The story of a bug!

This is the story of a little BUG!
As the lucky subscriber to a French magazine, I was allowed to receive the gift of my (now known to you all) video camera, of relatively bad quality, but at least it worked, and I could practice the various publishing methods with it!
Well - it worked all right for a couple of months, then, suddenly, it didn't want to know any more, whether because of my bad filming qualities, or simply because it had been made in China and didn't speak either French, English or even German - I don't know!
I tried everything, and being stubborn, I finally downloaded what you aren't supposed to download, the driver for this infernal thing. They are very explicit - do not download the driver if you are running Windows XP Pro!
Now I know why!
This company, called "arcasoft" give away, with the camera, their system of photo treatment, which I don't really need, but it is automatic in the normal installation. Of course there is the normal amount of publicity, which I can accept, for the programme is free, and in any case automatic!
Having downloaded the driver (which I didn't ought to have done, as my mate Chippie would say) I was surprised to see that a BIG window had opened from my FREE Anti virus system "AVG Free" telling me that "AWARE - CAUTION - MALWARE discovered in the file **********"!
OK - firstly I was pleased to see that at least my AV worked, and it even told me that the risk was minimum, and the recommended procedure was to ignore.
It was a "spy" bug, one of those things that follows you around wherever you go on the web, collecting info and suggesting advertising things for you to receive.
Everybody uses them, Google, MSN, Windows - everybody - and it's the price you have to pay for free things!
OK - I'll accept that, but when I was directed (without being asked) to the Arcsoft site, I was told that they were very solicious about our privacy - I sent them an email, but I doubt that I will receive a reply. I doubt very much, as well, that I will actually BUY anything from them, much less use their system.
How many others are there, out there, who do the same thing? Self-rightous companies who promise that just their name should be enough for my confidence!
On my Website, "http://www.webspawner.com/users/mrlemarquis/index.html" (which I'm sure you all know (and love) I have a "links" page, on which anybody can put a link onto, the only qualification being that somewhere along the line they give their email address. I can always delete the link, if I don't want it on my page, but - honestly- why the hell should I want some "Baptist Church organisation" on my links page? Well - it's there, and it ain't me who put it there! I'll leave it on, because, unlike them, I'm an open minded type of fellow.
I wonder if they've put a link to my site on their main page?
Incidentally, I was able to get through to another camera for videos, because of my persistancy, never heard of it before, but it works, it's on the same installation disc, and it shows up on my hard disc, which the original didn't want to do anymore! So - UP YOUR's TOO!
(and don't beleive for one moment that I'm going to follow ANY of those publicity links you plaster my incoming mail page with!

Happy Holidays!