[johnpoiron]

I am a subscriber to PC World magazine because of the quality of the content.

Because of my confidence in the magazine, I frequently check-in at the PC World site for help and advice. I am very well pleased so far. However, I am becoming increasingly distrustful of the offerings to download. There are hundreds of apps made available by the PC World site. Many of them have no Editor's rating. Much of this stuff appears to be so much "crapware" causing headache instead of help. Some unfortunates have reported finding viruses in this stuff. And as soon as I logged into the forum the first headache I noticed was commodo.

I would like to think of the PC World site as a place I can trust for EVERYTHING including the best downloads (free or otherwise).

Please people, check this stuff before you put it out there for us.

[AgentF]

I'm interested in this line: "And as soon as I logged into the forum the first headache I noticed was commodo." What do you mean by it?

As for the rest of your comment, I don't download any programs from PCWorld.com I've also heard about the malware, but I usually get downloads right from the developer's website or FileHippo.com. If you're looking for a program, ask us in the community.

[laurablackwell]

johnpoiron, on 17 February 2011 - 08:23 AM, said:

I am a subscriber to PC World magazine because of the quality of the content.

Because of my confidence in the magazine, I frequently check-in at the PC World site for help and advice. I am very well pleased so far. However, I am becoming increasingly distrustful of the offerings to download. There are hundreds of apps made available by the PC World site. Many of them have no Editor's rating. Much of this stuff appears to be so much "crapware" causing headache instead of help. Some unfortunates have reported finding viruses in this stuff. And as soon as I logged into the forum the first headache I noticed was commodo.

I would like to think of the PC World site as a place I can trust for EVERYTHING including the best downloads (free or otherwise).

Please people, check this stuff before you put it out there for us.

Thanks for bringing this up and giving me the opportunity to explain some of the ways the Downloads section is different from the Reviews section. Files reviewed in Downloads don't receive Star Ratings the way products in the Reviews section do. To find the reviewed files in Downloads, look for the red "PCW Reviewed" badges in any list. On individual product pages, look for the "PCWorld Reviewed" tab. Any file that lacks these is unreviewed.

Some titles in the PCWorld Downloads library are not reviewed; these come directly from our Downloads partner, Digital River. However, PCW and DR both scan files for malware, so any file at PCWorld.com should be safe. If you ever do run across a file that you believe is unsafe, please don't install it; alert the Downloads Editor or the Webmaster so we can investigate.

Thanks for subscribing, and thanks for your trust.

Laura Blackwell
Downloads Editor

[AgentF]

Thanks for your reply, Laura. I always like seeing posts by those working for the site and I found yours helpful. It's great to see these sort of threads don't go unnoticed. I can't say that for other sites.