I never claimed it was PII, and in most of the definitions of spyware that I provided earlier, there is no mention of PII...only mention of spying, collecting information the user doesn't know is going on.
Let's talk about YOUR software for a minute, and how the information gathered by OC is related to it...and what is and isn't spying on a user...
If your software checks for updates and informs the user that one is available, who benefits from any exchange of information related to finding out, that takes place? Does the user directly benefit in any way? Do you benefit in any way? Does it allow you to deliver bug fixes that correct issues that could have a negative effect on the user's experience? Does some unrelated 3rd party benefit the most? Does knowing a new version of the software being available and giving them the opportunity to download it have any possibility of enhancing their enjoyment of your software?
Does the info about how long a user stared at the recommendation screen benefit the user directly in any way? Does it have anything to do with your software they intended to install and their enjoyment of it? Does it help you improve your software? Is it necessary for a 3rd party to know this info for your software to function properly?
How long the recommendation screen was viewable on my computer isn't anybody's business but my own, even when it is collected without PII. When it is collected without my knowledge or consent it's an invasion of my privacy, it's spying. How I choose to launch my software is also my business, whether I do it from some 3rd party download manager that ended up launched on my computer because of OC or I use FARR or the Start Menu, or a desktop shortcut, or if I open the program folder and drag the exe file to my taskbar to make a shortcut. No matter what way I choose to launch it, it's my business...not yours, OC's, or anybody else's. Any attempt to gain access to how I do it, without my knowledge or consent, is spying on me.
Just look at the Samsung keylogger fiasco. THAT is what really pisses me off. They're alarmists and they do more harm than good in a lot of cases. Thank god they're not in pest control. They'd be fumigating houses with people in them.
So an irresponsible idiot of a writer for a reputable IT site that should have known better, jumped the gun and accused Samsung without checking his facts, based on a false positive, and you are going to get back at the both of them by adding OC to your installers? That makes no sense.
And it doesn't make OC run by saintly angels, either.
I told you, I don't trust them. They keep doing sneaky stuff, getting caught, changing things, getting caught, changing more, go back on their word, blame software authors for the changes...the same crap they did when they were at DivX.
Don't you know...you greedy developers twisted their arm and made them add an opt-out option, even though they are so very ethically opposed to that because they know it creates situations where people end up installing unwanted software.
It was because you greedy developers wanted users to install stuff they didn't want, so you could make more money from it. It's all your fault and had absolutely nothing to do with OC wanting to make more money, because they are the nice benevolent company that only exists to help poor little developers make money. All the VC's that invested big money in them didn't do it for the even bigger profits they hoped to gain, and their desire to make big profits and whatever pressure they put on OC had nothing to do with the changes...that VC money was all a big donation to help freeware and open source authors.
Oh how sweet of them to assign each computer a unique ID, building a profile of what each user accepted, installed, declined, uninstalled, etc, without the user's knowledge or consent, which they blamed on a bug when they got caught and had to change it. And the use of the registry entries like permanent cookies...till they got caught and had to change it.
What are they going to get caught doing next? And are they going to blame you again when it happens?
It's no secret that I have financial problems, no secret that my family is less than a paycheck away from disaster. I am scrambling to make as much money any way I can. I have even thought about using OC...but every time I do, I get sick to my stomach, feeling like I would be a sell-out, selling my users to a bunch of slimeballs, for a few cents each. No matter how tempting it is and how bad I need the money, I just can't bring myself to do it.
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