Could AOL 9.0 Free version be *Badware*?

**Niall Fernie** · 01-Sep-06, 14:14

Just came across this and felt fully vindicated in my thoughts on AOL:

http://stopbadware.org/reports/repor...name=aol082706

Comes from the good people at stopbadware.org

**Rheghead** · 01-Sep-06, 14:24

None of those 'bad' things have happened to my computer and I'm on AOL. The warning is specifically directed to the 'Free version AOL' CD and not the proper CD which it sends to its members or the version that is available for download. And certainly it shouldn't be taken as a slur on AOL as a general ISP.

**Bobinovich** · 01-Sep-06, 15:56

There is a fierce denial from within the AOL user base that there is anything amis with their beloved ISP, but talk to anyone who's had to configure an ADSL router for AOL, or manually remove AOL from a PC 'cos it's own installer didn't do the job right in the first place, and they'll have ne'er a good word to say about them.

For an end user they may be OK but from a techie point of view when I'm out and about I veer away from any AOL-related problems and tell the customer to get a real ISP!

**scorrie** · 01-Sep-06, 16:22

Originally Posted by Rheghead

None of those 'bad' things have happened to my computer and I'm on AOL. The warning is specifically directed to the 'Free version AOL' CD and not the proper CD which it sends to its members or the version that is available for download. And certainly it shouldn't be taken as a slur on AOL as a general ISP.

AOL came top of the PC World magazine list of the worst 25 tech products of all time. Dan Tynan's explanation of how the list came about and the reason AOL "Won" is reproduced below:-

Still, even the worst products deserve recognition (or deprecation). So as we put together our list of World Class winners for 2006, we decided also to spotlight the 25 worst tech products that have been released since PC World began publishing nearly a quarter-century ago.

Picking our list wasn't exactly rocket science; it was more like group therapy. PC World staffers and contributors nominated their candidates and then gave each one the sniff test. We sought the worst of the worst--operating systems that operated badly, hardware that never should have left the factory, applications that spied on us and fed our data to shifty marketers, and products that left a legacy of poor performance and bad behavior.

And because one person's dog can be another's dish, we also devised a (Dis)Honorable Mention list for products that didn't quite achieve universal opprobrium.

Of course, most truly awful ideas never make it out of somebody's garage. Our bottom 25 designees are all relatively well-known items, and many had multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns behind them. In other words, they were made by people who should have known better. In fact, three of the ten worst were made by Microsoft. Coincidence? We think not.
The first entry in our Hall of Shame: The ISP that everyone loves to hate...

1. America Online (1989-2006)

How do we loathe AOL? Let us count the ways. Since America Online emerged from the belly of a BBS called Quantum "PC-Link" in 1989, users have suffered through awful software, inaccessible dial-up numbers, rapacious marketing, in-your-face advertising, questionable billing practices, inexcusably poor customer service, and enough spam to last a lifetime. And all the while, AOL remained more expensive than its major competitors. This lethal combination earned the world's biggest ISP the top spot on our list of bottom feeders.

AOL succeeded initially by targeting newbies, using brute-force marketing techniques. In the 90s you couldn't open a magazine (PC World included) or your mailbox without an AOL disk falling out of it. This carpet-bombing technique yielded big numbers: At its peak, AOL claimed 34 million subscribers worldwide, though it never revealed how many were just using up their free hours.

Once AOL had you in its clutches, escaping was notoriously difficult. Several states sued the service, claiming that it continued to bill customers after they had requested cancellation of their subscriptions. In August 2005, AOL paid a US$1.25 million fine to the state of New York and agreed to change its cancellation policies--but the agreement covered only people in New York.

Ultimately the Net itself--which AOL subscribers were finally able to access in 1995-- made the service's shortcomings painfully obvious. Prior to that, though AOL offered plenty of its own online content, it walled off the greater Internet. Once people realized what content was available elsewhere on the Net, they started wondering why they were paying AOL. And as America moved to broadband, many left their sluggish AOL accounts behind. AOL is now busy rebranding itself as a content provider, not an access service.
Though America Online has shown some improvement lately--with better browsers and e-mail tools, fewer obnoxious ads, scads of broadband content, and innovative features such as parental controls--it has never overcome the stigma of being the online service for people who don't know any better.

