Good news from CNET Download.com

[Vegard Krog Petersen]

Free listings again:
http://www.upload.com/1200-21-5081541.html

Perhaps some more freeware will be available again...

A new no adware / spyware policy:
http://www.download.com/

regards from

--
Vegard Krog Petersen, Norway

My sites:

 

[Susan Bugher]

Free listings again:
http://www.upload.com/1200-21-5081541.html

Perhaps some more freeware will be available again...

But will anyone be able to find it?

"By taking part in this program, your products will join over 35,000
others, which are seen by over 38 million users each month*."

"Many CNET Download.com users find products by searching by keyword as
opposed to clicking down through each category. Premium Listing Package
subscribers can suggest five keywords for our site-search function
helping customers find and download your product faster and more often."

Department of Gee Thanks:

http://www.upload.com/1200-21-5132969.html

<q>
Customer Registration Services is a free benefit for all products that
are currently subscribed to our Premium Listing Package. After signing
up, publishers can take advantage of these service benefits:

* Automatically integrate customer registration into your.exe file
without additional coding
* Pick the registration fields you require to meet your business objectives
* Access all collected customer information from your Upload.com
account, allowing you to push technical support, product updates, and
marketing efforts to your end users

A new no adware / spyware policy:
http://www.download.com/

Since the ACF Ware Glossary is being reviewed ATM I thought I'd see what
these guys used as their criteria for adware and spyware:

http://download.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/download.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=339

<q>
How do you test for adware and spyware?

Every time a new file is submitted to the CNET Download.com site through
Upload.com, our editors download, install, and scan the program using up
to three industry-standard anti-spyware tools: currently these include
Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Webroot Spy Sweeper, and PC-Tools Spyware Doctor. If
the program is identified by any of these programs as containing adware,
we will decline to list it on Download.com. We also virus-scan every
listing in the course of uploading it to our secure servers, and
routinely review and rate the majority of products for overall quality.

As of 4/27/2005, we have also removed all existing products on
Download.com that we've identified as containing adware. This has
eliminated nearly 600 products from our library.

What are adware and spyware?

Download.com does not list software that contains adware or spyware. If
you find a program on Download.com you suspect is adware, please let us
know via our support forms. You may come across software from other
sites on the Internet that does contain adware or spyware. These types
of applications usually serve advertisements via browser pop-ups, based
on the Web sites you visit. They may also record your Web surfing and
computer usage habits, what other applications are installed on your
computer, and any number of other types of information.
</q>

No comment.

Susan
--
Posted to alt.comp.freeware
Search alt.comp.freeware (or read it online):
http://google.ca/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware
Pricelessware & ACF: http://www.pricelesswarehome.org
Pricelessware: http://www.pricelessware.org (not maintained)

 

[Dos-Man]

I couldn't be more thrilled. Now I can over there and sift through
hundreds and thousands of junk programs rather than creating my own
that do exactly what I want. Hip-Hip, Hooray!

dos-man

 

[Vegard Krog Petersen]

But will anyone be able to find it?

SNIP SUSANS "NO COMMENT" ;-)

Nobody seems satisfied - from the shareware authors newsgroup:

Aaarghhh! Now they're gonna list all that freeware crap again! Well, not
gonna pay when I refresh my software listed on download.com then ... I liked
CNET since you needed to pay for it. The absence of many of the freeware
crap was one of the few things that set them aside from the zillions of
shareware site clones.

and in response:

What absence? They promote freeware even *more* than they used to. There's
even an "Our Favorte Freeware" column ON THE FRONT PAGE. Funny, but I can't
find the "Our Favorite Programs whose Authors Have Paid Hundreds or
Thousands of Dollars to be Listed" column.

If you ask me, it's about time they evened the playing field again.

--

--
Vegard Krog Petersen, Norway

My sites:

 

[(ProteanThread)]

No comment.

Susan

Like Veegard said, we're back to a level "paying" field.

 

[Susan Bugher]

Nobody seems satisfied - from the shareware authors newsgroup:

<SNIP>

My "no comment" referred to their "no Adware" policy. CNET has this
definition of Spyware and Adware:

<snipped self-serving fluff>

"These types of applications usually serve advertisements via browser
pop-ups, based on the Web sites you visit. They may also record your Web
surfing and computer usage habits, what other applications are installed
on your computer, and any number of other types of information."

and this description of how they determine which apps are Adware/Spyware:

"Every time a new file is submitted to the CNET Download.com site
through Upload.com, our editors download, install, and scan the program
using up to three industry-standard anti-spyware tools: currently these
include Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Webroot Spy Sweeper, and PC-Tools Spyware
Doctor. If the program is identified by any of these programs as
containing adware, we will decline to list it on Download.com."

adding my comments:

CNET *isn't* going to decide that app XXX is Spyware or Adware - that
might cause problems for them. CNET is doing their best to pass the buck
- I believe there has been some mention in this newsgroup of threats of
lawsuits against Ad-aware and other authors of anti-spyware apps. . .

"As of 4/27/2005, we have also removed all existing products on
Download.com that we've identified as containing adware. This has
eliminated nearly 600 products from our library."

out of 35,000. . .

I suspect there are still a lot of apps that "serve advertisements via
browser pop-ups" on the CNET site. . .

Susan
--
Posted to alt.comp.freeware
Search alt.comp.freeware (or read it online):
http://google.ca/advanced_group_search?q=+group:alt.comp.freeware
Pricelessware & ACF: http://www.pricelesswarehome.org
Pricelessware: http://www.pricelessware.org (not maintained)