StopBadware.org Declares RealPlayer 10.5 and 11 are Badware

I've never mentioned RealPlayer here although it is a well-known freeware because of the numerous negative experiences I've had with it crashing and then being difficult to remove from a Windows system (never installed it on Mac OS X). However, I never thought to consider it badware in the sense of malicious software (though sometimes it appeared to behave like one IMHO). However, StopBadware.org has come and clearly declared that: "We find that RealPlayer 10.5 is badware because it fails to accurately and completely disclose the fact that it installs advertising software on the user's computer. We additionally find that RealPlayer 11 is badware because it does not disclose the fact that it installs Rhapsody Player Engine software, and fails to remove this software when RealPlayer is uninstalled."

"We currently recommend that users do not install the versions of RealPlayer software that we tested, unless the user is comfortable with the software behaviors we identify or until the application is updated to be consistent with the recommendations contained in this report."