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StopBadware Report - RealPlayer (v10.5, v11)
Introduction
StopBadware released an alert on January 28, 2008 which identified RealPlayer versions 10.5 and 11 as badware, because they violate StopBadware's software behavior guidelines. Specifically, RealPlayer 10.5 fails to adequately disclose the advertising behavior of its 'Message Center', and RealPlayer 11 silently installs the Rhapsody Player Engine, and does not uninstall this additional software when RealPlayer 11 is uninstalled. The following report elaborates our findings about RealPlayer, and further explains our decision to label the software as badware.
RealPlayer 10.5
Our guidelines state that software that "does not fully, accurately, clearly, and conspicuously disclose the principal and significant features and functionality of the application prior to installation" is badware. We believe that pop-up advertising constitutes a significant feature of any application. To comply with our guidelines, software like RealPlayer which includes pop-up advertising features must fully and conspicuously disclose this behavior to users before the software is installed, to permit users to make informed decisions about whether or not to install the software.
Neither version of RealPlayer that we tested takes adequate steps to inform users about the functionality of the software's 'Message Center', which runs on a schedule as a separate process from RealPlayer, and displays messages and advertisements from the task bar even when RealPlayer is not running. Some of these messages may be welcome, such as those for RealPlayer updates, but others messages, such as advertisements for third-party software utilities and services, may not be expected or desired by end users. Since RealPlayer 11 only uses the Message Center to deliver software updates by default, and users must opt-in to advertising messages, this disabled advertising functionality was not a violation of our guidelines. However, RealPlayer 10.5, which is still widely distributed, does enable the Message Center's advertising features for users who exit the software installer's registration stage, and the installer fails to explain this behavior to the user prior to installation.
It would be best for RealNetworks to conspicuously disclose the presence and features of the Message Center to all users in the installers of all versions of the software. Presently, the existence of the message center is described in paragraph 7.d of the End User License Agreement (EULA) as follows:
Message Center: The RealPlayer software, using Message Center, automatically communicates with RN's servers to check for new important messages, including software updates and service bulletins. Message Center can also run independently of RealPlayer to perform background message checks. Message Center sends information about installed RealNetworks' products and components to the servers to determine relevant software update messages. Message Center is set by default to check for messages once or twice a week and to display the headline portion of such messages when they arrive. You can change the way Message Center displays messages and the frequency with which it checks for new ones by following these steps: on the View menu, select 'Message Center', then within Message Center, select 'Options', select 'Preferences' and set your desired preferences. If you sign up for message topics that necessitate a greater frequency than you previously selected, your frequency setting may be adjusted to accommodate your topic choices.
In our experience, internet users do not read End User License Agreements before installing software; thus, legal disclosure of significant software features and bundled components in a software EULA is not adequate disclosure according to StopBadware's guidelines. But even if EULA disclosures were sufficiently conspicuous in general, the description of the Message Center that is included in the RealPlayer EULA would still be inadequate because it fails to disclose the significant features of the Message Center software, specifically that it is designed to display pop-up advertisements. We believe that the average user is unlikely to interpret the phrase 'important messages, including software updates and service bulletins' as referring to advertisements for third-party products.
Once the software is installed, the user is asked to register with RealNetworks "for [sic] personalize your player preferences". This registration screen contains numerous fields for personal contact information, the user's email address, and what appear to be opt-in boxes for various newsletters or notifications. The label 'Desktop Messages' does not provide clear and conspicuous notice to the user that selecting these options will result in the display of pop-up advertisements, separate from RealPlayer. Furthermore, by all appearances, this form is an opt-in opportunity, which should only sign the user up for the proposed messages if the user submits the form with the boxes checked. In truth, it is the user's only easy opt-out opportunity - which is to say that the user has a subtle choice: one must either submit personal information to RealNetworks, or one must accept pop-up advertising defaults. Users who choose to exit the RealPlayer 10.5 registration without submitting this form to RealNetworks do not consent to the enablement of the Message Center's advertising features; yet, these features are enabled for those users.
