The pain of publishing free desktop apps in 2026

Once upon a time you could knock out a desktop app (known as a program back then) and give it to a friend to play with. You could attach it to an email or pass it over to them on a USB stick. Maybe even upload it to some site somewhere and send them a link. Sadly, that age of innocence is long gone, for which we can thank the barely human scum who punt out malware with the express aim of ruining…