Download.com announced:

This week, we've upped the ante: we're launching a new zero-tolerance policy toward all bundled adware. That means every time you download software from Download.com, you can trust we've tested it and found it to be adware-free--period.

They've been moving in this direction over the past several months, most recently with a clear warning when software contained spyware or adware. But their adware warning had little impact on affected P2P downloads (likely due to download.com downloads driven from the developer's web site), leading to this outright delisting policy.

Download.com is by far the leading shareware/freeware site. P2P clients have long occupied many of the top download spots. Current P2P listings total about 300 million downloads. Add in past Kazaa and eDonkey activity, and download.com has been responsible for several hundred million P2P downloads.

I disagree with this move. Our TrustyFiles P2P software does not have any adware and so is unaffected. Still, I would like to have that option. Like any business there are good and bad actors. It's true that there has been and will always be nasty spyware and malicious adware. However today there also are legitimate non-harmful bundled software and open and honest developers who use them. The Distributed Computing Industry Association has developed positive standards in conjunction with the government for self-regulation. Unfortunately Download.com's heavy axe slaughters them all.

According to Slyck, the download.com policy affects

eDonkey, Morpheus, BitComet, LimeWire, Warez, and iMesh. Only eDonkey has been removed at this point. For now we'll give download.com slack for just starting this program and assume the other policy offenders too will disappear.

So how will this affect P2P developers?

• WINNERS. Unaffected banner ad, freeware, and open source developers.
• NEUTRAL. Most P2P operations run very lean and will be able to weather a significant decrease in distribution and revenues. Developers that have a diversified marketing mix or that are large enough to switch to other marketing channels should be little affected.
• LOSERS. Some developers get over 50% of their downloads via download.com. Small to middle-tier developers who rely strongly on Download.com will be hardest hit and will need to rethink their business models or operations.

I anticipate a move to traditional shareware (pay software with limited time or functional use) and shareware marketing (partnerships, CPM, CPC, and CPA advertising). The combination will allow companies to continue to enjoy volume downloads, while maintaining high download monetization.

Marc Freedman

RazorPop, developer of TrustyFiles, the leading multiple network P2P file sharing software

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