Foistware - a BAD Example

Recently I read about the free video download and converter software FVD Suite. I thought some of it's functionality might be helpful so I downloaded and installed it.

And during installation it showed it's true colors. The Installer offered altogether FOUR pieces of typical foistware, some of it IMHO outright bad stuff. And on top of that it used a tricky switch of the method to avoid this unwanted stuff.

Here are the four installer windows that attempted to trick me into installing the additional junk.

1.  The first window has Quick Installation preselected. I am usually careful with my computer so I selected Advanced Installation. The switches to install Babylon were preselected and got greyed out immediately! That means I could not turn Babylon off anymore.  IMHO Babylon is outright CRAP! Pardon my French. it figures as translation software but why then do they need to change my default search engine and my browser's home page? Did I already say crap?

I had to switch back to Quick Installation; then I could remove the check marks in the three entries for Babylon and switch back to Advanced Installation. By then I was on high alert, trust me. 

2. The second window wanted my permission (naturally preselected!) to install Shop To Win and QwikLinx. I always think TANSTAAFL seeing this sort of garbage software.

This window required to deselect only one check mark.

3.  The third window offered PricePeep. See above, TANSTAAFL.

BUT: Since I wanted to avoid PricePeep this window required a change in the method to avoid the PricePeep gunk; I needed to click the Decline button. The graphic design of this and the next window is such that on first glance one might think that Decline would decline the installation of FVD Suite and thus click on Next Step. Which would be just the mistake the originators of this deceptive tactic want us to make. Decline affects PricePeep only. Tricky, tricky to say the least. 

4. Window #4 used the same method as #3, I had to click Decline to avoid getting WaJam installed.

Plus it had a graphic element resembling a check mark in a circle; only after reading the text behind this little thingy I realized what it meant.

 
That was this.

I hope you don't get bored by me repeating and repeating over and over again:

• Take the time to read EVERY little window when installing downloaded software
   
• Watch out for preselected check marks
   
• THINK before you click
   
•  When in doubt don't install what tries to trick you!

It is getting worse and worse every week; stay safe and keep your computer clean!

As usual I welcome suggestions and comments right here in the blog.

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On Line Backup - Not For Me

Yesterday I wrote in my article "Free Trials - User Beware!" the following:

In my opinion some of these services are bordering on useless and/or the promised services lack a sound technical base. An example for the latter are in my opinion the numerous online data backup services. All these offers pitched to the unsuspecting consumer do not mention the speed problem.

Practically all normal Internet connections, whether via DSL, cable or wireless technology have the same big drawback in common: The transfer speed from your computer up to the service's computers is significantly slower than the download speed that you experience when you browse web pages or watch a video or peruse Facebook.

Today I can give you numbers from the hard reality of what that means in real life terms.

I read on a fairly techie-oriented website a glowing endorsement of the online backup service CrashPlan and decided to give it a try. I downloaded their software, installed it and set it up to back up only the minimally required folders with my most important data.

Several hours later I wrote this email to Crash Plan's customer support:

Based on a recommendation at Lifehacker.com I bought your xxxxx plan for 2+ home computers instead of signing up for a trial. What a mistake.

After paring down the directories to the absolutely necessary minimum your program tells me after over 5 hours of run time that it still estimates another 12.2 days of run time remaining.

I am sorry, but this is absolutely unacceptable for me.

I herewith cancel my purchase. I have stopped the transfer by killing the process in Task Manager. I have uninstalled your software and deleted the downloaded installer file.

According to the promise on your web site

Our risk-free cancellation policy will automatically credit you for the
remaining unused months on any plan if you decide to cancel at any time.

I request that you please refund my payment.

Well, I warned you and promptly, on the very next day I stumble by my own free will directly in the trap. Dumb old man that I am!

As usual I welcome suggestions right here in the blog.

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"Free" Trials - User Beware!

