Warning Signal For Freeware Are You Aware Of The Hassles That Could Come Forth
by Jose Sogiros,
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PANAMA, Dec 26 — Freeware is not always innocent. Sure, it is not free to reverse engineer, modify, or redistribute freeware, but there is as well the form of freeware that is cloaked as adware or even as spyware. The latter has induced quite some troubles in the past.
The elementary thought behind the software license - producing a fair legal defense against illegal software piracy - has long been bypassed indeed
F
reeware is not always innocent. Sure, it is not free to reverse engineer, modify, or redistribute freeware, but there is as well the form of freeware that is cloaked as adware or even as spyware. The latter has induced quite some troubles in the past.
Remember from approximately 5 years ago when Gator created a storm of protest. Its GAIN Publishing End User License Agreement (EULA, also known as software license) stated the user was automatically agreeing in also installing the GAIN AdServer software when accepting the EULA. So, the software license granted the company permission to set up software that accumulated certain identifiable selective information about web browsing and computer issuance. This software came immediately along with the freeware and was set up in the same process. At the finish, this resulted in a display of all types of ads on the users computer.
Several software licenses go exceedingly far. The EULA from Gator even unauthorized the use of frequent uninstallers for their own tools on which countless people relied to remove this unwelcome stuff. But as well, users were prohibited from using devices like web monitoring programs or analogous on the GAIN AdServer and its messages, thus eliminating all possible control. Obviously, that is no longer associated to software security against cracking and was more than a bridge too far for numerous users.
Then, if all is set in the software license, then that is as well what can aid decide about what you wish to have set up, or not! Indeed, especially the package balancing at the edge of legitimate limits will attempt to rectify what is not completely good. And you guessed it right: that is most frequently discovered in the EULA.
Until now, all may appear quite normal, however, the software license is infamous for carrying stealthy articles defending absurd restrictions on the behavior of software users whilst furnishing the software programmer or seller with unproportionally intruding forces. E.g., Microsoft software licenses present the company the right to collect info about the user’s system and its function and to furnish this info to other organizations. They also grant Microsoft the right to make changes to the user’s computer without requesting permission. Now, don’t be misguided by thinking this is a Microsoft-only thing, software licenses frequently have a clause that grants vendors to realize changes to users’ systems without involving or notifying the user.
Notice that appending the abusive matters to software has mostly happened with freeware, nonetheless, there appears a tendency recently to transfer those said abusive habits towards shareware and trial ware, yes also the terms of service of some well-known companies has been under fire.
An example is Facebook who adjusted its TOS back to the old one after people complained in mass that the terms of use all of a sudden pronounced that Facebook held all rights to the users content, even if the latter canceled his account.
As a matter of fact, a fundamental idea behind the EULA is quite well-founded: to protect the seller from software piracy. Only, the concern is that software licenses are getting more and more suppressive all the time. E.g. Microsoft began in vista’s EULA to disallow the installing in virtual machines though this is precisely what researchers and reviewers are utilizing for their job.
It is lawyer material but you may wonder whether these licenses are legal. According to attorneys though, most of them do survive in courtyard, the exception being if the text is not reasonably understandable. Another exception has to do with children who are generally freed for the agreements established this way.
The fact that a EULA might not be legitimately enforceable - for whatever cause - is of little consolation because it is being imposed on you whether you like it or not. Once the program is set up on your machine, the damage is done and it doesn’t even count if the signed contract were legally invalid. Already only by using the computer, the user is validating his contribution of the contract.
The elementary thought behind the software license - producing a fair legal defense against illegal software piracy - has long been bypassed indeed. Well, be warned, a click of the computer mouse could raise a good share of trouble. So, only one advice can be given: shake off that blindfold, do scan the EULA, and that does not apply for freeware alone!
Communicate directly with Jose Sogiros, the author of this article. Ask questions, send suggestions, comments, engage in conversation, or perhaps you would like to submit a project.
Click Here to ask a question, send a comment, or proposal.
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