Crappy Viewpoint Media Player

Stupid Freaking Auto Installing Spy/Software

Published on October 26, 2003 By russellmz In Personal Computing

I was merrily scrolling through my Add/Remove programs list trying to free some hard drive space by deleting unused programs. I am a virtual packrat, hoarding programs "just in case", or "maybe one day I'll use it". Towards the end I see a program called Viewpoint Media Player. Never downloaded and installed this. Never saw it before. Immediately I knew it was some junk spyware program that somehow got onto my system and didn't get caught by my spyware deleting programs.

So, like any sensible person with a question and an internet connection, I headed to google.com. There I eventaully got to an anti-spyware page that said Viewpoint was bundled with the new version of AIM, which I had downloaded some weeks ago.

Damn. It.

The AIM(AOL Instant Messenger) installer didn't say anything about other programs being installed on my computer. Most likely my firewall stoppped it from sending any random info out but I can't be sure what the damn thing has done.

Here is my privacy policy: I do not want any type of crap on my computer unless I specifically OK it. I do not want anything installed without my permission. I don't want some poorly programmed piece of crap crashing my computer, changing my bookmarks and homepage, and making itself part of the operating system so I can't delete it without instructions from the internet. I do not want programs that record what I am doing. I don't want programs accessing the internet at random intervals to send data to its home servers. I don't care if "At no point is the CUID connected to a user's name, email address, or other personal contact information". I don't freaking believe what is written in the privacy policy (which I didn't even get a chance to read since it installed without my knowledge), nor do I trust your abilities to safeguard my personal data even if you are telling the truth.

When can you install something on my computer? If you get within arms length distance of my computer and can install it before I cave your head in with a baseball bat, then I will allow it.

Anyway, I went to Add/Remove programs, highlighted it, and hit Remove.

Then I went to my file search utility and told it to look for anything with the name "Viewpoint". There were two or three separate folders still on my hard drive with the Viewpoint name. Lazy pieces of crap were too freaking lazy to program the remove utility properly and actually have it REMOVE the damn program. I had to delete the folders manually after making sure that nothing important was in them. Most likely AIM will still function normally over the next few days but now I have a nagging what-if to deal with. F--kers. The both of them.

That is why I like freeware but not adware or spyware. Freeware is usually all about respecting the user. Consider: I have a popup blocker, server proxy that stops internet ads and other annoying internet inventions like auto-playing looping music and scripts that change your bookmarks. I have a firewall. I never download any program unless I am sure it is an official patch/program or that it is a widely known and used freeware program. Yet this thing still got onto my computer and I haven't noticed it for days or weeks. Makes me wonder how many computers are now happily sending info to their home servers. Don't worry too much. I'm quite sure the spyware authors are hard at work making sure that "At no point is [your] CUID connected to a user's name, email address, or other personal contact information".

addendum:
Some people are still having problems even after they delete Viewpoint. The only thing actions I can recommend is after going to Add/Remove and removing Viewpoint to go to Start > Find > Files & Folders and search for "Viewpoint". Delete anything in there that you think is part of the Viewpoint Media Player program. If you still have problems try these spyware removing programs:

Spybot
Adaware

Comments (Page 6)

Micky, East London, UK

on Dec 01, 2004

This guy is brilliant, I am a novice on puters and I have a problem at the moment downloading Kazaa FREE on AOL, they block it (THE BASTARDS, I am changing my server soon as pos)) , I went into Add &remove and saw VIEW POINT Media, What the F*ck is this I thought, I thought it was part of Windows Media Player for Win98 Ver7 which I have just downloaded, I hit properties but got nowhere in Identififing its source so I browsed the net and got this site (THANK YOU) I will delete and follow through on getting every bit of the vermin off my puter.
As I am in the UK with limited ammount of severs and BRITISH TELECOM having a monopoly on LAND LINE COMMUNICATIONS, paid for by our war heroes and the British public till a meglomaniac calle Maggie Thatcher gave it to greedy shareholders it is a hopeless situation here, AOL have Seduced BT and are on the verge of LIQUIDATING it. Ha HA. IRATE MICKY.

