Comodo's flagship software removed from Windows software database due to licensing problems
As all our regular users know, programs awarded by Softpedia with the 100% Clean and 100% Free awards have been thoroughly checked by our team of editors and passed several tests. Aside the fact that all programs on Softpedia are scanned with world renowned security products, all awarded programs are installed by our team and checked for any spyware or adware components.
One of the concepts behind our 100% Clean award is the "click-away worry-free installation": users can click their way through a program’s setup routine without worrying that, in the end, undesired changes (such as default browser search engine) might have been made. When the installation process has ended, our editors run the program and, while taking screenshots, check the program for other income generating content such as banners or ads.
To make a long story short, we make sure the program doesn’t fall under any of the six cases mentioned on our adware definition page. Please be advised that this definition is our creation and has not been "borrowed" from an online or offline source. It was created by our team of specialists to ensure that it covers all cases that may result in the legitimate dissatisfaction of our users. Therefore, if we find adware in a program it will be listed accordingly, regardless of the license it’s listed under on the producer’s website.
If the application has been found free of viruses/spyware and neither the installation process nor runtime experience reveal any unpleasant surprises, the program receives the 100% Clean award or, if it’s free for both personal and commercial use, the 100% Free award.
A program will not receive any award (or will not
even be published on Softpedia) if it’s impossible to successfully pass through all of the above steps. But if it is possible, as you can see, the rules are very strict and no exception will ever be made. If a program fails to pass the adware test, it will be immediately marked as Adware regardless of its popularity, developer or current user rating on Softpedia.
Examples such as Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Earth, Vista Transformation Pack, DAEMON Tools, Spyware Terminator, RealPlayer, AVG Antivirus and so on should prove this beyond any doubt. Of course, it’s impossible to keep track of all adware programs, but please keep in mind that if an application is reported and our tests reveal that it indeed contains adware we will take the appropriate measures as soon as possible.
Now that we’ve cleared this up, you might be asking yourself "OK, but does this have to do with Comodo?" Well, if you would have searched Softpedia for Comodo in the past week, you would have surely noticed that the company’s flagship programs are no longer listed on Softpedia. This was not our decision, of course, but let’s start with the beginning.
On April, 15th, Softpedia received an official cease and desist letter from the Comodo PR team requesting us to "discontinue all references on Softpedia identifying CIS as adware" within seven days, because Comodo Internet Security is not adware.
The first thing we did was, of course, to double-check the license, but, as we’ve tried explaining to the Comodo team, CIS is indeed adware. Why? Well, for starters, because the installer attempts to change both the browser’s homepage and search engine. As if that wasn’t a good enough reason, the setup also offers to install SafeSurf. Here’s what the official Comodo letter states: "SafeSurf is optional and does not display unsolicited advertisements on a user’s computer, nor does it hijack browser settings or perform search overriding or home page changing without the user’s consent."
Aside the fact that SafeSurf is a component that the program (CIS) does not require to fully function, therefore it alone would be a good reason to mark CIS adware, this utility also installs Ask Toolbar without asking for the user’s permission. This type of behavior is clearly not the one described in the Comodo email and could be easily classified as spyware (since adware would imply prior user consent).
And so, after double-checking the award, we’ve replied to the Comodo email and tried explaining all the above. Moreover, we’ve reminded them of the program’s popularity on Softpedia and its high rating from both users and our reviewers. And last, but not least, before requesting a confirmation email, we’ve underlined the fact that changing the adware components in the setup process from checked-by-default to unchecked will solve the problem without removing them from the installation.
We’ve also posted our email on Comodo’s community forums, explaining our actions to the software’s users and that because we would prefer to keep CIS on Softpedia, we’ve even offered options to the PR team. As expected, most Comodo users shared our view and disapproved the inclusion of the components in question.
Unfortunately, neither we nor the community seem to have had any influence of the Comodo team. A week later nothing changed and as our deadline was near and the Comodo PR team did not send us any reply to our email, we’ve decided we had no other option but to the remove the listing.
And so the Comodo week came to a sad, unwanted ending for us and, especially, you, our users. We can only hope that at some time in the near future, Comodo (like the developer of CCleaner and other programs) will change the setup experience so we can republish their software on Softpedia. Until then we’d like to remind you that we do not and will not make any exceptions regarding our adware policy: programs that fail to pass all six cases mentioned earlier will be marked as adware.
