EULAlyzer

No one puts End User License Agreements at the top of their reading list. Failing to read these, though, can results in privacy risks, unwanted software, and other nasty surprises. You should always read EULAs from end to end, but EULAlyzer makes it easier to home in on the important parts. To start, click the plus-sign button in EULAlyzer and drag it to the text requiring analysis. You'll see the text appear in the program's window. When you click "analyze," EULAlyzer searches the document for what it calls "words of interest" (reminiscent of a "person of interest" in a police investigation). EULAlyzer than assigns its Interest Rating to the program. You can then search the entire EULA for keywords--"trial," for instance--and pull up further data on the product.

Of course, EULAlyzer is no substitute for reading the EULA. Whenever you want to install software, you should read the EULA first, period. But EULAlyzer does save you time and effort. You can also save EULAs in EULAlyzer, so you can check back later if you think a program's not treating your PC (or your privacy) as kindly as it promised it would.

Note: This program is donationware. It is free to try, but the author accepts and encourages donations towards further development.

--Laura Blackwell