Talk:Viewpoint Media Player

message: Here is the entire Viewpoint Media Player EULA.
you will note that it does not make mention of sending information to Viewpoints' servers.
it says:
- VMP communicate with Viewpoint's servers to check for update for itself. (similarly to what Windows update, flash update, ot most softwares do these days..)
- it also says that a content developer can track user interactions in the content he developed and send back information to his server. it is no different than what you can do in flash or HTML. THis is in NOT done automatically by the VMP.
Hence, the VMP cannot be called malware because of information being sent to a server.
I however do agree with the very first post in the history: the VMP is considered malware because AIM installs it without user consent.
So, I do propose the last paragraph in the wiki article to be removed. (since it is wrong.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.215.146.170 (talk • contribs) 
I disagree.  It installs without notices, assigns a UID and allows publishers to track that UID. (Just for added clarification, this is spelled out in the end of this EULA you posted). It is very unclear how that information is used or accessed.  And the       fact that the program is by and large unneeded and unused on the wider web but still sneaks it's way onto so many machines certainly hints at maliciousness or atleast a company buying it's way onto peoples machines.  I hate Adobe Flash, but I atleast I know when I'm installing it. 130.13.244.221 03:15, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: EULA

message: That is exactly what I did.  I added balance to a very bias article.
The article now states:
Do you need the viewpoint media player on your computer?
NO
Is the VMP useful?
Yes, for certain jobs it is very useful.
Is it Malware or Spyware?
All the well recognized companies say that it is CLEAN and their software is the most widely used anti-spy, anti-malware softwares in the marketplace(By a landslide).  Therefore it is fair to say that they are the authorities as to whether or not this media player is malware or spyware.  Certainly more of an authority than you, me, or anyone else that we can dig up.  Who ever initially wrote this bias article was getting their info from blogs and forums.  Sorry, those sources are not more credible than the decision of company like Microsoft(always under the microscope), and Computer Associates.  After all, these companies would make more money too if the vmp was on their list.  They don't have them on their list because they are responsible companies and they concluded that the vmp is Clean.   
Balanced, Truthful, Factual.   
I use the vmp often to deliver product presentations for clients and have hands on experience with all aspects of this media player.  I use it because I simply can not deliver the same quality interactive experience with any other player.  Flash is what I use mostly but when I reach it's limits...It is the vmp that takes over.  It alows me to fuse real-time interactive 3d and flash in one movie.  I can not do this with another player.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.46.161.67 (talk) 17:04, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Balance 

message: A clean bill of health from the industries leading companies and uniblue's process library.  http://www.processlibrary.com/about/  
Some argue that viewpoint is installed without the users consent.
Okay, think about this for a moment.
In the case of AIM:
It is Aol that put it on your machine not viewpoint.
They bundled it to render their own graphical interface.  
They did not bundle it because viewpoint is paying them to...like so many other bundled softwares.
They bundled it to use it for their own uses.  
So, don't you think you are throwing stones at the wrong company?????
Not that I think aol was planning on irritating users either but if anyone is to blame it is them.
They should have paid viewpoint and had it built into their system as a white label player.  
This is one of the few cases where software is bundled for the use of the bundler vs being bundled for profit making.
This is the truth.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.46.161.67 (talk) 17:47, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Regarding Malware 

message: I feel like I'm just reading an article from Viewpoints website about their product.204.210.72.247 (talk) 16:50, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: [Viewpoint's FAQ http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html]] is more or less a direct copy of the Description on this page. Your concerns are valid. --Randall00 Talk 22:43, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

text: I've made a few edits to this page - every sentence now has supporting citations. Is it OK to remove the COI/disputed factual accuracy tags of this page now? SmackEater (talk) 16:42, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd forgotten about them; they're old now and the COI problem hasn't reappeared, so it looks fine. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 20:38, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Did a Viewpoint employee write this article? 

message: I just tagged this; an employee did indeed edit this article. See the contribs of  and this link. Additionally, a look at the contributions of  is pretty suspect (see this diff, especially the change to the "Malware" section). A quick google search of that name seems to suggest they frequently jump to the defense of Viewpoint when there is criticism; see for example this link. There doesn't appear to have been much recent activity in this area, however. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 08:41, 24 August 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I've made a few edits to this page - every sentence now has supporting citations. Is it OK to remove the COI/disputed factual accuracy tags of this page now? SmackEater (talk) 16:42, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd forgotten about them; they're old now and the COI problem hasn't reappeared, so it looks fine. JeremyMcCracken (talk) (contribs) 20:38, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: COI August 2008

message: what does flash, wmp, quick time, real player, etc...read like?
Go look at those articles and then make your remarks.  
This is a source for what I would like to think is factual information.  Nothing that I wrote was invalid.  All factual information and I stand by it 100%.  No opinions!
ANY software that installs without explicit permission, is malware.
It's activity and functionality aside, It was not asked for, and no notification is provided to install this unwanted application.
The idea that VMP is more robust than disparate aplications is ludicrous except possobly to someone who might benefit from saying otherwise.
1 - Not wanted
2 - Not useful
3 - 'Sneaks' onto systems through bundling or misleading web prompts (akin to phishing).  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.234.34.13 (talk) 19:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm sure you're more experienced in the field of computer security than I am, but I seem to recall that malware had a more specific definition than something that installs without explicit permission. Not all bundled software is malware. In fact, doesn't the AIM client specifically tell you about the Viewpoint Media Player and present you with its license agreement? (I wouldn't know myself because I don't use AIM.) Malware is written for malicious purposes, as the name implies; however, adware and spyware are somewhat different. In my layman opinion, if it doesn't steal overly vital info (passwords, keystrokes, yadda yadda) then it's not malware. If it wipes your hard drive for no reason, I'm pretty sure it's malware. Cheers,
Danny Sepley (talk) 06:19, 23 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Not the case, besides... 

message: Metastream redirects to this page, but nowhere in the article does it mention Metastream nor its relationship to Viewpoint Media Player. Also worth mentioning is that Firefox disables Metastream. Does it do that to Viewpoint Media Player also? Ileanadu (talk) 10:34, 2 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Metastream

message: please remove tho word 'rich'. Jake1993811 (talk) 09:14, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  rich!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????? RIIICH!? 

message: All references to www.viewpoint.com are out of date.  That web site is now a construction management software company and has no connection with Viewpoint Media Player and you cannot download VMP from their site.
12.234.99.131 (talk) 18:30, 8 December 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Completely out of date 

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I have just modified  on Viewpoint Media Player. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added  tag to http://www.enliven.com/
*Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20090129182727/http://www.viewpoint.com:80/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html to http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20060412184429/http://webbyawards.com:80/webbys/current.php?season=10 to http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=10
*Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20080412082803/http://www.clickz.com:80/showPage.html?page=3561546 to http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3561546
*Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20080419094123/http://www.viewpoint.com:80/privacy-policy.shtml to http://www.viewpoint.com/privacy-policy.shtml
*Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20070806040918/http://www.viewpoint.com:80/technologies/viewpoint-media-player.shtml to http://www.viewpoint.com/technologies/viewpoint-media-player.shtml
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thread_title:  External links modified 

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*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090129182727/http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html to http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090129182727/http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html to http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090129182727/http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html to http://www.viewpoint.com/installer/v4/html/vmp_faq.html
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thread_title:  External links modified