RealPlayer Gets Slapped with Badware Label

StopBadware has put RealPlayer 10.5 on it's badware list. The media player fails to "accurately and completely disclose the fact that it installs advertising software on" a user's computer according to the consumer group. It also claims RealPlayer 11 is badware because it "does not disclose the fact that it installs Rhapsody Player Engine software, and fails to remove this software when RealPlayer is uninstalled."
It's about time. Years ago RealPlayer was a must-have. It was one of the first media players capable of streaming media online. Over the last 10 years the company backing it has been acquiring other companies and adding pay services and features to the player like SuperPass and RealRhapsody. The player has gotten a reputation over the past several years as bloatware; when you install RealPlayer it tries to install numerous features, shortcuts, and add-on programs. Like many Windows programs, when you uninstall it, it leaves pieces of itself behind in your system. Most knowledgeable computer users now avoid this program altogether.
An alternative is VLC media player-it's a little free open source program that will play just about any type of media file you throw at it.

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