WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
Junk offender: Eagleget
I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to software downloads, so I’ve been trying out a free download manager called Eagleget. It features multithreaded downloading, to make your files come down the line faster, and interrupted downloads can be seamlessly resumed. So far, so good.
Unfortunately, that’s not all it does. When you install Eagleget, you’re invited to add a Chrome extension called Eagleget inewtab, with no explanation of what this is. I assumed it was part of the download manager, and installed it without a second thought.
Big mistake. Huge, in fact. The extension replaces Chrome’s familiar ‘New Tab’ page with a garish canvas, packed with ugly buttons and cryptic icons (see screenshot). It’s confusing to say the least, and the Google search bar is replaced by Yahoo, so your web searches don’t work the way you’re used to either.
That’s not the most disturbing thing though. inewtab also shows how many unread Facebook notifications and Gmail messages are sitting in your inbox. How does it know this? Well, if you dig into the settings you’ll see that this extension has the ability to – and I quote – “read and change all your data on the websites that you visit”.
That ought to scare the hell out of you, because it means you’ve just handed over an absolute treasure trove of personal information to the extension’s developer. There’s no way of knowing what they might do with all your private data, but the deceptive way the software sneaks on to your system in the first place doesn’t auger well. It doesn’t help that Eagleget is based in China, far away from the data-protection rules we take for granted.
If you like the idea of a download manager, give Eagleget a miss and try something like Free Download Manager ( www.freedownloadmanager.org). It doesn’t look very slick, but it won’t try to install junk on your system.
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