Named & Shamed
Junk Offender: Start Menu 8
Jonathan Parkyn puts the boot into tech villains, jargon-spouting companies and software stuffed with junk
Junk offender:
There are loads of great free tools for customising your Windows 10 Start menu, but Start Menu 8 isn’t one of them. I came across this offending program while looking for an alternative to Classic Shell for a friend. It’s still available to download, but I didn’t want to recommend it because it’s no longer being worked on, and therefore isn’t the safest option.
Start Menu 8 ( www.snipca.com/39035) promises many of the same functions as Classic Shell, including letting you change the Windows 10 Start menu to something closer to the traditional Windows 7 equivalent. But there’s a problem – several problems, in fact.
The tool is offered as a ‘free’ download from serial junk offenders Iobit. You can tell it’s a free download because of the big green button labelled ‘Free Download’ on its web page. Except, it isn’t a free download at all: it’s a free seven-day trial, after which you’ll need to pay around £6 to continue using it. This isn’t revealed until you’ve gone to the bother of installing the software (precisely the type of cynical trick I’ve come to expect from Iobit).
Another fun twist is that, while it does let you turn back time to a simpler Windows 7-style Start menu, it also takes the opportunity to inject your Start menu with adverts in the guise of shortcuts. These include – surprise, surprise – several links to other Iobit products (see screenshot). I don’t recall Windows 7’s menu containing those.
As you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t end up recommending Start Menu 8 to my friend. I opted instead for Open Shell Menu ( www.snipca.com/39036) –a genuinely free tool that doesn’t try to trick you or fill your Start menu full of junk.
JONATHAN’S VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT
after serving nearly three years in federal custody, he walked out of a Connecticut courtroom a free man.
He had pleaded guilty to four felony counts, including intentional damage to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. But, despite facing up to 12 more years in prison, the judge decided he’d served enough time and let him off with a supervised release and a potential fine.