RealNetworks RealPlayer

Installation wizard of Realplayer. You can't select
not to install the adware!

RealPlayer was introduced in 1995 as "RealAudio Player" and it was one of first players that supported online streaming.  For some time there was an extra paid "Plus" version, that included additional features. RealPlayer was popular because it was the only reliable plugin at that period that supported video streaming or audio streaming.

RealPlayer is notorious for its adware and spyware. The program has been heavily criticized for its  pop-up advertisements. If we summarize the reasons behind the small adoption these days we can list them:

• Replaced from other tools with less "spam", that support more audio and video formats. 
• Flash player is used mainly for video streaming now.
• Slow (mainly from the badware included). Application that provide similar functions free of charge or even open source replace the RealPlayer.
• Privacy issues: initial versions were sending back information about the songs listened.

Despite the low penetration in the market nowadays, it was the first free player that supported many video and audio formats. Furthermore, it was the first one that supported acceptable video streaming, when dial up connection was the common case. As of May 2015, the Real website states that RealPlayer has been replaced by RealTimes, a product that makes multimedia montages from users' photographs and videos, backed up and accessible via cloud storage.