Micky Not Annomous

on Dec 01, 2004

I keep seeing these repliies avocating Spyware And Addware, are these FREE.
Or are the advocators getting KICKBACKS, Only a ? nothing personal.
LOVE METAL MICKY, London.
PRINT & BE DAMMED. HA HA.

tm400005

on Dec 02, 2004

That's the funniest thing ever Micky from east london. You're concerned about viewpoint thinking it's spyware while you're trying to download Kazaa? LMFAO. Kazaa is one of the biggest spyware distributors out there.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

TM 400005, I did say I was a novice, and I am quite shocked by what you reveal about Kazaa, I thought P2P was between person 2 person and not ISP's in the end what is the use of home computers but to enlighten the whole world on what are ones preferences and dislikes has a gem of retribution , it stops tin pot dictators from getting away with genecide, its a slow process I know but eventually the thought police will know all about us. If you are from America TM 400005 I think U R far more enlightened than me, for instance I was in a computer repair shop the other day and the technician said to a guy "U have AOL on a Packard Bell computer its f***ing hopeless, its like a spiders web" he told him to dumb the hard drive and he would install a CLEAN one. BOTH of these multi nationals are American.
METALMICKY.
PS I have to learn a lot about SPYWARE.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

Since I cannot get free Kazaa now, can anyone enlighten me on getting a free P2P download site devoid of spyware ect, ect,.
PS Buddhism is not dead it,s just reincarnated. stop eating those luvely animals and flowers & starve yourself, U know it makes sense.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

I dont fully understand all that you are saying but it looks great and you really come across as a very inteligent reincarnation of Buddha, BUT if I have windows media player & for win98 why when I reistall AOL they pop up the question box everytime I sign on for a different version i.e REAL PLAYER, these programs are not compatible and vie for taking over the management of file i.e jps avi mp3 and all files relating to media files, they completely fog my mind as a lay person in computing till I get so much crap on my machine that I have to re-format it or keep facing crashes due to lack of memory.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

I have just checked in find files MEDIA PLAYER, on my puter it came up with 51 entries.
if i try to delete any one of these my puter gets very annoyed with me and refuses to talk to me anymore it goes into fatal error syndrome and tries to commit digital Hari Kari. I of course forgive it a go ito reformatting my whole system thus proving that there is life after AOL. but sadley PACKARD BELL still comes back to haunt me, Paranoid ? not really I still trust British Telecom, Now that is really Sad.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

Just discovered that I have AIM on my puter, what is this then.
Welcome!

Welcome to the ever-growing community of AOL Instant Messenger users! This
exciting and easy-to-use instant communications service allows you to see when
your Instant Messenger buddies are online and then communicate with them
instantly -- no matter how they access the Internet.

When an AOL Instant Messenger buddy sends you an instant message, you'll get the
message on a small pop-up screen, and you can respond instantly. It's that
easy. But, just like any terrific communications service -- the telephone, for
example -- there are bound to be pranksters who may try to contact and bother
you. And, because AOL wants your Instant Messenger experience to be the best it
can be, we have designed a special feature for you to use against such
pranksters. In the event you do get a crank instant message, you can use our
"Neighborhood Watch" feature to "hang up." This feature empowers you to prevent
the crank instant messenger from contacting you again for a period of time and
also to warn others about him. This way, you can control with whom you
communicate on AOL Instant Messenger. For your information, AOL doesn't monitor
the service or read, record or retain any messages, so if you want AOL to know
about a crank instant message, you'll need to save and send the message to
AOL. While AOL expects that Neighborhood Watch will empower you against most
crank instant messengers, AOL may also decide to terminate serious offenders.

Now that we've explained how the AOL Instant Messenger service works, let's get
you registered. Read the registration agreement below, and when you've agreed
to it, you'll be all set to join the AOL Instant Messenger Community!

Registration Agreement

By clicking below, you warrant that you are eighteen years or older and agree to
use the AOL Instant Messenger(TM) software ("Software") and service ("Service")
as provided in this Registration Agreement.

AOL may, in its sole discretion and at any time, modify or discontinue the
Service; limit, terminate or suspend your use of the Service; and/or with 30
days advance notice, introduce charges for the use of the Service or make
changes to this Registration Agreement. To terminate your registration, simply
discontinue using the Service.

You understand that you use the Service at your own risk and, that in general,
AOL provides no assistance other than the information posted on the AOL Web site
(including an AOL contact number) located at http://www.aol.com/aim/help.html.
AOL is in no way liable for any claims arising from your use of the Service.

The Service contains a Neighborhood Watch feature which allows Service users
from the Internet, in their sole discretion, to assess "warnings" against other
Service users. These "warnings" may limit your use of the Service. AOL is not
responsible for the imposition of "warnings," or for the availability to other
Service users of such warnings and information about your Service session length
or tenure on the Service. You understand that Service users from AOL may have
other or additional AOL Instant Messenger features that are not available to
Service users from the Internet, e.g., a doorbell tool that allows them to
decide whether to accept a message from other AIM users.

AOL grants to you a non-exclusive, limited license to use the Software, pursuant
to the terms hereof, to connect to the Service only, and you may not modify,
reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software.

