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Review comments from the ALTools Evangelist :)

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Carol Haynes:
It has been established that current versions of ALzip etc. do not connect to the internet to serve ads, but the principle of connecting to the internt (in other apps) exercises me too.

Usually I just tell my firewall to block communication - if the the app were to cease to function then it would be uninstalled. The problem becomes more acute when the app MUST have access to the internet. Personally I am not really prepared to make the effort to monitor which ports an application is using and build complex rules to keep control. Consequently any ad supported software that downloads ads is not going to get used on my system if it is a web enabled app (eg. an FTP client etc.).

The problem then arises in software that 'appears' to fall into this camp - the widespread growth of dangerous software out there is beginning to make savvy users paranoid about what they are prepared to download, install and give access to the internet - and rightly so.

Here is what I do if I go to a site like "www.lots of freestuff.com" and want to download a utility.


* Read user reviews - if there aren't any I am already suspicious
* Do a google search on the app name + Review
* Do a google search on app name + Spyware/AdWare/Malware etc.
* Download the software and virus scan
* Unpack the archive/installer and virus scan again
* Use SpySweeper to check the unpacked folder contents
* Set a system restore point
* Install app but don't run it
* Run virus & spyware check on installation folder, memory and registry
Only if it is still clean do I run the app.

If it unexpectedly asks to connect to the internet I check to see if there as automatic update and switch it off. If it still wants to connect to the internet for no good reason than I block it. Anything odd starts to happen it is uninstalled and the system restore point applied.

Am I paranoid? Probably - but it takes a hell of a lot of hours to sort out a screwed up system ....

mouser:
Usually I just tell my firewall to block communication - if the the app were to cease to function then it would be uninstalled.
--- End quote ---

same here.

Renegade:
I'm very careful when I install new software, and generally virus scan it before I run the installer. But I don't go to the same lengths that you do Carol. Then again, I'm very selective about what I even bother trying.

Quite often I know who the developer is, so I'm less worried. e.g. I wouldn't bother scanning Sword Searcher or FileBoss - but I also know Brandon and Dexter (the developers) and I know that they wouldn't try anything underhanded. Same goes for the CoffeeCup Zip utility - I know Nick and I know that he wouldn't go that route.

Another filter for me is personal referrals. I've bought software simply from hearing about it from people without even trying it. I just bought a VistaDB license and never bothered downloading it or trying it beforehand because I Mitchell Vincent (a developer that I trust) recommended it. Word-of-mouth is a very powerful thing.

For adware, I'm ok with stuff like Opera. That doesn't bother me as I know what's going on. They are a reputable company and they try to gain trust from users. But they also need to pay bills. It's the popup junk and the like that I don't go for.

I've read license agreements that let the company install anything they wanted, at anytime, for any purpose, and allowed them to change the EULA at anytime. That never got installed :)

However, in the future you'll find that more and more software will use network connectivity to provide services for the software. Web Services is just starting to become important. FeedForDev is just one example of what kind of thing is in store for the next generation of software.

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