Yeah, it used to be a good place to get little programs you didn’t know you needed. I signed up for it back when I was in college.
I needed to download a driver file. I saw my old friend ZDNET had it. I logged in with my old email and everything. It wants me to update my info. Sure, it’s been a while. But then I notice they require
My Phone Number
My Street Address
My Place of Employment
There is no excuse for a website needing to know this information. So I lied in the most obvious way, by using an obviously fake number and an address that suggested not to send me junk mail. I actually put “Why do you need this” as my employer.
So I get through it all, get to flippin’ file, and…
it redirects me to the manufacturer’s site. Oh wow! Do they think I’m so dumb as to not check the manufacturer’s site first?
Then, to top it all off, THEY DON’T EVEN HAVE A WAY TO REMOVE YOUR ACCOUNT. Of course, I know about hushmail. I put in a bunch of crap(pier) answers. If they delete it because of the inaccurate info, I’m golden. But I’d rather them keep it in their database and try to send some international SPAM.
It’s fun when you can actually do something about something that bugs you so much.
If this isn’t Pit-worthy, I got IMHO down.
What’s your opinion of sites that do this, asking for way too personal information. Have you ever lied for an online account? Are there really people who don’t know you aren’t supposed to share your real info online? I’d understand if they were buying something from a reputable site, but for a frickin account that leads you to pages you’ve already been to? Yeah.
Four years ago I went there a lot, but doubt I’ve visited twice in the past year.
But I’m not pissed at zdnet. They’re another also-ran in the great game of corporate survival in the Digital Age. I think they folded the dead tree version of PCMagazine sometime last year. It was one of the Big Boys for a long time, and very well done, with good columnists and thorough, well-thought-out tests.
I’m a little sad for them. Not pissed. When the advertising stops coming in, the accountants eventually take control and try to salvage a few dollars from the tatters of a good reputation.
For drivers, use DriverGuide.com
They’ll ask for a registration/password/email address, but you can use a throwaway email address (spamgourmet.com, perhaps?) and then never use that email address again.
For generally nifty programs, try CNET.com which has user reviews, site workers’ reviews, and no registration required for downloads.
What’s my opinion of sites that ask for too much personally identifying info? They’re scum, absolute scum. They’re very likely spamming (paypal/ebay, or UNYK, for example) or selling their info to spammers and data-miners like ComScore who stitch info together from multiple sources to get a detailed profile of you.
Even companies that have a legitimate need for your personal info may be sharing it with nasty folks.
Try to get job listings on Walmart.com. I told a friend I’d look for Wal-Mart job openings. Wal-Mart requires you to fill out a 6-part information form, basically a job application. Name, address, phone numbers, e-mail, etc. Faked my way through all that. Then there’s a 9-part section where they start asking for Social Security Number, job history, references, etc. Can’t I get a freakin list of jobs without supplying personal information?? Are the job listings secret? After about 20 minutes of fake info I gave up.
20+ years ago I would get driven home from church youth group by this older kid along with our recent Lebanese immigrant kid. Somehow his intonation in saying his address became a big joke that would get repeated many times. When some site wants my address unnecessarily, I tell them that address. I’ve wondered if there are people living there who get junk mail for me or my joke alter ego.