THE SERVICE AND SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, UNLESS SUCH WARRANTIES ARE LEGALLY INCAPABLE OF
EXCLUSION. AOL'S ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY WITH RESPECT TO USE
OF THE SERVICE AND THE SOFTWARE SHALL BE THE REPLACEMENT OF ANY SOFTWARE FOUND
TO BE DEFECTIVE. NEITHER AOL, ITS EMPLOYEES, DISTRIBUTORS, SUPPLIERS,
DIRECTORS, NOR AGENTS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST
PROFITS, IN ANY WAY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IN THE
EVENT SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED AS TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE
SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR
JURISDICTIONS, AOL'S LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

If any part of the Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion
shall be construed to reflect, the parties' original intent, and the remaining
portions remain in full force and effect. The laws of the Commonwealth of
Virginia, excluding its conflicts-of-law rules, govern the Agreement and your
registration, and you expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim
or dispute arising from the use of the Service or Software resides in the courts
of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
UNQUOTE
I am now been conned into the laws of Virginia, BLOODY HELL!! they imported lung cancer to us Brits, do not blame Sir Walter Raliegh he thought it was herbal Cannabis or at least a hairy potatoe Ha Ha.
Some of this is Tongue in Cheek so do not be offended if you lack the Monty Python Or John Cleese empathy.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

What is, LMFAO. Kazaa, I thank you again for your decent reply, it has made me a little wiser.
Best regards to all that put pen to paper, or as is present, crucify their fingernails on the keyboard in response to what seems to the Anoracks whacky and weird nutters who pose stupid tech ? on the WEB.

metalmicky

on Dec 02, 2004

With out the knoledge of the recipient. Does Kazzaa do this as well?.

Viewpoint Media Player
Overview
The following is developers description of the software: Viewpoint Media Player integrates photo-realistic 3D, high-resolution 2D images, Macromedia Flash, audio, and other media formats into HTML pages through a single media host. Essentially a graphics operating system, VMP includes both an ActiveX control and a Netscape plug-in that permits its graphics and online services to be accessed through Web browsers across multiple platforms and over narrowband connections, all while requiring no special server-side software. This technology can be used for business applications ranging from advertising and e-commerce to online customer service and training. Source

Viewpoint Media Player has been reported to install without the user's knowledge [1] [2] [3] [4].

Viewpoint Media Player collects information about the user. From the vendor's privacy policy: To provide a satisfying consumer experience and to operate effectively, the Viewpoint Media Player periodically sends information to servers at Viewpoint. Each installation of the Viewpoint Media Player is identifiable to Viewpoint via a Customer Unique Identifier (CUID), an alphanumeric identifier embedded in the Viewpoint Media Player. The Viewpoint Media Player randomly generates the CUID during installation and uses it to indicate a unique installation of the product. A CUID is never connected to a user's name, email address, or other personal contact information. CUIDs are used for the sole purpose of filtering redundant information. Each of these information exchanges occurs anonymously.

[snip]

The Viewpoint Media Player will soon be capable of tracking information about the content it displays and how the user interacts with it. When the Viewpoint Media Player displays Viewpoint content, it tracks the URL it is served from, as well as Viewpoint file data tagged by the author in XML. This data can include, but is not limited to: the names of objects and textures displayed, and the names of animations invoked. Source

Viewpoint Media Player is bundled with AOL, AOL Instant Messenger, Netscape 7, etc and sometimes not mentioned in the license agreement. Source
Viewpoint Media Player is also bundled with Adobe Atmosphere and hardware manufacturers pre-install some of these applications mentioned above, so those machines will have Viewpoint installed as well. I think Viewpoint Media Player has a fine bundling policy because it is only bundled with related products and they actually use the media player. For example, Adobe Atmosphere uses the Viewpoint Media Player to view a virtual world and AOL uses Viewpoint for advertising and enhanced content on their service and in the client software itself. The SuperBuddies feature (for instant messaging), Instant Greetings, Kids Online, the new windowing system, and many other areas on AOL deliver high-impact graphics using Viewpoint. The Viewpoint Media Player is required for AOL's operation and if it is removed AOL will reinstall Viewpoint Media Player.

So what could make the Viewpoint Media Player better from a privacy point of view? My first suggestion is to make sure that all bundling partners mention the media player in their End User License Agreements. Many users does not seem to be aware that the internet-enabled player is installed on their systems and communicating with the Viewpoint servers from time to time, so the second improvement would be to ask the user for permission to perform this communication, explaining why it is necessary and what information is transferred from the end user's computer to the vendor's servers.

Classification
Bundled software

Files
AxMetaStream.dll, ComponentMgr.dll, MetaStreamID.ini, MtsAxInstaller.exe, npViewpoint.dll, npViewpoint.xpt, JpegReader.dll, Mts3Reader.dll, SceneComponent.dll, SreeDMMX.dll, SWFView.dll, WaveletReader.dll

Vendor
Viewpoint

Privacy policy
Viewpoint privacy policy

Detection
Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner does not detect Viewpoint Media Player.

