CNET and malware
 

Has CNET changed in recent years to now allow malware in their downloads?

I went looking for a video converter and had to spent hours removing malware from my computer.

I hadn't visited cnet in a while so I am dismayed at the change.

I haven't downloaded anything from CNET in years, because they forced me to download crap that I was unfamiliar with. Go to the developer's website, and you can usually get a clean download from there.

As for a video converter, what were you looking for? There's a ton of knowledgeable folks on this forum.

Problem is with CNet's Installer itself, you are prompted to d/l & run it first - before you can get the apps you are interested in, and, BAM ... toolbars & add-ons, extension, etc. across your browsers, etc.

Linux is the answer for me - running it on an "older" desktop on its own drive/partition - fast & easy and no trialware.

Away from that desktop so can't reference the name, but there's an excellent video/audio converter that I use to chop up MP4's across various compatible platforms - it's free & very powerful, does almost it all.

I need to convert an HD disc into normal mpeg file. 26 gigs for 2 hours is too much for me to save on to my tablet.

I thought I found a simple converter to take the "high def" out of the file.

If you have any suggestions, it would be great.

Presuming it's a copy-protected Blu-Ray disk, first use MakeMKV (http://www.makemkv.com) to rip the Blu-ray to an unencrypted file.

Then use Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr) to compress the file to a size more suitable for your tablet.

If it's not copy protected, then you can just use Handbrake directly on the Blu-Ray.

Agreed. The installer is evil.

Go for a custom install, and opt out.

How hard is it to remove a toolbar.

Those are good instructions. Rather than "MakeMKV", I use DVDFab HD Decrypter. which is also a free program.


No, it's not that easy. CNET makes you load and run their "CNET installer", which then downloads the actual program (and installs crapware). Mind you, I've never fully installed something from CNET once I saw the need to run their installer.