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Resolved Bad App from the website `MacUpdate´?

9

9940494

Suspended
Original poster
Oct 1, 2015
3
2
Hi

I am a little concerned over what just happened:
i was looking for a program/app for my iMac to tell me about my iPhone-battery-health and found iBackupBot on MacUpdate.com, which I heard was a trustworthy site.
After I ran the installer there was no program to be found. Neither Launchpad nor AppCleaner can find it.
Did I caught a virus/malware?
(Maybe I`m overly cautious, my Mac is up and running as usual. I turned on the firewall immediately and after a restart I was presented with a request from "netbiosd" which I blocked, even though a quick googlesearchs says it is harmless. It is located in /usr/sbin/)
I can provide the download link if it helps
I´d be grateful for any help or advice

Best Regards,
janschu

PS: English isn´t my first language, I`m sorry for any mistakes!
 
i've been using macupdate for a million years (more or less); in the last year, many downloads bring up their own installer...like they're pushing you to buy their plan, and use their custom installer to update apps.

you got a generic package icon? it's that. sometimes, when i try again, the actual app installer downloads. if you can't get it, there's usually a developer link to take you to the site where the app comes from...and you can download from there. a nuisance...
 
Over the years I've been using and still use MacUpDate and Version Tracker. But I have ceased downloading updates or applications from them, because frankly I'm afraid too. I have ceased to trust either site. Things just don't look right with the downloads they provide. Now I just use them for update notification purposes. When I spot an application or update that I want, I go to the appropriate author's site and download it directly from there.

Lou
 
I've heard that if you don't have a MacUpDate account, it will include adware in it's installers. I don't have a paid account but have never experienced a problem with downloads from MacUpDate. YMMV
 
fisherking said:
i've been using macupdate for a million years (more or less); in the last year, many downloads bring up their own installer.
Click to expand...

It is very sad, but true: Macupdate's one great quality that separated and elevated them from the bottom-feeders of the software world was that they always 'did the right thing' and gave you the developer-supplied download, either via link or cache. Inexplicably, they threw that away.

Use Macupdate for news, reviews, etc., but always download from the the actual developer's site.

A.
 
the 'generic' package that downloads with too many apps on macupdate seems to be their own installer...a path to running that, then buying a subscription. the free version works (apparently, for free). but i hate being pushed into anything. alrescha's post (above) is the right idea...
 
I avoid companies that have gone the adware route, and macupdate's service is superfluous, at least for what I wanted. They provide apps to download and now that install adware. Why not go straight to the developer's site and get the app?
 
This is a complex issue, if you ask me. MacUpdate provides a fantastic service. Quite frankly, when VersionTracker was sold (and subsequently completely destroyed), MacUpdate became the only Mac software listing that was comprehensive. There simply is no alternative now. The simple listing of software on the main page makes it so much easier to discover new apps when compared to Apple's pathetic Mac App Store. The one-click download process from the homepage was also a huge advantage.

To say that you can simply go directly to the developer's site to download an app completely misses the point—and the most valuable part of MacUpdate—Discoverability. You can scroll down the homepage and see the name and brief description of an app, how large the file size is, the price, and how many times it's been downloaded, giving you an idea of it's popularity.

I can't tell you how many times I've found an app via MacUpdate that I love, simply because it had an interesting name and appeared to be popular at a quick glance. I NEVER would have found those apps on my own because I wouldn't have even thought about them existing (so nothing to Google search), and aren't mainstream popular enough for every blog on the web to write about them.

Eventually though, the owner (I believe his name is Joel) has to make money. Since we all insist on using Ad-Blockers, the options begin to thin out quickly for them. Now, unless you are signed in with at least a free account, clicking the download button/link gets you an installer which includes adware—instead of the installer for the app you actually want. I have a free account and I never get the adware installer downloads. But if for some reason I get logged out of my account or use a different computer at work, clicking the download link always leads to the alternate download.

Frustrating as all heck. I hate to say it, but I understand why they're doing it—and we have no-one to blame but ourselves.
 
The same thing happened to CNET.com back in the day for PC... it's so loaded with ads and bloatware now.

I usually check the developers site first, then the MAS. Honestly, almost all programs now-a-days have their own built in automatic "check for updates" feature, so there's really no need for an outside site to manage versions...

--rob
 
robo456 said:
The same thing happened to CNET.com back in the day for PC... it's so loaded with ads and bloatware now.

I usually check the developers site first, then the MAS. Honestly, almost all programs now-a-days have their own built in automatic "check for updates" feature, so there's really no need for an outside site to manage versions...

--rob
Click to expand...
CNET is the company that bought VersionTracker and destroyed it. The adware/malware/bloatware they attach to every download is why I won't even go to their site anymore, and why MacUpdate got to be so popular to begin with.

As for you "going to the developer's site first —as I said in my (admittedly) long post above—that only works if you already have the app, or know exactly what you're looking for and can find it with a Google search. It doesn't work at all for simple discoverability.
 
short update:
I let Anti-Malware (MalwareBytes) run though and it found something. I don´t know if it was from MacUpdate.com but I deleted it and feel relieved. Now I know to look for downloads on the developer´s site. Thank all of you for your help, i feel much less like an idiot now for falling for there (once) trustworthy name!
best regards!
 
Alrescha said:
As mentioned, how do you know there is an update.
Click to expand...
The developer's site usually tells me, if I visit there. Most apps I use seem to tell me there's an update and finally buying the apps, I usually need to provide an email address, so there's a mechanism for the developer to communicate the update.
 
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