Ask HN: Is alternativeto.net considered as a reliable source?

11 points by nile-crocodile 4y ago ↗ HN

They've had a Virustotal report [0] for Cheat Engine pinned (Windows) without specifying that the reports seem related to the bundled installer adware — I'm not aware of any reputable malware reports, this is an open source project with bundled installer "offers".

From what I know their criteria for apps which are considered as an "alternative" to X isn't strict, more of a list of software with some shared functionality.

[0] https://alternativeto.net/software/cheat-engine/about/

4 comments

[ 107 ms ] story [ 671 ms ] thread

butz 4y ago ↗

There's a "Report something wrong" function under "cog" icon on top right. Might be worth a try.

hammyhavoc 4y ago ↗

FWIW, the alternatives stated usually aren't. I find that anybody who links to the site as a serious source of information in 2022 is generally clueless, or only looking for alternatives to super common utilities without really understanding key features.

commoner 4y ago ↗

AlternativeTo is useful for finding open source alternatives with the filter feature, even if the software isn't common. Some of the results might not be ideal suggestions, but only one of them has to be relevant enough to make the search worthwhile.

rrrodia 4y ago ↗

I don't see how this affects their reliability? It is a community sourced overview, that partially relies on info given by virus scanners etc. It just shows the info it has, which in this case seems useful and correct?

The linked report says 30 "scanners" found an issue. That site in turn has community comments explaining about being careful with the installer because of adware being bundled.

Right below the warning about the report is a notice saying: "Bundleware The default installer contains Opencandy. A version without it is available in the Download page."

---- I use alternativeto.net mostly as a way to not google "alternative to x", and have to go through the junk results. I check out the top free / open source alternatives, read the comments, and visit their pages to make up my own mind.