Babylon translator is safe or harmful?

[mal1]

It's easy to use, and can run any dictionary in BGL format.
BUT many anti-maware programs flag it as an adware, and virtually all of them consider Babylon toolbar to be an adware.
If I opt out of installing their toolbar (by unchecking it in installation process), what's the worst that could happen? A low-risk detection by my anti-malware software, or something worse?

 

[mal1]

I found this thread about Babylon on mywot forums, and Babylon doesn't seem to have a good reputation there Babylon is clearly malware -- current WOT rating is dangerous | Forum | WOT (Web of Trust)

 

[DracusNarcrym]

Toolbars are rarely benevolent...

The purpose of the toolbars is rarely the actual program itself, rather the potential revenue behind it. (tracking and data mining directly by the toolbar's provider and/or their affiliates)
Taking that into consideration, there are also cases where the toolbar itself is malicious, and not just some of its underlying functions.

Just a little taste of what Babylon is about:

The screenshot was taken right now, and it displays some suggested threads related to the topic of this thread right here.
4 out of 5 of these threads are from the Malware Removal Assistance forum - I bet you know what that means.

I guess a lot of people were not too happy with Babylon...

I would definitely recommend against this toolbar - it seems too suspicious to me.

 

[conceptualclarity]

Babylon Toolbar is worse than adware, it is outright malware. Babylon does seem to be a legitimate translation company simultaneous to being a malware distributor. I believe there are alternatives to look into. Here is a website to bookmark:
AlternativeTo - Social Software Recommendations
AlternativeTo

I'm sure you will love it. One of the most indispensable software websites of them all. I encourage you to contribute to it as well as utilizing it.

 

[vindiesel]

I use QTranslate which is free

 

[Sr. Normal]

I can not recommend Babylon. One of the first times that I used here, because of the poor translation, I I insulted a colleague.It has "peculiar" translations. I am Spanish and certain verbs and/or expressions completely normal and correct in Spain, have a sexual meaning in certain countries of South America, for example "catch".
The truth is that after these bad experiences, I use QT and a fairly reliable Web Translator: http://www.freetranslation.com/

 

[NOLF92]

I just go with Google translate. I remember back in the day Babylon translator being detected as malware, and if my memory serves me right, Spybot Search & Destroy detected it (you know, when it was actually good)

 

[jerzy601]

in my humble opinion is the best qTranslate above all it is free, I personally I use it and I'm very happy with it fulfills my expectations.

 

[Deleted Member 333v73x]

This is a bit off-topic, this thread is about is Babylon Translator safe or harmful, not about other alternatives...

 

[conceptualclarity]

Given the fact that Babylon is a notorious malware distributor, I would advocate that people boycott its translation product even if the latter is safe. And I would not personally feel safe that this greedy company can be trusted to resist indefinitely the opportunity to foist its toolbar on a customer.

I contracted Babylon Toolbar twice in 2012. A lot of hard feelings.

 

[mal1]

This is unanimous! I can't say I've seen this coming. I knew Babylon toolbar was horrible, but I thought the program itself was innocuous.

Thank you for the feedback and suggestions, I have heard of QTranslate, Pterovic posts about it, but I've never tried it, because it's not what I'm looking for in a translator.
Babylon is a word translator for the most part, it helps you with vocabulary, phrasal verbs, fixed expressions, proverbs etc.. It helps you master a language. While QTranslate is a text translator (Babylon does translate texts too), it simply helps you get by while reading a promo in Russian or "breaking news" in Urdu.

I think I need to read more about GoldenDict, it supports many dictionary file formats, including BGL files that Babylon runs. When I search for GoldenDict on MT I get no results, which is a good sign.

 

[Andrew999]

I use Google Translate. it works well for me I usually use it just for my Rust server.

 

[Rishi]

GoldenDict Alternatives and Similar Software

 

[Soulbound]

Babylon without toolbar is not malware. its a legit software. Just there are way better alternatives.

 

[Raul90]

Installed that sometime ago and it was difficult to remove completely. MBAM flags it as PUP.Optional.Babylon.A. also. Software that is difficult to remove I often remember and do not like in my system especially one that was flagged by MBAM. I followed the steps below and safely removed it.

PUP.Optional.Babylon.A removal guide

From then I just used Google Translate or Bing Translator. Also Babylon needs internet connection so the need to install it is somewhat defeated for me. But then again that's just me