CNET Download.com is one of the internets most popular download sites. Out of all the download sites out there Download.com from CNET is normally my first pick to grab files when I need to download something. Looking at the latest Krebs on Security report it seems that CNET is not including PUPS (Potentially Unwanted Programs) with their download. One reported install users are getting if they don't pay close attention to their install is the Babylon toolbar. Users have reported issues with trying to remove the toolbar completely and I have seen some people go to sites like GeeksToGo for help to remove the toolbar. Some blogs have even reported getting the toolbar when attempting to install security software, which in my opinion is slightly funny because most of the time users are install security software to remove toolbars not add them. Now it's important to note not all CNET Downloads are offering the toolbar, I just download Panda Cloud from CNET and got the same installer I got when I downloaded from the official Panda Cloud site.
So it all comes down to can you download site be trusted. Personally I don't feel it's right to include these PUPs with your download. Now it would be different if this was some well known vendors toolbar (Yahoo, Google, Bing, Aol) for they are trustworthy but instead it's a toolbar that people have been having issues removing. So until this whole thing gets cleared out I will be using other download sites such as Softpedia or I will just download the product directly from the vendor.
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