The best way to download safely is to make yourself into an informed consumer.
- Learn what’s OK to download, and what isn’t.
- Protect your PC with an antimalware product, from a known publisher.
- Download only from the author’s web site.
- Watch out for fake sites and associate sites.
10 Anti-Commandments of Computer Ownership
Thou shalt not place a computer on the floor. The floor is where the cat lives. Also the dog, the vacuum cleaner (also known as Sir Slam-A-Bot), and the notorious dust bunnies tribe.
Thou shalt not turn off a Windows-based computer by flipping...
A PUP is a Potentially-Unwanted Program
Malware was simpler decades back. We had clarity. It was all bad. Now, we have 'PUP's. That's an acronym for 'potentially-unwanted program.' McAfee, Inc, created that label some years back, and probably did it in their legal department. I can imagine...
An Open Letter to Business Software Developers
Written for members of the Association of Software Professionals in 2004, a trade group of software developers. There's a 2023 update after the article.
©Jerry Stern 2004, All Rights Reserved. As seen in ASPects , December 2004
Does ...
Cars, Chips, Shakespeare
From the November 2000 ASPects . 2023 Update at the bottom.
News from the world of technology is pretty bad. Everything falls apart; the center cannot hold. No, really.
I had my car fixed. The engine was running rough. The shopping center...
Case Study: Offers and Wrappers
This entire page of "wrappers" and "offers" is from one installation of a free trial version of Microsoft Word that came from a popular download site, NOT from Microsoft. Note the generic installer provided by the wrapper program. Microsoft isn't the...
Find Software as an Informed Consumer
Written by Jerry Stern
Chief Technical Officer, Science Translations
Downloading apps and software is the best way to try out a product before buying it. Free trial versions and free light versions of software let you know, for sure, that a program...
Monetizer & Wrapper Glossary
If youâre trying to install one program that does one thing, and you download a free trial or a free tool, and then you see that three new programs have been added to your computer, youâve been monetized. The program you downloaded, or the download por...
Monetizers: The Business Model
Monetizers, or monetization, applies to both programs and web sites. Basically, it's a method of making money on something free, using a third party to provide advertising (for web sites), or to bundle programs to install as "recommended" or "bonus" products...
Steps Toward an Office Computer Policy, 1.0
For anyone running an office network, the time when you could trust your office staff not to do anything dangerous on their computers is long past. Every office should have a corporate policy, letting staffers know what they may and may not...
Why Doesnât my Computer Work?
And the Real Blame for Spyware goes to...
©Jerry Stern 2004, All Rights Reserved. As seen in ASPects , September 2004
I just cleaned up another computer for a new client. It had 256 viruses, mostly Sasser worms, around 800 spyware files ...
Wrapper Screenshot Gallery
Know what you're installing. Always.
If you've chosen to install a video program, and a screen appears that's installing a security product, stop. Or a Flash update offers an install of Mcafee Security Scan Plus, stop--that's an advertisement, and...
