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Rant

I HATE CNET SECURE DOWNLOAD!!!!!

Aug 9, 2011 2:12AM PDT

I don't care if this topic is started somewhere else. I hate web installers.... download this stupid file so we can download another file because you're too stupid to just download the main file.... I'm sure this lame trend is something microsoft started.

PLEASE just let us download the whole file.

PLEASE get rid of these web installers.

Discussion is locked

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Just wondering.
Aug 9, 2011 2:14AM PDT

Why not go where they don't have that?

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Nothing to do with Microsoft
Aug 9, 2011 5:54AM PDT

And nothing to do with CNET.

It is a process that has become all to common nowadays. The "Installer file" we download then has to connect to the internet to download further files to complete the setup procedure.

It all depends on what the software developer decides. Some will include the whole package within a single file. Others will only provide a small 'installer' file that then downloads the rest of the setup files from the developer's own web site.

I'm not sure what you can do about that.

Mark

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Just in!
Aug 10, 2011 4:20AM PDT
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More...
Aug 10, 2011 5:24AM PDT
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WOW
Aug 16, 2011 10:54AM PDT

If I understand the link Mark put in his post right, CNET is going to require people to be a member and sign in before downloading. Claiming it will stop people from abusing their services. I am still trying to figure out how downloading from them could be considered a method of abusing the site. Sounds good but maybe someone should inform CNET and CBS that their are plenty of sites on the net that do not require this. I think CNET has hired someone from Google and is adapting the ole tack of collect and save everything they can about a user. Maybe it is a way of punishing those who will not use the secure downloader or maybe they did not get enough people to use Tech Tracker. It is my understanding that both these programs search your hard drive for programs that you have and report back to a main server what you have and then make recommendation to you for downloading other programs. I think it is called Open Candy. I think it depends on which side of the fence your on but I consider it malware. I know those who profit from selling info on user and programmers will disagree with me. I know there has been great debate in the forums on this subject. I will not install any program that uses the Open Candy installer. My AV program still reports it as malware and the day they stop will be the day I switch AV. I know Open Candy has a good PR program and has gotten a couple of AV developers to drop their warnings.

For those who want to avoid this, they can click Quick Specs on the page of the program they are looking at and on the following page you will find a link to the developers site. You can download the program from them and no longer abuse the Download.com web site.

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If you forget the PR.
Aug 16, 2011 10:58AM PDT
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I knew you would be the first to reply
Aug 16, 2011 11:19AM PDT

Like I said Bob, it is a matter of opinion and and how you make your money. I believe anything that places a file on my puter and searches my hard drive and reports what it find is malware. If they would give fair waring that this is going to happen and give the user an op out feature I would not have a problem with it. Shoot, maybe they are but since it has been many months since I encountered Open Candy I am not sure what mehtod they are using. My Av will trip and give me a waring that the program has Open Candy and it gets deleted that very second. I know the first time I encountered it, the AV program I had let it blow by and it was my firewalll telling me that a program that I did not authorize to be on my hard drive was trying to connect to the internet. WIth a little research I found out that it was Open Candy and I change AV programs the next day to the one I have now. I was never asked if I wanted Open Candy to do a search and make any recommendation to me but yet here it was trying to phone home and report on the programs I had installed. By my definition, that is malware, but I do not profit from such tactics nor do I write programs anymore.

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Download.com login window does NOT save pwds.
Sep 6, 2011 10:51PM PDT

"CNET is going to require people to be a member and sign in [..]"

I was going to make a separate thread, but probably not much point in that; So, might as well post it here. Btw., I can relate to Mark's (crude) post and agree with.

Anyway, on Firefox (Nightly) 9.0a1 -and probably all others, too- the (JavaScript) login pop-up window will not allow the password to be saved to the "Saved Passwords" manager; With, or without the checkbox (screenshot @ ImageShack).

This is because the properties/parameters, or the actual field name isn't configured/labeled properly. Can I please ask for this to be fixed?!?? Tnx!..Happy

[/OFFTOPIC]

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I'm with you...
Aug 20, 2011 11:37AM PDT

I had to tell my story in another topic. See "sad commentary"

I will just use the authors sites from now on. I might use cnet for researching downloads, but will go dl them elsewhere.

-cheers

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i wrote it on there facebook page many times
Oct 4, 2011 2:17PM PDT

\\\