Once the Message Center is installed with RealPlayer 10.5, it is not obvious how to disable the software or the advertising features. Although this is not a violation of our guidelines, it might give rise to additional skepticism regarding RealNetworks' software design intentions. Message Center settings are divided between two locations, neither of which clearly explains that even deselecting all message categories will not actually prevent the Message Center software from running in the background. A small "Tell me more..." button in the Preferences menu continues to portray the Message Center as a voluntary notification system, and then informs users that the "Check for new messages" box must be deselected to deactivate the software.
One good thing that can be said about RealPlayer 10.5 is that it provides a clear, complete uninstall experience. The Message Center is uninstalled when RealPlayer is uninstalled.
RealPlayer 11
RealPlayer 11 avoids our badware condemnation regarding its Message Center software, not because it is particularly better disclosed in the newer version, but because the advertising messages appear to be disabled by default for all users. Since the enabled Message Center features are disclosed in the EULA documentation, and users must knowingly opt-in to additional message/advertisement 'topics', we do not consider the installation of the message center to be a badware behavior, although we would still prefer more conspicuous disclosure of the Message Center's existence and purposes, just as RealNetworks provides for the RealPlayer toolbar button and other bundled software in RealPlayer 11.
However, RealPlayer 11 is still badware according to our guidelines because it installs additional software, the Rhapsody Player Engine, without notifying the user at the time the software is installed, and because it fails to remove this software when RealPlayer is uninstalled or otherwise inform the user that the software will need to be uninstalled separately from RealPlayer. Since users cannot be expected to know that Rhapsody Player Engine is related to RealNetworks or RealPlayer without this explicit information, many users who intend to reverse the installation of RealPlayer 11 may inadvertently allow the Rhapsody Player Engine software to remain on their computers.
RealNetworks claims that a future version of RealPlayer will remove the Rhapsody Player Engine when RealPlayer is uninstalled, but the bigger issue is disclosing to users that Rhapsody Player Engine is installed with RealPlayer in the first place. This disclosure should be clear and conspicuous, and would ideally grant users the option of not installing the additional software when RealPlayer is installed.
Screenshots
Figure 1 - RealPlayer 10.5 Installation Screen - The Message Center, which is a separate process and features pop-up advertisements, is not conspicuously disclosed. It is described incompletely and misleadingly in the EULA as software which will provide useful software updates and service messages.
Figure 2 - RealPlayer 10.5 Google Disclosure - By comparison to the relative (non)disclosure of the Message Center's features, disclosure surrounding the optional installation of Google Toolbar is quite clear and conspicuous. RealNetworks should make it equally easy to opt-in to or opt-out of RealPlayer's advertising Features.
Figure 3 - RealPlayer 10.5 Registration - The final stage of the installation seems to require users to register the software, since it appears that clicking 'Cancel' would cancel the whole installation. If users do cancel the registration, the Message Center's advertising features are enabled.
Figure 4 - RealPlayer 10.5 Registration Exit - The prompt that appears when the user attempts to exit the RealPlayer registration screen is also misleading: the user has no reason to believe that the 'Desktop Message' opt-in boxes on this page are actually the user's only straightforward opt-out opportunity. That is to say, users either MUST register their email addresses, or MUST accept message defaults; and it is still not clear that 'Desktop Messages' means pop-up advertising. The choice between submitting personal information and receiving pop-up advertisements is not adequately disclosed.
Figure 5 - RealPlayer 10.5 Message Center Defaults (No Registration) - The default Message Center options which result from exiting the RealPlayer registration screens cause pop-up advertisements for third-party products to be displayed independently from RealPlayer from the task bar. This behavior was not expected or consented-to.
Figure 6 - RealPlayer 10.5 Message Center Defaults - If the user has elected to exit the registration stages of the RealPlayer installation, Message Center displays pop-up advertisements by default. If the user finds this customization screen, and has concluded that 'Real Exclusives' are advertisements for third-party products, these messages can be disabled; however, the Message Center itself cannot be disabled from this screen.
