RealPlayer

This application report reviews RealPlayer 11, currently promoted by RealNetworks at www.real.com, and RealPlayer 10.5, distributed through channels such as Mozilla Firefox's 'Missing Plug-in' feature and the BBC Radio website.

StopBadware 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.

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.

For the full text of this report, please visit http://www.stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=realplayer02122008

For StopBadware's summary alert on RealPlayer, please visit http://www.stopbadware.org/reports/reportdisplay?reportname=realplayer01282008

For updates, see the RealPlayer tag on the StopBadware blog at http://blogs.stopbadware.org/articles/tag/realplayer

4/3/09 update: RealPlayer redeemed.