WARNING - Are you promoting ActiveX or download programs?

You could be helping to spread Parasites

[Catalyst]

This is my current pet peeve. (It used to be Norton Blocks Affiliate Revenue.) Now it's affiliates that complain about parasites and then turn around and help spread them.

Do you realize that some of the ActiveX, free download, free screen saver & Toolbar programs you may be promoting are helping to spread parasites that STEAL everyone's affiliate commissions?

Have you looked at what you may be spreading around inside some of these apps? Some of them are filled with parasites and you may be helping to spread them! You may make some money selling these apps, but then you are also losing money when they steal your commissions from other programs.

Programs like this HURT the entire industry. Not only do they spread parasites, they muck up consumers computers with crap and programs like this increase the number of ad blockers, firewalls, anti spyware and anti adware programs - MANY OF WHICH EAT OR BLOCK AFFILIATE COOKIES SO THAT NO ONE MAKES MONEY!

I have seen affiliates talking about some of these programs on other affilate forums and the # of new programs and also discussions about some of these new programs is growing at an alarming rate! IMHO.

Please don't call yourself an affiliate and then spread a scourge that hurts everyone in the industry!

Thanks for letting me rant!
Linda

[growingdigital]

Thanks for the education. I don't know of a lot of affiliates promoting this parasiteware, but if I come accross a site that is distributing it I will e-mail the webmaster. Good post!

[Catalyst]

Thanks growingdigital,

The point is that most affiliate aren't spreading parasites on purpose or directly, many don't even know that's what they are spreading. There are parasites bundled in a VERY popular water fall screen saver program which MANY affiliates promote.

Also there are many other activex, download and toolbar programs that have OTHER names that make you think you are just selling a toolbar with certain features ro a free software install. They don't tell you that "one eighty" and other stuff is bundled in. They promise you $X per install or download and some affs are making lots of money. The affiliates just never stopped to research what's inside those programs. Hence the warning.

[SmartDraw]

Linda,

Thanks for pointing this out. I've seen the ActiveX window appearing on many affiliate sites, and it's important to know the inherant danger in promoting such software.

[edited by: Drastic at 2:53 am (utc) on Oct. 7, 2004]
[edit reason] no sigs please [/edit]