Is that Free Software Download a Deal?

I'm not so sure. Keep in mind that, in the average corporation, nearly ANY employee could easily bind you to the license coupled to the product I am going to discuss.

Last week I found a seriously useful "free download" product that enables you to manage the power consumption of your computer--great idea, right? As one of the world's more slightly pessimistic IT consumers, I carefully reviewed the web site for functionality details. Everything looked pretty good so I decided to try it out. I initiated the "free download" and we were immediately off to what I prefer to call the software licensing sharp practice races.

For those of you who may not be aware, a majority of those free software downloads from the Internet have a licensing process entitled "click wrap" as part of the download. Most of these licenses are acceptable (barely) but many of them are deadly when placed on an enterprise computer.

My first hint that this might be a problem download was when the pre-load license popped up in its tiny little box. You know the license box I mean? It usually measures about two inches high by four inches wide on your monitor and conveniently hides three to thirty pages of highly complex and legally binding license terms and conditions. (And, yes. It has been tested in court.)

The second hint was when I wasn't permitted to copy the license text out of the box so I could read it--printing was acceptable, NOT immediate reading. (The setting on this permission, in my experience, is one of the most significant flags that you do NOT want to place this product on your system.)

So... I printed the license out. (Remember, 99 out of 100 employees--even a majority of your techies--never bother to read this type of license.)

Guess what? One of the most blatant clauses in this license is that the software publisher could download information about your computer at any time and without notifying you. Don't get me wrong. Naturally, the license included clear statements of "Oh, we're not going to..." yadda-yadda. But, in reality, this free download opened your system up for inspection by both the original software publisher AND any secondary publishers who contributed code.

What's more, and it's also very typical of these licenses, the document was absolutely loaded with onerous terms and conditions. I immediately stopped the download and removed all trace of the product from my system. Maybe you would stop it, too, but how about other personnel in your company?

Might be something to consider...