RealPlayer Criticised for Installing Adware

By Dave Nixon

A consumer group has slammed RealNetworks for installing adware and other software without notifying its users.

In a report published last week, StopBadware criticises the most recent version of RealPlayer for clandestinely installing its Rhapsody Player Engine during the RealPlayer installation.

“RealPlayer 11 does not disclose that it installs Rhapsody Player Engine, and does not remove the software when RealPlayer is uninstalled,” said StopBadware in the report.

Rhapsody Player Engine is a requisite to access RealNetwork’s online music service. However because users are not informed of the products installation it could become a burden, using up the computer’s hard-drive space or processing power, or even creating a security risk for consumers if bugs are discovered in Rhapsody, said Maxim Weinstein, StopBadware’s manager.

Both RealPlayer 11 and the older RealPlayer 10.5 software are both considered “badware,” the report states.

Real Player 10.5 is subject to a diverse issue, however. Users who download the software without completing the RealNetworks product registration page wind up with a piece of software called Message Center, which then proceeds to bring ads to the user’s computer. “It’s installing, essentially, a piece of adware without giving users information about that up front,” Weinstein said.

RealNetworks spokesman Ryan Luckin said a check-box on the registration page is used to inform users that Message Center would be installed. Users who bypass the registration page without completing any information would have the software installed.

Although the problem was fixed in version 11 of the player, RealPlayer 10.5 is automatically downloaded via the Firefox browser’s “Missing Plug-in” feature and is still extensively used, Weinstein said.

Until RealNetworks is open with users regarding what software they’re in fact downloading, StopBadware recommends that consumers steer clear of its media player.

Luckin called the Rhapsody issue a lapse. “The fact that when you uninstall RealPlayer we don’t go back and uninstall Rhapsody is an oversight and is something we should address in the future,” he said.

A broadly used alternative to Apple’s QuickTime and Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, RealPlayer has a history of making insidious changes to users’ computers. The Message Center software has come under fire in the past, and in 1999 computer security consultant Richard Smith discovered that the software was silently sending information to RealNetworks servers.

StopBadware’s conclusions relate only to the Windows versions of RealPlayer’s software, Weinstein said. RealPlayer also runs on other operating systems, including Mac OS X and Linux.

Supported with financial support from Google, Lenovo and Sun Microsystems, StopBadware appraises software and cautions consumers of products that employ deceptive actions, such as tracking user activities or installing programs without informing consumers.

Although RealPlayer 10.5’s Message Center feature may be more conspicuous and irritating, Weinstein said Real Networks should repair both problems immediately. “It’s hard to say that one is worse,” he said. “They’re really two sides of the same concept of just not telling users what’s going on.”