On-line Coupons w/Downloadable Software – Is It Safe?

[Ro_Laren]

As you all know, your Sunday newspaper doesn’t have as many coupons as it used to & the ones that you find often stink. Nowadays, it seems like all of the good coupons can be found on-line. There are a plethora of coupon sites that you can use… www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com, etc. However, these sites, or at least 99.9% of them, require that you download software in order to print out any coupons. Now, my IT guy said that these sites aren’t safe & you can get viruses if you download coupon software. IIRC, my father even got a virus when he downloaded or used coupon sites & software. Perhaps it was just a coincidence & he got a virus elsewhere around the time he was using coupon sites & software. Have any of you had any negative experiences with coupon sites & software? It seems like if they were really that dangerous then everyone wouldn’t be using them. Even sites like Wal-Mart, wants customers to download this software in order to print out coupons. Would they really recommend downloading software that gives customers viruses? Wouldn’t that be a class action lawsuit just waiting to happen?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It definitely sounds suspicious. I'd avoid it.

 

[Amaris]

I don't trust software you have to download in order to do something so simple as clipping coupons. They have to make their money somewhere, and the likely source of that income is your information, which the software collects. In my considerable experience, most software I've dealt with that involves any kind of coupons or savings program, is spyware and malware, and it is usually best to avoid it.

 

[Starbreaker]

No way I'd download software to get coupons. You're begging for all the *-wares.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

"Is it SAFE????" - Laurence Olivier

 

[Pondwater]

No way I'd download software to get coupons. You're begging for all the *-wares.

Unfortunately, I learned this lesson.

 

[mari]

Norton didn't give me any trouble about the coupons.com print app - gave it a clean bill of health. That's the same one for them, SmartSource, RedPlum, and Kellogg Family Rewards. I installed it at home and at work, and our more robust filters at work also didn't have a problem with it - and I work in IT.

If you're really nervous about it, you could do like my husband and set up a virtual machine. If that gets infected, you just wipe it and start over. He runs Ubuntu on his, and who makes viruses for that?

 

[pigletsgiblets]

If you have a Kroger or Food City rewards card you can put coupons on them.I find a lot of good coupons from those sites.

 

[farmkid]

If you're really nervous about it, you could do like my husband and set up a virtual machine. If that gets infected, you just wipe it and start over. He runs Ubuntu on his, and who makes viruses for that?

That's just what I was about to suggest. Go download and install Virtualbox, then install some version of Linux in it, like Ubuntu or Mint or Fedora or something. A little Googling will even find you a pre-built virtual machine you can download so you don't have to go through the installation yourself.