One problem I have with RealPlayer is that the program repeatedly makes unauthorized attempts to access the web on it's own. For the last several months I've noticed my computer turning itself on and dialing the web for no reason. I don't know about anyone else, but I find this offensive. I have been wondering what program was examining my computer and reporting home to its master without my permission.
Anyway, I recently purchased a wonderful program from atguard.com that gives me additional privacy and speed on the web. You can try it free for 30 days, after which it is $30 I think. Anyway it can do a variety of things including blocking cookies selectively, blocking ads and banners, blocking moving ads, blocking refer requests, preventing the browser from revealing your email address, preventing the browser from revealing what browser you are using, selectively blocking java scripts, and it also includes a personal firewall.
I love the selective cookie blocking, and the additional privacy of blocking the revealing of my email address, and blocking banners and ads makes loading web sites much faster in some cases. I also like the firewall. Within 3 minutes of activating it, RealPlayer attempted an unauthorized web access, which I denied. It later tried a different web address, which I also denied. Finally I denied it the right to access the web, period. For now I can not view TVM or Broadcast.com, but I am not willing to allow programs on my computer that pull stunts like this.
Is there another viewer available that is an alternative to RealPlayer for viewing these sites?
Carl |
