Good stuff. Looks like CNET has publicly announced the policy and provided criteria for determining whether an application is regarded as “adware.”
And here is the type of letter they’re sending people:
Dear Publisher,
Since the launch of CNET Download.com more than eight years ago, we have worked hard to promote a trusted, safe, and secure downloading experience for both our end users and our publishers. With that in mind, we screen thousands of software submissions each month for elements we think might interfere with an end user’s satisfaction. Beginning April 18, this will include enforcement of a no-adware policy.
Your product has been identified by our production team as currently containing some form of adware. For it to remain live on our network of sites after April 18, we ask that you remove the adware component and resubmit the updated version through Upload.com. All files containing some form of adware will be removed by April 22. If you plan to resubmit an updated file but cannot complete the development process by then, you can always submit the update at a later date and still retain the product’s original download counts.
For more information about this new policy, please click here.
The Upload.com Team
Alex Eckelberry