Here’s What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Download.com Apps (article)
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http://www.howtogeek.com/198622/heres-what-happens-when-you-install-the-top-10-download.com-apps/
These guys created a fresh Win7 VM and then blindly downloaded the top 10 recommended apps from http://download.com. They just clicked through and accepted everything that was offered to them... kind of like your mother or a non-English speaker might do.
The results are spectacular.
I especially like the part where several browser hijackers go into a fight over the homepage URL.
You kind of see why MS went the walled garden appstore route. This shit is ruining Windows as a platform. Too bad they messed up completely with "modern-only" idea. Hopefully, they do it the right way by integrating chocolatey in Windows 10, so they can start clearing up these leeches.
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This shit is ruining Windows as a platform.
This is why we can't have nice things.
What is download.com actually for then? Never once been there, not intending to visit now...
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It used to be a good site back in the day. THE go-to place to get programs for Windows. Without google, things on Internet were a bit harder to find. They had a huge catalogue with well designed categories and no-hassle downloads. I remember downloading shareware and freeware from there all the time.
But now... try googling for a window app, and they are the cancer that infects every search, sometimes even outranking the authors' official site. And they make it so hard avoiding their bullshit malware "Installer", it's not even worth dealing with them. They need to go away.
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I long for the days when you could get downloads from there that weren't EXEs.
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I especially like the part where several browser hijackers go into a fight over the homepage URL.
Reminded me of:
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Viruses so far have been really disappointing on the 'disable the internet' front, and time is running out. When Linux/Mac win in a decade or so the game will be over.
Bold claim there, Randall.
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See that SourceForge button? That's actually a crapware installer.
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Links me to a .tar.bz2.
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On Windows, at least.
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Not that Filezilla is particularly useful on Linux, what with the integration of FTP/SFTP/SCP/whatever it's called into the file browsers.
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I wish Windows supported public-key-based SFTP in Explorer.
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One of the most evil things is adverts which have LARGE GREEN DOWNLOAD buttons in them. On a legitimate software download page.
It also seems obligatory for malware to brand itself as Anti-Malware Defender or somesuch—you are not the solution to the problem: you are the problem.
Actually, I'd be very interested to know precisely how McAfee Site Adviser managed to get itself installed in Chrome. McAfee came bundled with the tablet, but I downloaded Chrome myself, and for sure didn't add any extensions to it.
Not really much of a selling point for your anti-virus software, if it itself behaves much like an actual virus would, is it?
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See that SourceForge button? That's actually a crapware installer.
This installer may include bundled offers.
Uh huh.
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You kind of see why MS went the walled garden appstore route
You really think this will help on filtering all that crap? HA! It will only make MS more money. Even Apple with their dictatorship over the App Store, still lets some crapware to pass right through.
Also, stupid users will continue to go to this places for their downloads.
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On Windows, at least.
Whether SF gives you--even on Windows--a crapware-shoveler of an installer or not seems to be hit or miss.
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I wish Windows supported public-key-based SFTP in Explorer.
It probably would if you wrote a shell namespace extension.
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One of the most evil things is adverts which have LARGE GREEN DOWNLOAD buttons in them. On a legitimate software download page.
Yup. I try to train people that you never hit that link, because it's never what you were on the page to download.
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Even Apple [...] lets some crapware to pass right through.
Yes, but that's the point. Unlike download.com, it filters the vast majority of it out.
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The trick is to find the smallest, most unobtrusive link and click that.
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The trick is to find the smallest, most unobtrusive link and click that.
the trick is to avoid download.com.
go straight to the source: shttp://warez.suppahhaxxorz4evah.1337.bbq
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I often have the fake download button ads right on developer sites. Alarmingly often even on stuff that we fucking paid for
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I often have the fake download button ads right on developer sites. Alarmingly often even on stuff that we fucking paid for
Flashblock and AdBlock don't leave home without them!
EVER.
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Work. Not allowed.
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I prefer my situation: Work: The corporate firewall does it for me.
Some ad categories at least. Haven't checked download.com and similar - haven't hard cause to.
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Work. Not allowed.
work has you locked down to the point you can't run browser extensions?
not cool work..... not cool.
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Work. Not allowed.
No browser extensions? Ugh.
My new phone will get up to 30Mbps download speeds, heh. Not in the office, but if I needed to download something more than a couple hundred megs, I'd probably use it.
That, of course, doesn't help if mobile Chrome doesn't have an adblock extension, which I haven't checked yet.
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I'm local admin. I can do whatever the hell I want.
