‘It’s installing, essentially, a piece of adware without giving users information about that up front,’ Weinstein said.” Users who download the software without filling out the RealNetworks product registration page end up with a piece of software called Message Center, which then proceeds to deliver ads to the user’s computer. Real Player 10.5 suffers from a different issue, however. Both RealPlayer 11 and the older RealPlayer 10.5 software are considered ‘badware,’ the report states. But because users are not told that they have installed the product, it could become a liability, 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. Rhapsody Player Engine is required to access RealNetwork’s online music service. ‘RealPlayer 11 does not disclose that it installs Rhapsody Player Engine, and does not remove the software when RealPlayer is uninstalled,’ StopBadware says in the report. In a report published Thursday, faults the latest version of RealPlayer for secretly installing its Rhapsody Player Engine during the RealPlayer installation. Consumer advocacy group is blasting RealNetworks for installing adware and other software without properly notifying its users.
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