Cnet Apologizes For Nmap Adware Mess

Trailrunner7 writes "Officials at Cnet's Download.com site have issued a statement apologizing for bundling the popular open source Nmap security audit application with adware that installed a toolbar and changed users' search engine to Microsoft properties. Fyodor, the author of Nmap, raised the issue earlier this week, saying that his app was being wrapped in malware on Download.com. It's not unusual for download sites to bundle free applications with some kind of adware or toolbar, but the creators of open-source applications take a dim view of this practice, given the nature and ethic of open source projects. Nmap is a venerable and widely used tool for mapping networks and performing security audits and Fyodor wrote in a message to an Nmap mailing list earlier this week that Download.com, which is part of Cnet, a subsidiary of CBS Interactive, was bundling the application with its installer, which, if a user agreed, would install a search toolbar and change the user's search engine to Bing."

Comments

Re:trust

[tomhudson]

It takes years to earn trust. It takes only one event like this to destroy said trust for good.

That depends ... *cough* Sarah Palin *cough* Herman Cain *cough* Barack Obama *cough* Bill Clinton *cough* George W. Bush *cough*

Wow, cold season came early this year :-p

Re:Perfect american corporate business practice

[Caerdwyn]

Illegal? Not sure. Nmap's licence specifically forbids this kind of crap.

Music, movies and commercial software all are subject to license, but those are ignored at the whim of anyone with a "download" button. Why should a corporate entity obey copyright law and licenses when their customers don't? Funny how the same people who completely ignore copyright when they want something try to enforce it when it's their own.

Copyright laws and licenses apply equally to music and software. Suck it up.