How to Read Software License Agreements

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How to Read Software License Agreements
by Mouse in a Hole

I have a deal for you. In exchange for a free piece of software that does some nifty little thing (that you may or may not end up using) I'm going to install a bunch of programs on your PC that will track your web surfing and send this information to my servers. Then I'll use this information to to inform another program that makes pop-ups appear on your computer. Sometimes my software will modify web pages you look at, so that links appear on your screen which aren't really part of the web page. If you ever decide that you don't want my nifty piece of software, you can "uninstall" the software at any time. But whether or not you uninstall, the advertising software will remain. In fact, your computer may very likely be rendered unusuable, but if that should happen then it's not our problem.

Sounds good? If you think so, just click on the "AGREE" button.

Anybody who downloads free software from the internet knows that when you install it, it almost always presents you with a giant document that seemingly only a lawyer could understand. Then at the bottom it says "Agree? (YES) (NO)" and you are expected to to click "YES" and abide by all of this legal mubo-jumbo.

Blindly clicking "YES" to these agreements is not very smart. Some of them are designed to bamboozle you into agreeing to something you would never agree to if you understood what it is saying.

Now I'm not saying that all free software is a bad thing. 90% of the free software is perfectly harmless and won't do anything to your computer that should bother you. But there are exceptions...

The biggest scam-artist in the world of nasty user-agreements is an organization called the GAIN network. You don't have to pay a Harvard law graduate to understand this paragraph:

GAIN Publishing offers some of the most popular software available on the Internet free of charge ("GAIN-Supported Software") in exchange for your agreement to also install GAIN AdServer software ("GAIN"), which will display Pop-Up, Pop-Under, and other types of ads on your computer based on the information we collect as stated in this Privacy Statement. We refer to consumers who have GAIN on their system as 'Subscribers.'

There it is, right in your face. They tell you honestly what they are going to do, knowing full well that 99% of the people will not read this stuff and just press 'AGREE' because they want to have the neat-O aquarium screensaver.

Unless you are getting software from a company you know you can trust (and there aren't many of them these days), skim over the user agreement. There are certain keywords that you can look for that are big red flags!! Here are some of them:

"GAIN" or "Gain Publishing" (big red flag. do NOT install this software!!)
"Claria Corporation" (big red flag. these are the guys who run GAIN.)
"Pop-up" or "Pop-under" (big red flag. do NOT install this software!!)
"cannot be uninstalled" or "cannot be independently uninstalled" (huge flag!! no legitimate software should make this claim.)
"information about your Web surfing and computer usage" (big red flag. Does the word "Orwellian" come to mind? It should.)
"information we collect" (flag. better read this part of the contract)
"non identifying information" (flag. a list of everything you've ever typed into google's search window is non-identifying information. do you really want them to know that stuff?)
"advertisements" (flag. better read this part of the contract)

Now, some scary looking stuff might appear in your user contract which just comes under the category of C.Y.A. (cover your ass) clauses. These are just lawyers nipping off all lawsuit attempts in the bud. A statement like this shouldn't worry you:

XYZ Software makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the suitability of this product for any purpose whatsoever.

Nor should this:

XYZ Software shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, indirect, incidental, or special damages, including catastrophic damage to your computer or operating system, or any other form of bodily or mental injury, whatsoever.

Some of you probably already have some anti-spyware helper on your system which is designed to protect you from this kind of stuff. Don't be so foolish to think that this means you can install software left and right without screwing up your system. In fact, some of the anti-spyware corporations work side by the side with the companies that produce the spyware itself. For example, from Wikipedia I read: In July 2005, Microsoft Corporation came under fire when it revealed that their AntiSpyware product would no longer label Claria software as "spyware". News had surfaced that Microsoft was also contemplating the purchase of Claria, which many consumers felt to be a conflict of interest.

So take it from me, folks. Free software can be a lot of fun, but a lot of places will try to trick you into installing what's known as adware or spyware on your computer. But the good news is that all of these spyware places are very open and honest about what they are doing, if you just take the time to merely skim over the agreement. If you see anything that means that they are installing advertising or "information gathering" software on your system, be like me, and run back into your hole!!

See ya!

Written by Free Stuff Hot Deals Staff Member,
Mouse in a Hole