RealPlayer = Malware

zuludelta · February 03, 2008, 04:48:03 AM

I can't believe it took this long for RealPlayer to finally get officially recognized by a watchdog group as malware.

Read the story here.

They should really add the OEM Norton Security apps to that list, by the way. I've seen numerous machines that have experienced lock-ups because of their resource-hogging.

bredon7777 · February 03, 2008, 06:24:56 AM

Wow, I wasn't aware that people still used RealPlayer

Midnight · February 03, 2008, 08:46:15 AM

*shudder*

Real Player...

ow_tiobe_sb · February 03, 2008, 08:52:40 AM

'Twas a mistake from the start, no? 'Twas always worse than FLV format, no? I've shunned it for its entire history.

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning

stumpy · February 03, 2008, 09:20:23 AM

I don't know. I am not a fan of Real Player and never installed v11, but this seems a little weak to me. So, all ad-driven software is malware? I guess they should have mentioned the ads during install, but it's not like someone isn't going to notice them immediately. It just seems that the term "malware" ought to mean more than that.

That said, my typical install for any software wouldn't enable a message center any more than I would allow automatic updates or have my firewall set to automatically allow it net access.

I was interested to see Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative mentioned, though. I hadn't heard of those and I would be happy to get rid of both of those players.

zuludelta · February 03, 2008, 09:39:07 AM

As I understand it, part of the malware designation comes from the fact that 10.5 doesn't un-install properly.

You should really try Quicktime Alternative... it has a smaller footprint than the standard QT install although I've heard anecdotally taht it doesn't play well with some of the newer QT movies.

Protomorph · February 03, 2008, 03:11:41 PM

I've really never liked Real. It tries to assume control of your entire media system. If I ever installed it, I would want it just to be able to handle its proprietary media.

Come to think on it, I'm really not fond of Quicktime either.

Whenever I have files of either format, I try to convert them to .mpg. It's a much friendlier format. Usually, anything that is Real format is of such atrocious quality, it's not worth the effort.

USAgent · February 03, 2008, 05:01:46 PM

Thanks for the info Zulu. For some odd reason I installed the latest version when my computer prompted me to. I dont know why, I disliked it as much as everyone else and never used it.
I just uninstalled it along with that Rhapsody player that installs with it.

Previsionary · February 03, 2008, 07:21:14 PM

I...honestly forgot that real player existed. I havent seen that file extension in forever and if I should run across it, media player classic can play it fine and well. But usually, I'd pull a Proto and just convert the QT/real player files or look for an alternative source if I'm being lazy.

zuludelta · February 03, 2008, 08:09:10 PM

Quote from: Protomorph on February 03, 2008, 03:11:41 PM
Come to think on it, I'm really not fond of Quicktime either.

You and me both. QT doesn't play well with certain video chipsets (the official Apple version anyway).

Quote from: Protomorph on February 03, 2008, 03:11:41 PMUsually, anything that is Real format is of such atrocious quality, it's not worth the effort.

Quote from: Previsionary on February 03, 2008, 07:21:14 PM
I...honestly forgot that real player existed. I havent seen that file extension in forever and if I should run across it, media player classic can play it fine and well.

Media Player Classic (bundled with the Real-Alternative codec) plays RealMedia well enough, but hiccups still occur ever now and then. My ex-girlfriend used to watch a lot of Taiwanese and Chinese programs online, and the weird thing about it was that a lot of it was encoded in RealMedia (you'd think they'd use less proprietary media standards). I guess one of the benefits of our relationship ending was I no longer had to keep RealPlayer and iTunes (for her iPod) on my PC (little solace, but hey, I'll take what I can get :lol:)

Quote from: USAgent on February 03, 2008, 05:01:46 PM
Thanks for the info Zulu. For some odd reason I installed the latest version when my computer prompted me to. I dont know why, I disliked it as much as everyone else and never used it.
I just uninstalled it along with that Rhapsody player that installs with it.

As Prev mentioned, a better alternative is just using Media Player Classic... it can't play RealMedia natively, but a free codec is available that allows the app to play most RealMedia files and a similar codec exists that'll allow you to play most Quicktime files with MPC (so you don't get stuck with iTunes).

thalaw2 · February 04, 2008, 01:47:14 AM

Quote from: zuludelta on February 03, 2008, 08:09:10 PM

Quote from: Previsionary on February 03, 2008, 07:21:14 PM
I...honestly forgot that real player existed. I havent seen that file extension in forever and if I should run across it, media player classic can play it fine and well.

Media Player Classic (bundled with the Real-Alternative codec) plays RealMedia well enough, but hiccups still occur ever now and then. My ex-girlfriend used to watch a lot of Taiwanese and Chinese programs online, and the weird thing about it was that a lot of it was encoded in RealMedia (you'd think they'd use less proprietary media standards). I guess one of the benefits of our relationship ending was I no longer had to keep RealPlayer and iTunes (for her iPod) on my PC (little solace, but hey, I'll take what I can get :lol:)

This is why I endorse his and her computers in a relationship.