Free Download???

Don't you just hate the duplicity of websites on the Internet. When trolling through them you often come across 'Free Download' with the promise to 'fix your computer problems'.

Guessing what was coming, I went to one that would keep all my drivers up to date. It may do, but free? Not likely. I won't mention the company name, they might sue me!

The promise was there to scan my computer and tell me if any of my drivers are out of date, and the 'free' programme would fix them. So off I go, download the small programme and complete a scan. Fine! Then I am informed that a number of my drivers are not up to date, a fact that could cause me problems. OK fine! Then comes the crunch!

To fix these problems I need to buy the programme!!

I know, they are not blatently lying, because you can download the scan programme for free, but to get it to go past the scan phase you must buy it.

I think it is morally incorrect to inform people they have problems with their computer, with the implication that it can be fixed for free, and then later you must buy the product to fix the problems they found.

I have to say that this company's products are good, I have used them before, but it doesn't sweeten the pill of current marketing practices.

It is sad that today you cannot trust all you see. The methods employed by some people to sell you a product have become so devious, a simple person can easily get hooked into buying something they don't really need. It is a sad statement of our times that in general, people will stoop to any level to get money out of you. They promise you the earth, but in effect it is, to a certain extent, a scam.

There are perhaps hundreds of products on the Internet like this one. I have certainly come across a few. It comes down to one thing. If it says 'Free', you should start thinking of how much it will cost, and alarm bells should immediately start ringing in your head.

Happy surfing!

Roy.