Gaming CNET downloads push adware now.

[Rydian]

http://www.ghacks.net/2011/08/17/the-cnet-...-com-installer/

I noticed brothersoft did this as well, but it seems now CNET isn't giving you the actual program, but instead a web installer that downloads the program while pushing adware...

In addition it doesn't save the actual install file, so you need to go grab it out of your TEMP directory before it's removed if you're downloading something to install on another machine with no internet.

 

[Quietlyawesome94]

Thanks for this. I actually noticed this a few weeks back and unchecked the software it wanted to automatically install without thinking much of it.

Sounds like they are probably making lots of cash off of this.

 

[Costello]

I noticed that... that's really terrible.
Downloading software is getting harder and harder...

 

[Evo.lve]

I try not to use CNET wherever possible...

but this is horrible...

 

[clegion]

This is crappy, I often download from cnet, I guess i should get other sources then

 

[InuYasha]

I noticed this the other day when I grabed a program off there site,kind of annoying actually to download crap twice...

 

[Zetta_x]

Well that just sucks, considering I used to go there to download malwarebytes whenever we set up a machine.

 

[moose3]

majorgeeks.com can be a good place to look for downloads as a replacement for Cnet, esp for utilities.

 

[Zetta_x]

majorgeeks.com can be a good place to look for downloads as a replacement for Cnet, esp for utilities.

That's my second place for downloads, however, at my office I have a 150mb down and for some reason some of the files I download only go about 18kB sometimes. I know at my office the internet was not lagging, I'm pretty sure the bottleneck was their servers.

 

[InuYasha]

majorgeeks.com can be a good place to look for downloads as a replacement for Cnet, esp for utilities.

Pretty good site,I tend to read the crazy news they post there also...

 

[Zetta_x]

Well I was setting up a few new desktops with windows 7 and like always, when I download malwarebytes it goes to the cnet download. I was able to get a direct download of the installer and pick where I wanted to save it in IE 9 without any use of a portal.

 

[Rydian]

Well I was setting up a few new desktops with windows 7 and like always, when I download malwarebytes it goes to the cnet download. I was able to get a direct download of the installer and pick where I wanted to save it in IE 9 without any use of a portal.

I just installed malwarebytes on a machine today, and when I clicked the link on the malwarebytes page, I got the executable installer, it didn't lead me anywhere else.

 

[Zetta_x]

Well I was setting up a few new desktops with windows 7 and like always, when I download malwarebytes it goes to the cnet download. I was able to get a direct download of the installer and pick where I wanted to save it in IE 9 without any use of a portal.

I just installed malwarebytes on a machine today, and when I clicked the link on the malwarebytes page, I got the executable installer, it didn't lead me anywhere else.

Lol, that's pretty epic. You clicked the download now button on http://www.malwarebytes.org/? I still get directed to Cnet and occasionally majorgeeks.

It's obviously a php script that has some type of algorithm that chooses which download link it goes to. Not sure how it judges the criteria.

 

[Rydian]

I guess it's their form of load-balancing?

EDIT: It'll give me bleepingcomputer too.

 

[Zetta_x]

Yeah I agree; they probably mirrored their download to a bunch of sites and they have the mindset of don't keep your eggs in the same basket. In case one site is down (and I wonder if the php script checks for these kinds of things) it points you to a site that's pretty much working. Yay malwarebytes

 

[Deleted_171835]

CNET Download sucks even more now. The problem is, there are tons of people that use CNET to distribute their programs.