What software were you thinking of buying?

Why aren't you downloading from https://www.stardock.com/ ?

The cnet download is http://download.cnet.com/Fences/3001-2072_4-10909535.html?hasJs=n&part=dl- and there isn't anything bundled with it.

This is why I no longer re-direct downloads of Winstep software to Cnet.

MarkStalher, the advantages for software companies are two-fold: by re-directing downloads of your software to Download.com you a) save a ton of expensive bandwidth and b ) help your software climb up on their top 10 charts, thus making it even more visible to Download.com's 113 million monthly visitors (at the time, these days it's nothing like that) which in turn attracted even more new users. So, you had financial and marketing advantages.

This was win-win back when Cnet's Download.com was a reputable site and THE site everyone went to when looking for software.

Then in 2011 Cnet's General Manager and V.P. Sean Murphy decided that it was a good idea to start bundling applications hosted at Download.com with malware/adware/toolbars to monetize the site, despite heavy internal opposition from Cnet's own staff/editors. A handful of those who opposed ended up getting fired because of it and that was that.

Some developers threatened to remove their software from Cnet (Winstep and Stardock included) and Cnet caved in, removing the rogue installer from those particular applications (but only for those who explicitly requested it).

It took a long time - relatively speaking - because people trusted Download.com and assumed that a major site like this wouldn't resort to unethical monetization schemes, but eventually what they were doing caught up to them. At it obviously would. Download.com's Alexa Rank went from #174 all the way down to #23,000 (the *lower* the number, the more popular and the more visitors a site has).

As of July 2016 Download.com finally discontinued its rogue installer program and no longer includes any adware/malware in its downloads.

Reputation, however, is a very fragile thing, and once damaged can take a very long time - or even be impossible - to fully repair. Never-the-less, this long awaited move made Download.com's Alexa rank climb from an all time low of #23,000 before July 2016 to the current #18,746. Still very, very, far away from their initial #174 rank.

You can read more details about this story HERE.

The fact remains this:

There is NOTHING "bundled" in Stardock software. Period.

I refuse to use C-net to download anything these days.... got bitten once with [no opt out] bundled crap that I neither wanted or needed.

Sadly, too many sites nowadays are hosting bundled software that contain all sorts of nefarious and unwanted crap, even majorgeeks sometimes does, so I will spend the extra time to search for non-bundled alternatives where possible.  If I can't find one then I go to majorgeeks and ensure I untick all the bundled items before downloading.  Sadly, there are some less reputable sites that do not warn users of 'added extras' and/or do not provided opt out abilities.   I've not ever had a software issue with majorgeeks so I stick to them where possible.... at least they warn users of 'added extras' before getting to the download button.

Just to stress for the benefit of the OP ....NOTHING is bundled with the Fences download from anywhere including Cnet.

I'm glad that you opted out of C-net.... a choice that C-net doesn't always give to its users.  The time I got bitten with a number of crap games and unwanted apps there was no prior notice or warning to stuff being bundled.  I didn't discover it until I started getting browser pages being redirected away from what I was viewing.  An investigation soon led me to the culprits.... damned slot machine games, which then hijacked my browser to display pay for gambling ads.  Worse still, these confounded games were not easy to uninstall. 

Not only did they not come with uninstallers or have entries in Programs and Features, they weren't located in either of the Programs folders... x86, x64  I eventually found them in Program Data on C: drive, but even then they weren't easy to delete/get rid of.  Nothing seemed to work until I ran JRT [Junkware Removal Tool], which got rid of the actual games folders, the registry entries and the browser hijackers.  It took a while, and given I wasn't warned or given opt outs, I now refuse to use C-net to download anything.

For that particular download there were no custom or advanced options, just what appeared to be a regular exe installer.

As for Stardock programs not being bundled, which BTW I'm pleased to hear, I download all its software directly from the Stardock site.

As for OPs,  there seems to be a trend among those with 'complaints' to not return with evidence or any kind of reasoning.  That's why I rarely respond to what appear to be 'bitching' threads about Stardock products and services.