Should we give Digsby a free pass? Maybe just this once…

An open letter to Digsby, regarding the recent installation of malware on everyone’s PC!!!

See this lifehacker article for more information.

Dear Digsby,

I have always been OK with companies installing profitable software on the side as long as I can turn it off.  Digsby has always been cool about being up front with what would be installed, and giving me an option to go without it.

The latest “research” feature installed without an option was a bit of a break of trust, but I’m glad that you’re “fixing” the issue for future installs.

Digsby is a good client, but make sure that when you’re installing things on our PCs that we are aware of the nature of the install, and give us an easy way to disable the feature. If you can consistently conform to this, we will always be happy.  Power users will rarely get trapped by the software, and normal people probably don’t care…but you have to make sure to appease the power users because we’re vocal and tireless, and we are the influential group that will dictate what the ‘normals’ are using by our recommendations.  I have probably introduced 50-100 people to digsby in the past, but would not hesitate to call or email each one and tell them to drop it if I felt digsby weren’t being honest about their revenue generating programs.

I hope digsby can learn from this to know that as long as everything is up front and in the open, people will be happy.  Digsby has been installing “crapware” since forever, but notice no one complained until it came in stealthily and under a slightly misleading and hard to find menu item!

Good luck in the future, you’ve got a great client, I hope that you continue on the path you’ve forged so far, and I look forward to using digsby and recommending it to my friends, coworkers, clients, and family for many years to come.