Download.com that will bundle it with know spyware.
Download.com does not add anything to avast online installer.
You don't have to have a long memory to what we were seeing instances in these forums about using cnet/download.com of its installation file giving additions over and above what you wee downloading.
Well download.com is part of cnet.com, which I believe is what avast downloads redirect to, when you come to download that then redirects to download.com. This then seems to access cnet's downloads and I get suspicious when they throw up the file avast_free_setup_online_cnet.exe (see image attached).
Aside from the fact that this appears to be the on-line installer stub, I have no idea what else might be going on with that cnet.exe file (why change the file name). One thing for sure I wasn't going to go any further to test what happened.
I have always been against these so called stub installers as you have to be on-line to install the program. This throws up two points:
1. If you have another AV installed at the time there is the usual potential for hassle/conflict/corruption installing a second resident AV.
Or
2. You have already uninstalled your existing AV, now you are on-line with your digital trousers around your ankles whilst this install takes place. I feel that the on-line installation takes longer to install avast than it does if you have already downloaded the full off-line installation file.
That is why I will only ever download the full off-line installation file.
