Download pages. The kind that are filled with ads solely intended to be clicked on by accident. The kind of ads that try to make you think they are the actual download link, literally saying “Click here to start your download” or “Download (name of program)”.

Then the actual download link will be much smaller and in no obvious place. You’re hunting through all this crap like Indiana Jones trying to pick the Holy Grail and you start wondering if the page is even legitimate. Then once you get it downloaded all the options on the installer are counter intuitive to getting the program installed without Yahoo Toolbar and five other ad-revenue generating, ****-me-in-the-bum extensions.

Of course anyone who’s under 60 years old and has used the internet before knows not to fall for this ****. Like if the supposed download link is an image or flash item or the URL at the bottom of the screen doesn’t match up you know you’re being taken for a one-way ride to Suckerville. Unless of course, they actually, for some unknown reason, link the download to an image (which I ran into yesterday).

Thing is, you shouldn’t have to put up with that crap, but these sites don’t make their money by you getting what you want. They get it by making the layout as confusing as possible so that you (read as: the average moron) are clicking all over the place. Otherwise there would be the words “Start Download” in 20 point font at the top center of every page.