A recent article on PCWorld titled "The truth about free trials" caught my attention. It is quite lengthy and I had some ideas how to make the material more palatable. Let me begin with some background information.

Something that bothers me for quite some time are "Free Trials". Not only "free" manufacturer installed software packages that mostly have only one purpose, to make you pay for things like update subscriptions, license fees, upgrades to "pro" versions and so on.

Now all this junk has been joined by an ever increasing number of various offers of a wide variety of online services.

In my opinion some of these services are bordering on useless and/or the promised services lack a sound technical base. An example for the latter are in my opinion the numerous online data backup services. All these offers pitched to the unsuspecting consumer do not mention the speed problem.

Practically all normal Internet connections, whether via DSL, cable or wireless technology have the same big drawback in common: The transfer speed from your computer up to the service's computers is significantly slower than the download speed that you experience when you browse web pages or watch a video or peruse Facebook.

UPDATE 9-15-2012 (only 1 day later) re. online backup: Please read this article. 

Uploading large files like pictures, music and videos just takes too darned long to be practical!

Most online services offer free trials; sounds good, right?

But what happens when you realize that the service is actually not quite what you had expected and you want to cancel? Many users have nightmarish experiences.

PCWorld had a similar article already in 2006 and I will compare the results in an easy format. As to be expected there were services where canceling was easy and straightforward; there were services that took some detective work and tenacity to get rid of and then there were some that made it very difficult if not almost impossible to cancel. Nothing new here; everybody who years ago wanted to dump AOL has experienced that.

If you have ever listened to me on WTKM or are my customer you know that I call a spade a spade. Here are the names of the services PCWorld dealt with in 2006 and in 2012, grouped by difficulty to cancel.

	BIG hassle, really hard	Difficult & time consuming	Easy
2006	31%	22%	47%          of total number
	AOL	EarthLink	Ancestry.com
	BlueMountain.com	Equifax Credit Watch Gold	Audible.com
	Classmates.com	Flickr.com	Consumer Reports Online
	ESPN	GameSpy Arcade	Ediets.com
	MSN Internet	MLB	GameFly.com
	Napster.com	Netflix	GotoMyPC
	NetZero	RapidFax	Match.com
	Real Rhapsody		Mvelopes.com
	Real SuperPass		Reservation Rewards
	True.com		Salon.com
			Stamps.com
			The New York Times Select
			The Wall Street Journal
			Vonage
			Vongo
	BIG hassle, really hard	Difficult & time consuming	Easy
2012	30%	42.5%	27.5%        of total number
	TrustFax	BeenVerified	eFax
	LifeLock	GameFly	Netflix
	GameHouse	CalorieKing	Shockwave Unlimited
	IdentityGuard	YouSendit	TrustedID
	Spotify	Foreclosure Radar	Britannica Online
	RealPlayer Super Pass	Identity Protection	SugarSync
	Tech Support for Dummies	Match.com	Weather Channel Desktop
	FreeCreditScore.com	Audible Listener Gold	Adapted Mind
	ESPN Insider	Cook's Illustrated	Ancestry.com
	IMDb	RealtyTrac	Hulu Plus
	GoToMyPC	Club Pogo	Merriam-Webster
	SociallyKnow	Rhapsody
		American Greetings
		Dr. Laura
		My Total Money Makeover
		Blockbuster Total Access
		OnlyMyEmail

Two things seem to be remarkable to me:

1. Most of the services that in 2006 were a big hassle to cancel are gone for good and/or don't play a significant role anymore.
   
   Companies in this category in 2012 might take heed; the warning is written on the wall.
    
2. The huge shift from 2006 to 2012 between the Difficult and the Easy categories. The percentages are reversed. Does this imply that it pays to make canceling difficult (but not next to impossible)?
   
   Has Netflix learned a lesson? They went from difficult to cancel to easy.

Please draw your own conclusions and please tell us about them in the comments. Thank you in advance.

As usual I welcome suggestions right here in the blog. 

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