**bigjjuk** · 01-Sep-06, 17:25

personally im sure aol use to have a great product, but through the missus of over advertising on the page etc, It just doesnt work. I had nothing but trouble everytime i tried to help a friedn out who is on aol. I never have used them, i listened to the warnings, im sure some people are ok with it. But i dont think the software is any good.

**percy toboggan** · 01-Sep-06, 17:41

Of my ten years on the web , nine of them have been with aol. It serves me okay, I seldom get disconnected and the price is reasonable. Every year I threaten to leave and they give me a free month! (try it Rheghed)... I get more webspace than I need plus seven e.mail addresses if I wanted to utilise them all.
I don't doubt those 'in the know' might think aol is inferior , but from a laymans point of view it suits just fine.

**Niall Fernie** · 01-Sep-06, 19:10

My worst AOL nightmare was when electronic banking became available (via direct dial with modem).

No one could get it to work, especially the bank's support desk. I finally worked out that those businesses with AOL had had their TCP/IP replaced by and AOL "attempt" which basically rendered Dial Up Networking useless.

I then had to suffer the fate of being sent by my company to all the businesses with the same issue. Getting rid of AOL software back then was a real art and I got so sick of it that I finally contacted a couple of bank helpdesks to let them know what was wrong and how to fix it. Lost the company I worked for a few quid but saved my sanity.

**obiron** · 01-Sep-06, 20:09

we have aol seems to work ok for us. having said that we did only start using the computer at the beginning of this year and are still learning stuff as we go along.

**Dreadnought** · 01-Sep-06, 20:26

I use AOL. But I browse the net with Firefox. I only use AOL to connect to the net using the AOL dialler without starting the AOL browser. I agree with the problems using a wireless router. I have had the free AOL supplied router for a month now, and still cannot get a connection without the ethernet cable plugged in.

**Saxo01** · 01-Sep-06, 21:31

I have used aol for about 7 years so know no different but i can't complain i use internet banking with a few banks with no known problems mind you somebody taking on my debt would be good, Im still on wind up aol but a computer fixer friend did say he was impressed by how little spyware etc was on aol users computers he had worked on, But i don't know the technical bits as you guys do

**scorrie** · 01-Sep-06, 23:35

Originally Posted by scorrie

AOL-it has never overcome the stigma of being the online service for people who don't know any better.

Thought I would summarise my original comment.

**pultneytooner** · 02-Sep-06, 00:20

Seems that you hear all sorts of bad press about all service providers, I have been with freeserve/wanadoo/orange for 2 years and never had any problems so I guess I've been lucky.
I also know lots of people with aol or tiscali and they are more than satisfied with the service they get.

**golach** · 02-Sep-06, 00:27

Originally Posted by pultneytooner

Seems that you hear all sorts of bad press about all service providers, I have been with freeserve/wanadoo/orange for 2 years and never had any problems so I guess I've been lucky.
I also know lots of people with aol or tiscali and they are more than satisfied with the service they get.

I am with you been with the afore mentioned freeserve for 7 years now, never had a major problem, and any niggles were sorted over the phone

**Rheghead** · 02-Sep-06, 00:46

I've been with AOL from version 3.0 (1997) to 9.0a and I've had no probs ever with connection. I've been an administrator for a community website and managed it quite well from my computer (including a forum

). I've gone through a flawless change from dial up to broadband. I get an unlimited download per month, 7 accounts, I bank with AOL online, I even get my calls through them. No probs at all, I have had no reason to take them off my computer because I am fully satisfied with the flexibility and reliable product that they provide.

My mother has had no end of probs changing ISP to BT. Not because it was difficult to get AOL of her computer, (far from it, I just click uninstall and it all erased, no prob) but BT were very difficult to marry up their login interface with the username and password that they initially provided. I told her that it was a waste of time changing from AOL and she agreed.

The only problem is that on certain websites, their browser does not recognise cookies, like with the old caithness chat, so I just used IE5 instead, no big deal?