I really wish they would make this topic a sticky!

SONAR doesn't support ID3v2.4 tags. ID3v2.3 tags are OK. It was discussed in this thread a couple years ago.

I picked up a virus that was bundled with the free file converter..... Something called the "Mixi.DJ Browser Redirect" virus. It's basically malware that hijacks your browser (in my case FireFox) and installs a toolbar and redirects your search engine to theirs and probably invades your privacy and info. I googled and followed some instructions on the net on how to get rid of it and it worked, but not before i bought a $40 registry cleaner that didnt find it.

M@ B


I picked up a virus that was bundled with the free file converter..... Something called the "Mixi.DJ Browser Redirect" virus. It's basically malware that hijacks your browser (in my case FireFox) and installs a toolbar and redirects your search engine to theirs and probably invades your privacy and info. I googled and followed some instructions on the net on how to get rid of it and it worked, but not before i bought a $40 registry cleaner that didnt find it.

VERY sorry you went through that.  I always use Downloads.net when looking for freeware.  It is a site run by the CNET magazine people, and they promise that any software is virus free from their site.  The one thing you have to look out for is that the installer process, which comes from the downloads.net site itself, usually has pre-checked boxes for installing things like the Ask toolbar or for installing Chrome.  Just make sure to remove those check boxes and installations should run fine.  I have used this site for many many years now, and have never caught any viruses from doing so.


If, by the way, you are at all unsure if you got rid of all of the virus registry keys and such, shoot me a PM if you want some additional assistance in reviewing things.


Bob Bone

I uninstalled everything associated with that free converter and am now in need of another one. Is there an inexpensive file converter, something i wont have to worry about downloading? Thanks.

Thanks Bob. I was typing when you posted your reply, so i didnt see it before i posted. Everything seems to be normal, but i was reading that it goes for your passwords and account info, etc. So i'm kinda concerned about that.

For conversion I use SoundForge. If you are looking for a free solution, I can only offer the editors I mentioned above. The software comes directly from the authors and was virus free when I installed and played with them.

I picked up a virus that was bundled with the free file converter.

It is not clear that the Mixi.dj toolbar is a "virus" per se, rather than an unwanted "feature." The effect may be the same, but typically a virus is a stealth addition to otherwise useful code, not something that is intentionally bundled with software. It looks like this malware browser add on may be like the other annoying toolbars by Ask and Google which are paid hitchhikers on freeware, known to be present to the developer or distributor. An ethical distributor will give the option to not install such malware, but often it is installed by default, and the opt out is easy to miss (also unethical in my opinion). One consequence of this model is that a site may technically claim that it is distributing only software that is "virus free," and still host software that foists this crap off on you.

I've been using fre:ac lately and it works well enough.

"Mixi.DJ Browser Redirect"

slartabartfast

I picked up a virus that was bundled with the free file converter.

It is not clear that the Mixi.dj toolbar is a "virus" per se, rather than an unwanted "feature." The effect may be the same, but typically a virus is a stealth addition to otherwise useful code, not something that is intentionally bundled with software. It looks like this malware browser add on may be like the other annoying toolbars by Ask and Google which are paid hitchhikers on freeware, known to be present to the developer or distributor. An ethical distributor will give the option to not install such malware, but often it is installed by default, and the opt out is easy to miss (also unethical in my opinion). One consequence of this model is that a site may technically claim that it is distributing only software that is "virus free," and still host software that foists this crap off on you.

I QUITE agree with you on the unethical approach to pre-checking boxes that will if not noticed install unwanted software.  Even the downloads.net site does that - it is I suppose how they support themselves.  I cannot vouch for other sites, but I can say that for freeware that I have downloaded using that site, as long as I pay close attention to the install process, I simply make sure to look for any such pre-checked boxes and remove the checks and continue the installation of ONLY the desired software, and that has worked well for me.


I happen to use a nice bit of freeware for doing a couple of things.  The software is called the YTD Video Downloader, and I use it to download videos from YouTube.  It has an additional feature that it converts from lots of formats into lots of formats, so you can download a video clip, then convert it to Wav, MP3, etc.  Since it does both the downloads and the conversions, it is my normal goto software for doing either function.


There are lots of free ones out there that do similar functions - including just conversions, if you do not wish to also have the capacity to download videos.


Hope that helps, 


Bob Bone