How free are Internet "free" offers?

Example:

PC cleaners are a very good thing, but they vary in quality all the way from 100% effective to outright scams. Like anything else available in the hugely massive information pile called Internet, it's a fact of business life that whenever we find boundless opportunites with their accompanying claims for potential wealth, close on their heels we find the fast-buck operators, sharp hustlers, and scam artists. If ever "caveat emptor" is needed, it's today in this fast-changing Internet scene.

At the other end of the ethical spectrum, there are quasi-legitimate but very sophisticated marketers who appear to capitalise on the impatience or unwillingness of many surfers to take the time to read ALL the fine print usually accompanying "Free" offers. They are using a time-tested two step method for getting you hooked on their product.

1. They give you a freebie which does do what it claims, but it only makes up a very small percentage of the benefits. Example, free scan. Fine, a scan doesn't remove the problem that prompted you to search in the first place. All the free scan does is tell you that you have specific problem areas, whether real or only alleged by the software.
2. To fix all the alleged errors that come up during the scan, you'll be asked to "register" the product. [interpret "Buy"] Nothing illegal or entirely shady about this, it's just that you're not getting, for free, the real "big tamale," also called the full version or the registered version of the software. Read the fine print in all the links, especially TERMS OF SERVICE before you click that "AGREE" button. Go all the way to the end of the chain of links, it will pay off in the end.

My experience:

I logged on to Better-Reviews.net which listed the top five products designed to clean your PC. All five showed a free scan download. I chose the top rated one which told me I had 662 errors in my system. Okay. Now when I went to the "fix" button a message appeared saying no errors will be fixed unless I registered. By now my paranoia had begun to kick in and I stopped at this point as I recalled seeing "buy" on the standard toolbar during the sorting process.

As a further protection, be aware of the difference between a review and a sales pitch. As a side note, I have the extreme good fortune to have a former member of the legal profession as my help-meet and companion. She has been my tutor in matters of reading the fine print, usually well worth the time even if somewhat tedious. Just because a link contains the word "review" it does not always follow that you're reading an unbiased report. There is a whole generation of ad copywriters well trained in making a sales pitch look and sound like a review leading you to believe that there's no bias whatsoever. There is a reason why some copywriters earn big bucks.

Summation:

Marketers know that certain keywords are true attention-getters, "free" being top of the list. The point is, exactly what is being offered for free? In this case, free scan. No legal challenge here because they did deliver just that, no more, no less. But considering the tease aspect in leading you all around the cabbage patch, why don't they cut to the chase and tell you now up front what it'll cost you? With this kind of tactic, how do you know if the 662 figure is valid? The loss of credibility due to the somewhat devious approach has turned me off, with the resulting loss of sale. For further enlightenment see http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/regcure-c4155.html

On a positive note, there is genuine free software available, one I've used (Ccleaner) I learned from the local PC support group in Houston. Being a member of one of the largest non-profit groups in the U.S. allows me to access the combined knowledge of more than 4,000 members. To access their website enter www.hal-pc.org and their phone is 713-993-3300. These folks are sharp in the purely technical sense of the word. Having been member of this non-profit organisation for over five years I can safely recommend them to you as an unbiased source of very useful info. They have a team of enthusiastic, dedicated volunteers who demonstrate the highest ethical standards. If they don't know something they'll tell you right up front and will dig for the right answer. Also, numbered among them are professionals who make their living in the increasingly sophisicated world of computing. Look up their website, you will find it informative and useful.

One final word to all you good folks out there, don't feel badly if you get sucked into one of these borderline deals. I have in the past simply because I didn't take the time to "read the fine print." Especially the terms of service. After all you are going up against seasoned pros who know every trick in ad copy writing, and have ways of setting keywords in strategic locations in order to increase their ranking on search engines. Maybe there's a lesson in this for all of us, perhaps "Slow Down!"

Again, Caveat Emptor!