If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)

Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

RealNetworks Returns: The "Spy" in "Download Demon"

22-05-2000 3:06pm

#1

Hobbes

Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,264 ✭✭✭✭

Join Date: February 1998

Posts: 18308

Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 12:20 PDT
From: (Lauren Weinstein; PRIVACY Forum Moderator)
Subject: RealNetworks Returns: The "Spy" in "Download Demon"

[...]
But it's hard not to mutter some choice expletives under your breath upon
learning the details of RealNetworks' latest heavily-promoted goodie from
their Netzip, Inc. (http://www.netzip.com) subsidiary--the "Download Demon"
package. Actually, Real should win the "honesty in product naming" award for
this one--"demon" seems to be a particularly apt description.

You may already have stumbled across this little surprise on your system.
I found it apparently bundled in with other downloads I had made from
RealNetworks. The Download Demon attempts to automate various file
downloading functions, to permit downloads to be interrupted and later
resumed, plus other related functionality. It attracted my attention since
it had silently linked itself into my Web browsers to take over all
downloading operations--*without* my having taken any specific actions to
install or enable it--and my system was hanging in the course of various
downloads! I removed it with some difficulty. Only later did I discover
the much less obvious "feature" of the Download Demon--for all files you
download, from *any* sites, the Demon sends details (e.g. file names and
URLs) to RealNetworks/Netzip! Surprise!

In other words: If you install Real's software, and it installs "Download Demon" into your web browsers, Real will then get a listing of all files you download, wherever you download them from -- even files from internal servers whose names contain commercially sensitive information.

0