The Rittenhouse Review

A Philadelphia Journal of Politics, Finance, Ethics, and Culture


Saturday, January 31, 2004  

TEASEWARE
When is a “Free” Download Not Free?

Have you ever downloaded a “free” package or piece of software only to find that it’s not free at all? Or at least that the “free” part is basically worthless, or at best, everything for which you paid?

I have.

It’s called SpyHunter. Free! Free! Free!

Download it. Install it. Run it. And you will learn whether certain well known “spyware” programs or “worms” have been installed surreptitiously on your PC.

I did just that and found there were four such annoyances on my computer.

Now, getting rid of them is another story. Your “free” download won’t help you with that. It’s just a scan. Fortunately, through my own efforts and, for one last little cretin, a little extra searching, I was able to remove them all by myself.

Maybe there should be a new word for “free” downloads like SpyHunter’s: teaseware.

Oh, wait, I now see by way of the godsend known as Google that the word already exists, but also that it has yet to receive the circulation it deserves.

Let’s all put it in motion, shall we?

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