at your option) or resume use of all of the normal EULAlyzer (free) features.

Best Regards,
-Javacool Software Support

So, after a year, a Pro version will degrade into a 'free' version, if you don't subscribe.

justice

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2009, 05:20 AM »
So you hire the pro version, shame.

raybeere

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2009, 03:11 PM »
3. Enter into a legal agreement you really don't understand
-------------

EULAlyzer can help you make sense of software licenses and avoid #3.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Nothing I say should be construed as legal advice. If you think you are in need of legal advice, you should consult a qualified lawyer.

Now, for my layman's opinion. I was a professional genealogist, and part of what I had to do was analyse legal documents (usually deeds, mortgages, wills, and probates) for information. I was pretty good at it: I caught a flaw in a deed the title attorneys had missed several times.

Until true AI software is available, there is no chance any software can do anything other than look for predefined terms and highlight possible concerns. Since one trick lawyers like to pull is using very subtle shifts that will alter the legal meaning without setting off alarm bells even in the minds of other lawyers who review the result, this cannot possibly be enough.

I've read the TOS for a lot of web sites. Sure, I could write a simple search that would catch some of the obvious words some of the heavier handed sites use to screw you royally on the assumption you're never going to read the thing - but I've also seen a few sites where it was necessary to read the whole agreement, then go back, re-read it, and think over how each section affected the others. In fact, as a writer, I once saw a shocking demonstration of this: a sample publishing contract. It looked fine, and none of the terms were objectionable - in themselves. But - when you considered how each term would affect and modify the others, it amounted to virtual slavery - and I am not using metaphor here: they owned you, outright, if you signed that contract. You could never get out from under, unless you successfully challenged the basic constitutionality of such a draconian agreement.

My point is very simple: you are no safer using software like this than you would be if you didn't bother to read the agreement at all. If you care about the details of a legal agreement you enter into, you only have two choices. One: learn the language it is in so well you won't miss any nuance, and learn to analyse not just single words or phrases but entire documents for their meanings. And learn the special legal meanings of any terms that might be included. Two: run it past a lawyer. Anything else, you're just fooling yourself (and most of the time, if you take the first option, you're fooling yourself a bit, too - but it can be done - I've caught traps in legal documents pretty often - but it took me years to get to where I caught all the traps, and I'm really only hoping I got them all; only a nasty lawsuit would tell me for sure I'd slipped up.)

Edited to add: I'll make a somewhat humiliating confession here to make my point. I was brought up to always read anything legal I signed, and be sure I understood it before pen touched paper. I had already learned to spot a lot of nasty little glitches - and when that sample publishing contract was shown to me, I was lucky it was as an example and not an offer from the publisher who drew it up. I looked it over, failed to find a single thing wrong with it, and if I'd been offered it to sign, I would have, without any hesitation. Then, I learned how it would work if it came into court - and when the problems were pointed out, I could see them. It was quite an education. I've never looked at any legal agreement the same way since. And, just to save my pride, I was younger then.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2009, 03:16 PM by raybeere »

Paul Keith

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #14 on: January 10, 2009, 07:13 AM »
Raybeere, would you mind posting the copy of that document online?

Deozaan

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #15 on: January 10, 2009, 11:12 PM »
Edited to add: I'll make a somewhat humiliating confession here to make my point. I was brought up to always read anything legal I signed, and be sure I understood it before pen touched paper. I had already learned to spot a lot of nasty little glitches - and when that sample publishing contract was shown to me, I was lucky it was as an example and not an offer from the publisher who drew it up. I looked it over, failed to find a single thing wrong with it, and if I'd been offered it to sign, I would have, without any hesitation. Then, I learned how it would work if it came into court - and when the problems were pointed out, I could see them. It was quite an education. I've never looked at any legal agreement the same way since. And, just to save my pride, I was younger then.

I admit I don't often read TOS/EULA for software/websites before clicking "I Agree" but I certainly do read printed documents that are handed to me before I read them. It sure is interesting how often I get funny looks from people when I actually take the time to read legal papers before putting my John Henry on the line.

raybeere

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #16 on: January 11, 2009, 10:23 PM »
Raybeere, would you mind posting the copy of that document online?

I don't have a copy of the document myself, and if I did I suspect it would be covered under copyright. This is something I saw years ago. I don't know if there's a copy online; I'll try to remember enough to find it on Google and put a link here later if I can find it - but locating a document without knowing an exact phrase from it is a tricky thing. So I can't make any promises. Sorry.

raybeere

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Re: EULAlyzer™ 1.1
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2009, 10:31 PM »
I admit I don't often read TOS/EULA for software/websites before clicking "I Agree" but I certainly do read printed documents that are handed to me before I read them. It sure is interesting how often I get funny looks from people when I actually take the time to read legal papers before putting my John Henry on the line.

While I support anyone's right to make their own decisions, I should mention that, while I haven't come across any EULA that are as horrible as the sample contract I mentioned, I've found more than one with terms I was unhappy enough with to consider them deal-breakers - and there are web sites out there with very predatory TOS. At least for writers, there are sites where the simple act of posting something means you have lost all ability to ever sell that work, thanks to the TOS.

IMO, it depends on what you're going to do on the site. Post a simple comment? Sure, you can probably get away with ignoring the TOS. Spend much time there, posting anything of real value? Then, you'd better know what the TOS are before they burn you. Anyone with IP rights to consider has a lot to lose if they slip up and let themselves get taken advantage of. (Note: I have nothing against freeware, donationware, open source, - as long as it is the program author's choice. If I ever write anything worth sharing, I'll probably give it away. But that doesn't mean I want someone else cheating me, claiming ownership, etc.)