Community site to help users understand EULA’s better
This is a great lead from Spyware Confidential. There is a relatively new site out and about called eulascan.com. They allow user submitted comments on EULA’s (End User License Agreements). Of course, EULA’s are the terms and conditions that pop up on installing software and (these days) appear on the packaging of everything from software to electronics to books.
One of the problems with EULA’s is that people usually click without reading. I always joke about people agreeing to having the software coders over for dinner every 3rd Tuesday of the month, free car washes, first-born children, etc. However, some have fairly extreme qualifications. One in particular cited allows the software to email everyone on your contact list telling them about the new software you installed (goody.)
EULAscan gives a way for people to get a summary of a EULA without sifting through all the dry details. That much said, please try to read through the EULA’s that you agree to. It could save you lot’s of aggravation. (Although from what was reported earlier of Sony’s MediaMax DRM, not every piece of software obeys you’re “declining” of the EULA). As with all things, if you don’t agree to the EULA for a piece of software, then don’t use it. It’s that simple.