Figure 7 - RealPlayer 10.5 Message Center Defaults if Registered - If the user had agreed to submit his email address and personal information at the time of the RealPlayer installation, the default Message Center options would not include third-party advertisements. The choice was not adequately disclosed to the user at the time of installation.
Figure 8 - RealPlayer 10.5 Message Center Preferences - The Message Center has both an 'Options' screen and a 'Preferences' screen. Message Center can only be fully disabled from the 'Preferences' screen by unselecting 'Check for new messages', although doing so does not inform the user that this will actually disable the message center; deselecting the System Tray icon does not disable the advertisements.
Figure 9 - RealPlayer 10.5 'Check For New Messages' Opt-out - The claim that users previously signed up to receive these advertisements is disingenuous. The software still does not make it clear that turning off 'message checking' is the only way to prevent the Message Center process from running.
Figure 10 - Tell Me More… Inadequate Disclosure - The 'Tell me more...' section about the Message Center does not inform users of the software's advertising behavior. Users cannot be expected to understand that 'content clips specific to your interests' or 'the most interesting clips' selected by editors will include advertisements for third-party products. Users who did not register with RealNetworks during the RealPlayer installation did not 'sign up for topics'. This inconspicuous page is the only place we could find that clearly informs users about how to deactivate the message center.
Figure 11 - RealPlayer 10.5 Un-installation - RealPlayer 10.5 does a good, clean un-installation!
Figure 12 - RealPlayer 11 Installation - As was the case with RealPlayer 10.5, disclosure of the Message Center's advertising features is inadequate in RealPlayer 11; however, since users are not signed up to receive these 'messages' by default in RealPlayer 11, StopBadware did not consider this a violation of our guidelines. The problem with RealPlayer 11 is that it completely fails to disclose that it silently installs the Rhapsody Player Engine.
Figure 13 - RealPlayer 11 Installation Options - RealPlayer 11 provides good disclosure and opt-out opportunities for other software features and defaults. The omission of information regarding the bundled Rhapsody Player Engine could be a significant oversight or it could be a deliberate attempt to force users to install software that they might not otherwise choose to install.
Figure 14 - RealPlayer 11 Google Options - Another example of good disclosure and opt-out opportunity for bundled Google products. RealNetworks should make it equally easy to opt out of installing the Rhapsody Player Engine, and the Message Center.
Figure 15 - RealPlayer 11 Registration - The registration screen for RealPlayer 11 is much improved over version 10.5 - it permits users to opt-in to desktop messages and optionally submit their email addresses, and does not penalize users with pop-up advertisements if they choose not to register.
Figure 16 - RealPlayer 11 Message Center Defaults - RealPlayer 11 users are not automatically signed up to receive pop-up advertisements, the way some users were in RealPlayer 10.5. The fact that the Message Center is still installed without adequate disclosure is a little perturbing, but since it only functions as a software update utility in this case, StopBadware determined that it does not violate our guidelines, as it is implemented in version 11.
Figure 17 - RealPlayer 11 Un-installation - Here we see the only indication that Rhapsody Player Engine has been installed on the user's computer; users who are unfamiliar with the Rhapsody service have no understanding of the connection between Rhapsody Player Engine and RealNetworks or RealPlayer. This form of software bundling, to which the user does not consent, is a violation of StopBadware’s software guidelines.
Figure 18 - RealPlayer 11 Incomplete Un-installation - The RealPlayer 11 uninstaller appears to be identical to the RealPlayer 10.5 uninstaller, and provides no notice to the user that the Rhapsody Player Engine was also installed by RealPlayer and will be left behind when RealPlayer is uninstalled. It would be best to clearly and conspicuously identify Rhapsody Player Engine both at the time RealPlayer is installed, and when RealPlayer is uninstalled.
