CloudPull Removed from MacUpdate
November 6, 2015
Thomas Reed recently reported at Malwarebytes that MacUpdate is distributing adware along with the software its users are trying to download.
I was reluctant to believe this. I listed CloudPull on MacUpdate almost immediately after I released version 1.0 in 2011. I have purchased advertising on the MacUpdate web site. I have run two MacUpdate promotional sales. I had a degree of trust in MacUpdate.
Sadly, I was able to confirm Thomas Reed's claims. Inside a disposable virtual machine, I downloaded 1Password and Firefox through MacUpdate. Both resulted in downloading a MacUpdate Installer. The MacUpdate Installer for 1Password prompted me to set my browser's home page and default search engine to Yahoo. The MacUpdate Installer for Firefox prompted me to install MacBooster.
I immediately lost trust in MacUpdate. When I downloaded CloudPull through MacUpdate, I got the same Zip archive that I get when downloading it through my own web site. My guess is that MacUpdate is starting with higher-profile apps in order to test their own processes and to gauge public reaction. That said, I did not want to wait for MacUpdate to wrap my app in an adware installer. I wanted it off of that site.
I have since removed the CloudPull listing from MacUpdate. The process was a bit like canceling Comcast, but it is done. At the same time, I also removed the CloudPull listing from download.com. I had never submitted CloudPull to download.com; it was there without my consent and without my knowledge until MacUpdate brought that listing to my attention.
Be careful what you download on the internet. I strongly recommend against downloading binaries from MacUpdate, or from anywhere other than an app developer's web site or a platform-sanctioned app store. If you distribute software, please consider removing your app listings from MacUpdate, download.com, and any other site that might be adding undesired components.