Anyone interested in knowing how this “giveaway” was funded should do the following three steps:

1. Ensure you have decent antispyware software in place.
2. Download and install the “free” software.
3. Reboot and review the logs of your anti-spyware application.

My Webroot Spy Sweeper application had a fit this morning (my first reboot after installing this “freebie”). At startup my machine tried to access TENS of very dubious websites and Spy Sweeper blocked them. I presume the accesses would have been “behind the scenes” and not popups otherwise more people would have been reporting this.

We’ve gotten so used to the increasing number of decent, honest software houses giving us quality clean freeware that sometimes we forget about the darker possibilities. Please beware.

I’ve also installed this DivX Pro, but didn’t have any weird internet pages starting by itself. But you make a good point, we should always be aware about how companies define “free”, no matter how known the term “DivX” or any software publisher is.