scam website raise a claim to ExifTool

Started by lenhard, March 26, 2014, 09:29:21 AM

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lenhard

I just want inform you that a high-traffic website use your ExifTool to promote their scam software (see also https://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/solvusoft.com).

And the owner claim that he has developed the tool. See the text on
http://www.solvusoft-lets_not_link_this.com/en/file-extensions/file-extension-jpg/ or
http://www.solvusoft-lets_not_link_this.com/en/file-extension-analysis-tool/

QuoteThe revolutionary JPG File Analysis Toolâ„¢ scans, analyzes, and reports back every detail about your JPG file. Our patent-pending algorithm quickly analyzes your file, and within moments, presents this information to you in an elegant, easy-to-read format.
Just drag and drop a file on the revolutionary File Analysis Toolâ„¢ to see, that he just use your ExifTool.

solvusoft.com very popular website with more than 5 million visitor each month, see
www.similarweb.com/website/solvusoft.com
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/solvusoft.com#trafficstats
With such large traffic and your ExifTool they have millions of downloads, and earn millions of US$ each year :-(

Is there no way to stop that scam website?

PH Edit: removed direct links to solvusoft.

Phil Harvey

Thanks for this notice.

ExifTool uses the Perl Artistic License.  Technically, this license allows almost any commercial use of ExifTool, but there are some restrictions which this site may be encroaching upon:

        5. [...] You may not charge a fee for this Package itself.  However,
        you may distribute this Package in aggregate with other (possibly
        commercial) programs as part of a larger (possibly commercial) software
        distribution provided that you do not advertise this Package as a
        product of your own. [...]


        8.  Aggregation of this Package with a commercial distribution is always
        permitted provided that the use of this Package is embedded; that is,
        when no overt attempt is made to make this Package's interfaces visible
        to the end user of the commercial distribution. [...]


But I'm not too concerned right now.  My goal is to make metadata more accessible to everyone, not to make money.  And although the site's use of ExifTool may be misleading, immoral, and/or illegal, it does at least make metadata more accessible to its clients.  In an ideal world they would donate some of their profits back towards ExifTool development, but one can't expect this.

- Phil
...where DIR is the name of a directory/folder containing the images.  On Mac/Linux/PowerShell, use single quotes (') instead of double quotes (") around arguments containing a dollar sign ($).

lenhard

Thank you for your reply, Phil.
IMO you are a real wise man!