Policy, however, dictates otherwise. I've been bitched at for "installing encryption software" because of gpg. Nevermind that I write pgp automation applications (against bouncy castle) and use gpg to do testing.
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......
man you have problems at your work if they are that micromanaging....
i assume they would flip their lids if you installed a VM and put chrome on that?
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VMs are strictly forbidden because reasons involving OS licenses (we do not appear to have any kind of enterprise agreement. Everything from Windows to office to SQL Server to MSDN is licensed individually
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VMs are strictly forbidden because reasons involving OS licenses
linux doesn't require licenses.
of course then it is linux, but maybe that's worth it?
we do not appear to have any kind of enterprise agreement. Everything from Windows to office to SQL Server to MSDN is licensed individually
ooooh.... a true beancounter company.... ouch.
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Everything from Windows to office to SQL Server to MSDN is licensed individually
You can install Windows, not put a license key in, and it'll work for quite a while.
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VMs are strictly forbidden because reasons involving OS licenses
Just Windows VMs, or would a Linux VM cause them to flip out all the same?
ooooh.... a true beancounter company.... ouch.
Isn't the point of enterprise licensing to provide a bulk price for large consumers?We are buying JIRA over here (to get us out of the HP QC Belgium), and we had the choice between 2k or 10k seats. We went with the 10k as 2k might have run us out of license seats -- and the incremental cost of those extra 8000 seats was less than a dollar a seat.
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We buy seat licenses in the minimum increments allowed. It's fucking fantastic.
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We buy seat licenses in the minimum increments allowed. It's fucking
fantastic.insaneFTFY.
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Oh. And let's talk about licensing libraries! First, it's nearly impossible.
If the developer licenses by developer seat, we will only ever buy one. Theory being that we can just have one guy who knows it.
If they license by server, we will only buy for prod unless I have a screaming fit and threaten to quit, and usually only one node in prod.
If they license by end user, we will never buy it.
If they license open source but not free for commercial use (I.e. AGPL) we'll steal it. I've been instructed by VPs to do that even after I send them the fucking license.
If they license copyleft, we will never share, credit, or otherwise do our part.
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Isn't your company also the one that pays like a squillion dollars for storage?
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Yes.
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If they license open source but not free for commercial use (I.e. AGPL) we'll steal it. I've been instructed by VPs to do that even after I send them the fucking license.
If they license copyleft, we will never share, credit, or otherwise do our part.
i think this would be time to start looking for other employment....
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IT by Beancounters™
It's the way of doing it that makes the least sense. It doesn't generally save money short term, and it sure as shit doesn't save money long term.
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Quote of the day: "I am not asking you for an ethical opinion, I'm asking if we can do what the customer wants".
After I pointed out that the request would be literally illegal to carry out.
At this rate I'll be saying no to outright fraud within a month.
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Quote of the day: "I am not asking you for an ethical opinion, I'm asking if we can do what the customer wants".
After I pointed out that the request would be literally illegal to carry out.
At this rate I'll be saying no to outright fraud within a month.
..... this should be a fun next couple of months.
it wouldn't hurt to try and prepare an escape route.... just in case.
oh and if you could possibly share all the WTFs you encounter.... well i'd apprecaite it.
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After I pointed out that the request would be literally illegal to carry out.
Then you answer, "legally, no, we can't."
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linux doesn't require licenses.
Linux does require a license. It may be a free open source license, but you still have to agree to it. Or your employer may need to do so on your behalf - check your policies.
This post earned Knight Pedantic Dickweed, etc, etc, etc. -b
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Linux does require a license. It may be a free open source license, but you still have to agree to it. Or your employer may need to do so on your behalf - check your policies.
have a flag..... i should have clarified i meant license that costs $$$.....
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Everything from Windows to office to SQL Server to MSDN is licensed individually
If you have a license for MSDN, don't you get the OSs too? I know the MSDN Visual Studio Pro license gives you N licenses for most OSs (where N varies based on OS). I don't remember the lowest MSDN level offhand...
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Flashblock and AdBlock don't leave home without them!
Uh oh, now you've started it. Prepare to be called all the nastiest names you've ever heard.
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Sorta. The MSDN licenses are for development and testing purposes, not general use. Oddly enough, we obey that license.
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Uh oh, now you've started it. Prepare to be called all the nastiest names you've ever heard.
i can probably take it.
For the record, i whitelist *.thedailywtf.com and *.reddit.com
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Sorta. The MSDN licenses are for development and testing purposes, not general use. Oddly enough, we obey that license.
Ah. Guess I missed some context somewhere. I was thinking about VMs for testing/dev purposes.