MacUpdate app download

I've used MacUpdate for years, always a great place to keep up on updates and new apps.
Today I downloaded an app and installed it, the app I downloaded seemed to have a MacUpdate "wrapper" on it. I went ahead with the install and to my amazement, the following happened:
1) the app changed my Safari search preference
2) the app changed my Safari homepage
3) the app tried to install a Safari extension
4) Little Snitch went crazy with 22 connection requests by the app installation

So, I uninstalled the app, put everything back the way it was, and went and downloaded it directly from the software developer website.
That install went normally.

I went back to MacUpdate and downloaded another app, and I'll be darned if the app did the same thing as
the first app I downloaded.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this something new from MacUpdate?