Shareware Software Misrepresented by Download Sites
April 25, 2007
It has come to the attention of win.rar GmbH that some download websites have recently represented WinRAR and other shareware in a misleading light.
These kind of download sites charge a membership fee or ask for extra payments in various forms just to enable users to download certain shareware programs. However, since the philosophy behind shareware is that these programs can be tested totally free of charge for a certain time period, they can normally be downloaded for free via the publisher's websites anyway. Further, the said download sites often do not state explicitly that users only receive the download of a trial version. They give the impression that users acquire the right to unlimited use of the program.
After users have downloaded, for example WinRAR, from one of these sites, they will of course discover that they have only downloaded the trial version. This has led to numerous complaints from users to shareware publishers, because they believe that publishers are associated with these sites. win.rar GmbH has always distanced itself from download sites that follow these nontransparent practices and does not cooperate with them in any way.
It has also come to our notice that some of these download sites are trying to convince their visitors that WinRAR is available as a freeware, which is also misleading. WinRAR is a shareware and is available to be downloaded for free and tested for a trial-period of 40 days.
In order to protect internet users from such misleading download sites, win.rar GmbH considers it important to spread the knowledge that shareware can generally be downloaded for free via the website of the publisher and users can buy it after or during the trail period to use the software. Furthermore, internet users should always check what they actually get before signing up for one of those download sites and agreeing to pay a membership fee or any other form of charges.
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