Ist cnet.com sicher?

Be very careful of what you download... If possible, I rather search for the company page of the software I need, and download from there, after having deeply researched about its reputation. If you realy want to download fron cnet, remember to uncheck all the un-needed stuff they want you to download by default.

Most software downloads platforms have since time an unfortunate tendency to transform softwares installers hosted in their servers (even up to the very recognized software)! Indeed, these sites "hack" installers, without notifying the user or by warning or as a tempting offer or "survival of the site" to include unwanted program (often adware or toolbars) that will to install itself in customer computer without his knowledge or by inattention of the user to make money on the back of customer (including through advertising ways). I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMENDS, when you find an interesting program, do a search on a search engine (eg Google) to find more details on the desired software including the website of the official site to which it is strongly advisable to go there to directly download your software. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, In addition to my first recommandtion, ALWAYS good look at each step of the installation, even a recognized software AND UPDATES because here too, the official author can itself afford to insert its own crapwares or third parties crapwares.

Most if not all downloads on this site are now packaged with adware. The installer will try to trick users into installing additional bits of software they do not want. Here is a link to an article about this if you want to read more before seeing first-hand how bad it is. CNet used to be a very reputable source for finding downloads. It isn't safe anymore. *****

24JUN2015 Long time visitor/registered user/commenter on Cnet.com. Great tech information, product reviews, software reviews/downloads. Be careful with CNET's free software downloads...the site wants to install a down-loader and you must be careful to un-check "tick-boxes" to avoid installing additional, unwanted 3rd party software when downloading files. As with most tech web-sites, interjecting politics into the Comments section is hugely entertaining. Since they post articles such as "FCC Ruling on Net Neutrality", these types of articles nearly demand political commentary. However, techie's tend to be Liberal, thus if you start talking about "profit" or "working hard to make a better service or product", the other Commenters will start replying negatively and vehemently. One of the best things I like is that Cnet's Comment tool will send you an E-mail when someone replies to your comment or a commend thread you initiated on a topic. I wish more websites used such a tool. It allows you to reply to a reply very quickly, great if you need to defend your position AND it has been a great way to reply to someone supportive of your ***** either cases the threads tend to be longer, and you have the opportunity to reach common ground with other users/commenters. Updated 27JUN2015. Using a Win7 computer with Kaspersky AV and the FireFox Browser with the following Add-ons, nothing nefarious is reported which is not adequately managed: AdBlock Plus FlashStopper Ghostery NoScript

This site is good for things such as reviews on software and the latest news in technology such as TV's, video games, webcams, etc. However, not all is well, and this is because of the downloads that are quite questionable. The base software that one wishes to download is good, but the issue lies within the heavily pushed third party software that is filled with malware and PUP's, and even a couple times it was forced onto my computer. Not only that but even with ad-blocking software such as Adblock Plus, several boxes manage still appear such as surveys and boxes that ask for you to become a member. Overall it's safe for anything except the downloads of software.

CNET is a popular site with a large collection of programs and articles about news in computer technology. But, some time ago they chosen the most unethical way to monetize their website (except of ads). They started bundling real, useful software with potentially unwanted programs or other garbage in the so called "Secure Download" (what a ironic name). As a non-registered user I can't even easily find a link for direct download. It is some kind of plague lately. I advice everybody to visit official websites of programs to be sure its not bundled with some crap, however sometimes even official websites might "offer" you some garbage during installation process so beware. Except of that, this website is fairly safe, it does not use exploits to automatically infect your computer, it has interesting articles and forums.

Once a good site, now forcefully installs adware that is not easy to remove. I double and triple checked that the bundled sw was unchecked and that there was no tricky wordplay involved. Still, I received the adware that I opted not to receive. Really scummy practice here, I hope someone gives them what's coming to them.. It's bad enough that they try to trick unsuspecting people into downloading potentially computer-damaging software, but doing so against our will after we opted not to is criminal...

I've used CNet's ***** for many years. It's a good place for freeware/shareware/trialware. But in recent years (perhaps related to their acquisition by CBS) they've gotten really sneaky about trying to get you to download stuff you didn't ask for. It's still a good resource, but the download process will take you through several screens where you have to be very careful where you click to avoid the junkware they are being paid to promote.