Guess what you just added to you machine. Do you really know? That slick piece of freeware you found on some lesser known, questionable website, may have had some "extras" you did not notice. But it said free,… right?
Unfortunately, computer users can fall into a license agreement, after installing a piece of software, which may contain difficult to understand passages and terms. On the less complicated end of the pool, phrases like "We grant you the right to…" equates to what the user (you) can do with the software package. Whereas words to the effect of "We reserve the right to…" gives the software maker the right to stipulate conditions for using the software. The license agreement starts easily enough, but can become complex as the wording continues.
Some open source and freeware licenses can be worded so the user can do what they please. These are less common. Typically you will encounter a lengthy document, which is frustrating to read. What if you could speed it up and get to the meat and potatoes of the matter? The goal is, of course, to find out if the software is really free; or if it carries strange stipulations.
Earlier I had written a post on how to manually read through and understand End User License Agreements, but now you don’t have to do that .
The EULAlyzer Personal (for private home use) tool, from Javacoolsoftware.com, is a great utility to help interpret license agreements. To help arm yourself in the skirmish of words, EULAlyzer will analyze the license’s text and look for particular phrases and words. The results will show the user whether the software is understood to be safe, or if they should be concerned. Keep in mind, and the javacoolsoftware.com website reiterates this point, that EULAlyzer is not a substitute for legal counsel, when it comes to legal interpretation of a license agreement.
After installing EULAlyzer, start up the program before you install a particular program. In this example, I am scanning the license for the NMap program. When you arrive at the welcome screen, click on the "Scan a New License Agreement" link in the center portion of the screen.
The next window you will see is blank, for the most part. This is the point when you can stop with the EULAlyzer tool, and grab a license agreement, or start an installation from another program. No worries about copy and paste as EULAlyzer lets the user drag a (cross hair shaped) marker from EULAlyzer, over the license text to bring it into the analysis section.
The license now fills the empty portion of the analysis screen. You have a better interface to peruse the text within the software license; however the point in using EULAlyzer is to let it do the work. Click on the Analyze button to accomplish this.
When EULAlyzer has completed its scan, it will turn over to a results section and describe what it found. It rates what it found on an "Interest ID" system. What this boils down to is how much attention should be paid to specific sections of the license. Based upon a scale of one to ten, your results range from unimportant to suspicious.
Looking at the above screen shot, EULAlyzer gives the NMap license a five in three different sections. The concerns it brings to the table is matters surrounding the phrase "Third Party" and website addresses. Ultimately, it falls on the individual user to determine if these details are important or not.
For the purpose of comparison, I began, stressing the word began, to install Kazaa; simply to scan the license agreements. To illustrate a point, you have less paperwork to look over when buying a car. Back to the subject at hand, the first (of several) license agreements made EULAlyzer light up like a fireworks show. I cannot expand them all in this view, but in contrast to NMap, there were several Interest ID ratings above a five.
After one is finished scanning a license or two, they can bounce over to the statistics section to get a count on how many licenses they have been through. This is just a simple statistics counter, which tracks the Interest ID, Length, and Words and Phrases totals.
I would highly recommend this tool to anyone who downloads freeware, shareware, and other tools off the Internet. For that matter, anyone who installs any type of software should have this utility handy. There are commercial programs that may indiscriminately contact the Internet, and not necessarily tell you up front. EULAlyzer can help people take a look at what they are getting into, for better or worse; before they click on the Finish button of a new software setup.
Unfortunately, computer users can fall into a license agreement, after installing a piece of software, which may contain difficult to understand passages and terms. On the less complicated end of the pool, phrases like "We grant you the right to…" equates to what the user (you) can do with the software package. Whereas words to the effect of "We reserve the right to…" gives the software maker the right to stipulate conditions for using the software. The license agreement starts easily enough, but can become complex as the wording continues.
Some open source and freeware licenses can be worded so the user can do what they please. These are less common. Typically you will encounter a lengthy document, which is frustrating to read. What if you could speed it up and get to the meat and potatoes of the matter? The goal is, of course, to find out if the software is really free; or if it carries strange stipulations.
Earlier I had written a post on how to manually read through and understand End User License Agreements, but now you don’t have to do that .
The EULAlyzer Personal (for private home use) tool, from Javacoolsoftware.com, is a great utility to help interpret license agreements. To help arm yourself in the skirmish of words, EULAlyzer will analyze the license’s text and look for particular phrases and words. The results will show the user whether the software is understood to be safe, or if they should be concerned. Keep in mind, and the javacoolsoftware.com website reiterates this point, that EULAlyzer is not a substitute for legal counsel, when it comes to legal interpretation of a license agreement.
After installing EULAlyzer, start up the program before you install a particular program. In this example, I am scanning the license for the NMap program. When you arrive at the welcome screen, click on the "Scan a New License Agreement" link in the center portion of the screen.
The next window you will see is blank, for the most part. This is the point when you can stop with the EULAlyzer tool, and grab a license agreement, or start an installation from another program. No worries about copy and paste as EULAlyzer lets the user drag a (cross hair shaped) marker from EULAlyzer, over the license text to bring it into the analysis section.
The license now fills the empty portion of the analysis screen. You have a better interface to peruse the text within the software license; however the point in using EULAlyzer is to let it do the work. Click on the Analyze button to accomplish this.
When EULAlyzer has completed its scan, it will turn over to a results section and describe what it found. It rates what it found on an "Interest ID" system. What this boils down to is how much attention should be paid to specific sections of the license. Based upon a scale of one to ten, your results range from unimportant to suspicious.
Looking at the above screen shot, EULAlyzer gives the NMap license a five in three different sections. The concerns it brings to the table is matters surrounding the phrase "Third Party" and website addresses. Ultimately, it falls on the individual user to determine if these details are important or not.
For the purpose of comparison, I began, stressing the word began, to install Kazaa; simply to scan the license agreements. To illustrate a point, you have less paperwork to look over when buying a car. Back to the subject at hand, the first (of several) license agreements made EULAlyzer light up like a fireworks show. I cannot expand them all in this view, but in contrast to NMap, there were several Interest ID ratings above a five.
After one is finished scanning a license or two, they can bounce over to the statistics section to get a count on how many licenses they have been through. This is just a simple statistics counter, which tracks the Interest ID, Length, and Words and Phrases totals.
I would highly recommend this tool to anyone who downloads freeware, shareware, and other tools off the Internet. For that matter, anyone who installs any type of software should have this utility handy. There are commercial programs that may indiscriminately contact the Internet, and not necessarily tell you up front. EULAlyzer can help people take a look at what they are getting into, for better or worse; before they click on the Finish button of a new software setup.
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