Viewpoint Media Player

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Viewpoint Media Player (VMP) is a browser plug-in produced by Viewpoint Corporation. It is commonly installed with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

1 Description
2 Features
3 Malware claims
4 See also

[edit] Description

The Viewpoint Media Player browser plug-in is used to display advertising. It can display Adobe Flash animations and interfaces, three- and two-dimensional images, and streamed video.

[edit] Features

Integration and playback of various media:
- Three-dimensional models
- Video
- Vector graphics
- Image formats including JPEG, GIF and Wavelet
- Two-dimensional images
- Audio, including Ogg Vorbis, SC6, MP3
- Three-dimensional effects
- JavaScript interpreter
- Hyperview 2.0
Layers compositors tool
Mac OS X–compatible
Browser-independent
Automatic updating
All objects are accessible through a DOM and are scriptable.
Rendering and decoding engines
No server components required

[edit] Malware claims

Viewpoint is commonly installed with AIM without the explicit consent of the user because it is considered to be a required package.

VMP is sometimes considered to be spyware because the license agreement states that the software collects information about users' interactions with advertisements and the browser and operating system in use. This information is reported to Viewpoint's customers, and is delivered with a unique identifying code. Again, this information is sent without any notification to the end user.