Frequently Asked Questions about the OpenCandy recommendation network
- What is OpenCandy?
- Who are the participants in the OpenCandy network?
- As someone who runs an OpenCandy-powered installer, what’s in it for me?
- How does participating in OpenCandy work as a software developer?
- What happens when I run an installer that’s OpenCandy-powered?
- What happens if I accept a recommendation?
- What happens if I do not accept a recommendation?
- So, OpenCandy-powered installers only show recommendations during installation?
- How do you make sure the software in the OpenCandy network is safe?
- What does ‘opt-in’ and ‘opt-out’ mean? Are OpenCandy recommendations ‘opt-out’ or ‘opt-in’?
- What kind of information does OpenCandy collect from users running OpenCandy-powered installers?
- When is this information collected?
- Why does OpenCandy collect this information?
- What do you do with this information?
- I have OpenCandy files on my computer, how do I remove or ‘uninstall’ them?
- I have OpenCandy registry keys, what are they for?
- How do I remove OpenCandy registry keys?
- Why does we need yet another way to discover software?
- What should I do if I think I’ve found a bug in the OpenCandy recommendation process?
A: OpenCandy runs a moderated recommendation network that enables software publishers to recommend other software during installation of their application they believe will be valuable to their users. We were started by a passionate group of people who were determined to help users discover software and change the way software developers make money and reach new users. That’s why OpenCandy-powered recommendations are clearly labeled, ‘opt-in’ only and why we allow only the best software into our network.
What to see a recommendation in action? Check out the 80 second video on our home page.
Q: Who are the participants in the OpenCandy network?
A: The OpenCandy network consists of software publishers, those who make software recommendations, and software advertisers, those whose software is recommended. Of course it also includes you; the end- user. You install publishers’ applications and decide whether or not you want to try other software recommended to you.
Q: As someone who runs an OpenCandy-powered installer, what’s in it for me??
A: Our hope is that you will discover great software that’s useful to you.
Q: How does participating in OpenCandy work as a software developer?
A: To learn more about being an OpenCandy publisher or advertiser, or if you’re just interested in how it works, check out our Participate page.
Q: What happens when I run an installer that’s OpenCandy-powered?
A: When you run an installer powered by OpenCandy, it asks our servers for a list of applications that the publisher of the software you’re installing has chosen to recommend for your language, operating system and country. Our plug-in (OCSetupHlp.dll) then selects the first valid recommendation to show. Recommendations must pass certain criteria to be valid (such as, “Is this software already installed?”, “Are the necessary files needed to install this available?”, etc.). For each recommendation in the list, an anonymous “Yes” or “No” is sent back to our servers so we can collect aggregate data to improve our recommendations.
Once a valid recommendation is found in the list, our plug-in downloads the graphics required to display the recommendation to you. At this point, you can choose whether you want to install the recommended software. Non-personally identifiable statistics about the publisher’s software installation, the recommendation process, and the installation of recommended software, are collected.
Q: What happens if I accept a recommendation?
A: If you choose to accept a recommendation, our plug-in launches a small download manager after the publisher’s installation has completed that downloads the recommended software. When the download is complete, you can choose when you want to install the recommended software.
Q: What happens if I do not accept a recommendation?
A: If you do not accept a recommendation, anonymous installer analytics are still collected about the installation of the publisher’s software.
Q: So, OpenCandy-powered installers only show recommendations during installation?
Yes.
Q: How do you make sure the software in the OpenCandy network is safe?
A: Our #1 priority at OpenCandy is ensuring all software in our network is safe. We have stringent guidelines and practices that we run each application through. This includes (but is not limited to), checking malware databases, security forums, software reviews by tech journalists and end-users, learning about the developer’s business practices (through the BBB and other sources), and trying each and every piece of software ourselves and discussing it as a team.
Q: What does ‘opt-in’ and ‘opt-out’ mean? Are OpenCandy recommendations ‘opt-out’ or ‘opt-in’?
A: Opt-in means you have to proactively choose TO DO something while opt-out means you have to proactively choose NOT TO DO something.
In the case of software installers, opt-out is the common practice of having “Install” checked by default for a third party piece of software which is unrelated to the software you’re installing. The problem with opt-out is that users might end up with unwanted software if they aren’t paying attention during installation.
We believe in providing users with the best possible experience, so OpenCandy powered recommendations are always opt-in. You won’t end up with software you didn’t want simply because you clicked ‘Next’ during a software installer powered by OpenCandy.
A: What information does OpenCandy collect during installation of an installer powered by OpenCandy?
A: First and foremost, we do NOT collect any personally identifiable information. Nor do we store IP addresses.
We collect the following NON-personally identifiable information for aggregate statistical purposes:
A) Operating system and language, country, and the language of the publisher’s software installer
B) That the publisher’s installer was initiated, and whether it was completed or canceled
C) Whether or not each potential recommendation was or wasn’t valid for a computer
D) Whether a recommendation was made and if so, whether it was accepted or declined
E) If a recommendation was accepted, whether the recommended software has been downloaded and installed
For more information about what “personally identifiable information” or “PII” is, see this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personally_identifiable_information
Q: When is this information collected?
A: A, B, C, and D are collected during installation of the publisher’s software. E is only collected when a recommendation is accepted and our download manager is launched.
Q: Why does OpenCandy collect this information?