Uninstall notice for Viewpoint Media Player
Notice that removing Viewpoint Media Player may cause the program that bundled it to not function as intended.

Uninstall procedure
Uninstall Viewpoint Media Player from "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows® Control Panel.

I'm looking for your help!
Thank you for using my site, I hope you find it useful. I'm looking for help from all users, please read more.

Contact information for Viewpoint Media Player's vendor
In order to provide correct, accurate and updated information about Viewpoint Media Player I encourage the vendor to contact me if any part of this write-up needs a revision.

Related links

Bazooka - Free scan for spyware, adware, trojan horses, keyloggers, etc. Detects more than 500 potentially unwanted applications. Freeware!

The File Database - Search our database and find out if a file is legitimate or dangerous. Free!

PopUp Blocker Test - Find out if you pop-up killer can handle all pop-ups. Free!

Kephyr Labs - Find out what is going on at Kephyr. Try products in an early stage of development.

NES

on Dec 11, 2004

...Why are all the people who support this program getting their info from Viewpoint's website? WTF?

Yes, Viewpoint is required for certain programs (i.e. AIM, AOL 9.0), but that doesn't mean it isn't addware. It is installed without the knowledge of the user, and it's primary function is to display add content on websites (although AOL also uses it for other purposes). Thus, addware.

For those of you who doubt, look up viewpoint media player in google. You'll get Viewpoint's website, then you'll get a number of websites that log addware and spyware, and list Viewpoint as such.

voodoo67

on Dec 16, 2004

Copy of what I just sent to viewpoint....
I found your software - Viewpoint media player - on my PC. I know I did not download and \ or install this program so I attempted to remove it via add remove programs. This does not uninstall the program because it always reinstalls itself.

After a websearch to find out if it was spyware or malware I ended up at your site. I have read your statement on Spyware and privacy and must point out to you that your companies ethical conduct in this matter stinks to high heaven.

How DARE you install software without my permission, use my PC and its resources to feed yourselves information about my online habits and use your software to display advertisements from your clients that 99% of the time I do not wish to see when I am browsing the internet. Your claptrap statement about respecting the privacy of the user is nonesense - invading my PC with your software without my permission or even my knowledge that it was installed IS invading MY privacy. I waste enough time and resource trying to block spam, popups, viruses, spyware, malware and now THIS!!!! And I find I cannot even uninstall it because it is either bundled in with other software I am using or is present in some sights I happen to visit.

I have read a few messageboards on the internet and it seems like you have a lot of people angry about your software being on their pc's. Perhaps I should search the net and subscribe your companies emails to every spam list and mailing list I can find? Because that is how much you have respected my privacy and my RIGHT not to have your software installed! I don't agree with virus writers or even know how to write one, but (seeing that you seem to have offended a great many people already) how would your company feel about its rights and privacy if someone wrote and distributed a virus that resulted in a DNS denial attack on your company's servers??? Perhaps then you would appreciate a little more how people feel about their resources being used by you without their permission, interrupted or sapped and hijacked, and their privacy and right to use their computer how they see fit, completely abused.

If you want to be more ethical as a company I suggest you change the installation so that the user has to agree to download and install it, and change the uninstall untility so the the program actually does uninstall itself. Is that too much to ask????

I have read the list of companies you claim use your software to distribute their ads so I will also be emailing them to complain about the conduct of your company - if enough people on the net do this maybe if you start losing clients you will rethink your policy. Adobe, Sony, AOL, Coke, M&Ms, Sega, Toyota and Visa?

"We value each and every one of our users and will continue to promote innovative, next generation experiences without compromising our users’ safety, security or privacy. That is our pledge. "

"Jay S. Amato
Chief Executive Officer
Viewpoint Corporation "

I must point out to Mr. Amato that I am NOT one of his users - I did not wish for this software to be installed nor do I wish for it to remain on my system. In the forlorn hope that anyone from your company actually reads this mail, will you kindly tell me how to get rid of it and completely uninstall it from my system?

Thank you,

Yours Disgustedly,

**************

I'm now off to as many of their "clients" sites as I can find to forward them the same complaint.

Another Victim

on Dec 18, 2004

Thanks to JoeUser for making the truth about ViewPoint Media Player's sneaky business dealings so prominent (found it just by Googling 'Viewpoint Media Player'. I had a similar experience as russellmz. Viewpoint simply popped up and there was no way to get rid of it. The only options were 'more info' or 'download'. I just shut down my computer, got back on and Removed the program, emptied my Recycle Bin, deleted Cookies and Temp Files. I hope ViewPoint never comes back! What a SCAM!

Victim

on Dec 18, 2004

Good for you!!! I'm interested to know....it looks to me like any crime is legal on the Net. I NEVER have heard of anyone being caught and punished for doing what ViewPoint Media Player has done. Discouraging.

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