Download.com Now Wraps Downloads In Bloatware (Majorgeeks, NEVER)

Slashdot is reporting that CNets Download.com has a new money making idea… and it’s going to cost you.

"At Download.com, page designs have been repeatedly tweaked over the years to push its updater software (now called TechTracker), TrialPay offers, and the site's mailing list. Bothersome, perhaps, but certainly not inexcusable. They've got to make money off the site somehow, after all, and banner ads don't always do the job. Now, things have taken a turn for the worse: Cnet has begun wrapping downloads in its own proprietary installer. Not only will this cause the reputation of free, legitimate software to be tarred by Cnet's bloatware toolbars, homepage changes, and new default search engines — but Cnet is even claiming that their installer wrapping is 'for the users.'"

As we have tried to tell our readers for years, most websites promise safe downloads but actually don’t follow through. They tend to be big companies with employees and shareholders to answer to. As long as Majorgeeks remains a two man team, we would never allow this or even consider it.

If you are not familiar with how Majorgeeks works, here is a snippet from our About page:

MajorGeeks tests all software before making it available to the public. We have always done this since we were called TweakFiles back in 1997 when malware did not even exist. When cookies were yummy. When a virus meant you were sick. It is now all the rage for websites, even the largest ones out there, to give out 5 star awards and claim they offer malware free tested downloads to get their website linked. Most actually do not.

The Software Awards Scam is a great example for you to see how MOST websites accept any listing without ever checking it and even offer the submitter 5 Star Awards.

Thanks for your support and we welcome any Download.com users who are looking for a new, TRULY safe download site.