A: All of the data we collect is used to either help make better recommendations or help our partners improve their software and user experience.
Q:What do you do with this information?
A: We use this non-personally identifiable information in the aggregate to understand how our network and its participants are performing. We also provide this information to the software publishers of the application you’re installing. Software advertisers are provided with anonymous statistics about how recommendations of their software are performing.
Example:
Joe, a software publisher who participates in the OpenCandy network, receives anonymous, aggregate statistics about how many computers, running Windows *XP, Vista, 7*, with an operating system language of *insert language*, in *insert country* installed his File Recovery Utility software.
Joe also receives information about how his recommendations are performing. So if Joe sees that no one accepts a recommendation for Jane’s File Deletion Utility, it’s obviously not something of value to his users, therefore Joe will probably decide it’s something he doesn’t want to recommend anymore.
Jane, a software advertiser in the OpenCandy network, receives anonymous, aggregate statistics about the performance of recommendations of her software. So Jane can learn how many times her Secure File Deletion Utility was recommended, downloaded, or installed.
Q: I have OpenCandy files on my computer, how do I remove or ‘uninstall’ them?
A: If you ran an OpenCandy-powered installer that used a version of our plug-in prior to version 1.3 OR you downloaded an older version of an OpenCandy publisher’s software, then OpenCandy provided files (OCSetupHlp.dll; our software installer plug-in, a text file and a folder) may have been left on your computer.
Our plug-in (which software publisher’s integrate into their installer) is only used during installation of the publisher’s software and has no standalone functionality. That means our plug-in can only ‘run’ or be used by the software installer that integrated it. Therefore, you will not find an entry for our installer plug-in in Microsoft Windows** Add/Remove programs.
That said, it’s very easy to remove or “uninstall” OpenCandy’s installer plug-in (OCSetupHlp.dll). #1) If you decide to uninstall the publisher’s software whose installer included it, it will be removed automatically. #2) You can manually delete the file yourself if you want it removed but do not want to uninstall the publisher’s software. Please note that if you delete the file yourself, and you eventually decide to uninstall the publisher’s software, you may receive an error during the uninstall process. You can click ‘Ok’ or ‘Continue’ and the publisher’s software will be uninstalled properly.
Q: I have OpenCandy registry keys; What are they? What do they do?
A: When you run a publisher’s OpenCandy-powered installer, OpenCandy related registry keys are created.
This includes:
A) A non-reversible identifier created via a random number generator. This identifier serves two purposes, to help us prevent gaming or fraud on our network; and it enables our algorithm to lower the chances that a recommendation you have previously declined will be shown again in the future. This is very similar in concept to website cookies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie). If you need information about the type of cookies you can eat, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookies.
B) Bookkeeping information about the publisher’s software you installed that included OpenCandy in its installer. See here for more information.
C) Temporary registry entries are created if a recommendation is accepted to facilitate the download and installation of the recommended software.
For example: JimBob is an OpenCandy publisher, you install JimBob’s Defrag Tool, in the registry the OpenCandy registry entries will be created in a subkey contained within JimBob’s registry entry. (Please note: Publishers choose where they want to store OpenCandy related registry entries, as long as they are contained within the publisher’s registry key.)
Example: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JimBobDefrag\Opencandy
Q: How do I remove OpenCandy registry keys?
A: The following is a warning that Microsoft** posts on their website about modifying the registry. We’re listing it here so that you understand the risks associated with manually editing the registry:
This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.
Using Windows’ built-in registry editor REGEDIT, you can remove the OpenCandy registry entries. To open the Registry Editor, click the Start Menu (Windows XP and earlier) or the Start Orb (Windows Vista/7), and click ‘Run’ and then type ‘regedit’ and click ‘Ok’.
Next, navigate to the publisher’s software registry entries; HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\
Click the arrow to expand the publisher’s registry key, and then right-click on the OpenCandy key and click ‘Delete’.
Currently some publishers choose to put the OpenCandy related registry entries within their software’s registry key instead of an Opencandy subkey. In this case, it is more of a manual effort to remove the OpenCandy related keys. The keys related to OpenCandy are OCN and VOCV (see picture below) and sometimes a subkey called ‘Completed’. Right click on each of those entries and the ‘Completed’ subkey and click ‘Delete’.
Q:Why do we need yet another way to discover software?
A: You can never have enough good ways to discover software! Our goal is provide an easy, user-friendly way to discover great software which is accessible to everyone, regardless of their level of computer knowledge.
To illustrate how hard it is for the average computer user to discover great software, search for something like: convert image to PDF. There are 5,180,000 results! How can average computer users quickly and easily determine which is the best product to accomplish the task?
With OpenCandy, we do the hard work of finding and validating the quality of software. Our team is filled with software addicts with discerning taste in software. We’re on the lookout for software that makes our lives easier and safely, securely and best accomplishes the task(s) we need it to. We’re just as equally committed to making it easy for everyone else to discover the best software to accomplish the task they need to.
Q: What should I do if I think I’ve found a bug in the OpenCandy recommendation process?
A: D’oh! No matter how hard we try, we aren’t perfect (nobody is), so it’s possible for a bug to slip through. If you think you’ve found one, please let us know. We’ll send you a free, awesome purple t-shirt for your help.
If your question wasn’t answered here or you have suggestions on how we can do things even better, please let us know.
** Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
