If you use TurboTax and Bearshare, consider this fair warning

[DragonSword]

Never trust programs, they are like public restrooms; you don't know what crap has gone into them, who stunk it up, and who has washed their hands.

I'm snatching that quote, and keeping it safe for a rainy day!

 

[drothgery]

They do this because a lot of computer users don't know that you can change where you store files. My Documents is the default for storing files, so most users use that folder. Bearshare, and their ilk, make it "easy" for you by not forcing you to "go through the hassle" of creating a bunch of folders. Just put them in to your familiar location and voila! Instant access!

It's not stupid. It's actually a really good feature on the programmer's part because it allows the user to use familiar things. Most programs try for that kind of familiarity.

No, it's stupid. Heck, it should give you one of those annoying "are you sure you want to do this? this is a gaping security hole." messages if you try. No one sane wants to share everything in their My Documents folder; any Windows desktop that's been in use a non-trivial amount of time will have things in the My Documents folder that the owner doesn't want shared with the rest of the world.

 

[reveal]

No, it's stupid. Heck, it should give you one of those annoying "are you sure you want to do this? this is a gaping security hole." messages if you try. No one sane wants to share everything in their My Documents folder; any Windows desktop that's been in use a non-trivial amount of time will have things in the My Documents folder that the owner doesn't want shared with the rest of the world.

You'd be surprised at how many users don't care. Give them the option of either security or ease of use and they choose the latter a majority of the time.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

You'd be surprised at how many users don't care. Give them the option of either security or ease of use and they choose the latter a majority of the time.

And they wonder why their computers get full of viruses and spyware. People who leave themselves that open have no right to bitch when bad things happen to their computers. Microsoft may leave big holes in their codes that get exploited, but I have no sympathy for people who invite trouble into their computers and then complain that is Microsofts fault (and believe me, I'm no microsoft fan). :\

 

[Munin]

Dude, Bearshare adding your tax returns to your available uploads is the least of your problems.
Bearshare comes loaded with spyware unless you've gotten one of the earliest versions from oldversion.com. Half the cyber-marketers on the www probably have your financial info by now.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I use limewire and all it's set up to do is use the "my shared files" folder. I need to go one day and finish moving stuff to another folder.... But it certainly does NOT copy from My Documents.

Granted, the spyware is a bitch. I have to go in and periodically clean it out.

 

[reanjr]

My Documents IS the correct place to put this stuff. Windows does not allow other users on the machine to view anything in your My Documents folder. The problem is in Bearshare and in you allowing it to share My Documents.

 

[reanjr]

They do this because a lot of computer users don't know that you can change where you store files. My Documents is the default for storing files, so most users use that folder. Bearshare, and their ilk, make it "easy" for you by not forcing you to "go through the hassle" of creating a bunch of folders. Just put them in to your familiar location and voila! Instant access!

It's not stupid. It's actually a really good feature on the programmer's part because it allows the user to use familiar things. Most programs try for that kind of familiarity.

A program whose purpose is to share files on your computer should not try to make things easy for users. Anything that could be a security risk should be defaulted to secure and the user should have to specify that they don't care about security.

 

[reanjr]

Right, Bearshare sets the my documents folder by default, and also turns "allow uploads" on by default. I don't agree with either decision, but I can understand it. If everyone that used Bearshare turned off uploads, there would be no Bearshare. It's kind of the point.

You can disable the spyware Bearshare comes with by installing a firewall like Sygate personal Firewall. Any program that wishes to access the internet from your computer has to go through the firewall. You can choose to allow them access to it or not. When you install Bearshare, allow Bearshare to access the internet, but all that other stuff, just say no to it. Bearshare will continue to work. It's an independent program of all the spyware.

Except the spyware is still running...

 

[reanjr]

You'd be surprised at how many users don't care. Give them the option of either security or ease of use and they choose the latter a majority of the time.

It should still be a conscious choice.