Intuit has added an uninstaller feature for those users who are worried about the long-term effects of the Macrovision SafeCast/C-Dilla DRM software on their systems.

"As of today, we're going to give them an uninstaller," said Scott Gulbransen, director of corporate communications for the company. "We listened to that issue."

"The company is run based on the experiences of its customers," Gulbransen added. "If we have to move, we have to move."

Intuit's decision was prompted by a small, but vocal minority of customers which stridently objected to Intuit's inclusion of the MacroVision SafeCast technology in the TurboTax 2002 release, which Macrovision bought from C-Dilla, a U.K.-based developer.

The uninstaller, which will be pushed to customers through an automatic Web update at the time the program is run, will uninstall SafeCast/C-Dilla files and folders at a user's discretion. However, uninstalling SafeCast/C-Dilla will also prevent TurboTax from being run, Gulbransen said.

According to Intuit, the C-Dilla files were added to prevent unauthorized copying of the Intuit software, while still allowing customers some flexibility in doing their taxes. Intuit executives had wanted to add copy-protection software for some time, executives said.

"It's pretty simple," Gulbransen said. "We want to protect our IP."

Macrovision did not return calls for comment by press time.

Actually, TurboTax is the second Intuit product to contain the SafeCast/C-Dilla software; Intuit added the DRM software to its QuickTax software for the Canadian market last year. Gulbransen declined to comment when asked if SafeCast would be added to other Intuit products outside the tax group. DRM software has not been added to TurboTax For the Web, Intuit's online version of its tax preparation software.

According to Gulbransen, Intuit's TurboTax 2002 will only allow taxes to be filed or printed from a single machine. However, the software may be installed on numerous PCs, and files may be saved and copied from one machine to another. "What this means is that you can prepare your taxes on your laptop, for example, and then file them from your home computer," Gulbransen said.

Intuit also allows multiple filings from the same PC, allowing spouses to file separately.

Gulbransen said it was too early to say how sales had been affected by the controversy. "A lot of what happened out there has been misinformation," he said. "It gets out there, quoted from postings which aren't even accurate."

Part of the fault lies with Intuit, however. Gulbransen said a sales agent had mistakenly told at least one customer that the software could not be transferred from one machine to another, setting off the controversy. "But then there's certain people who are opposed to any kind of activation," he added.

WHILE YOU don't have a choice about whether to file your income taxes, this year you have more choices than ever about how to file your forms. An explosion of tax-filing Web sites promise to make quick work of your return--usually for less than $25 and in some cases free. If you're expecting money back from the IRS, electronic filing will speed up your tax refund.

Most sites offer a try-before-you-buy feature, requiring payment only when you're ready to print your return or file it electronically. So you may want to take a Web site out for a spin to see if this is the year you decide to pocket the tax-preparation fee you usually pay your accountant, or swap your software-in-a-box for an Internet address.

Online filing isn't for everyone. If you are concerned about trusting your personal financial information to cyberspace or you prefer more extensive guidance than most Web sites offer, you'll probably be happier with one of the leading tax-software products: Kiplinger TaxCut (H&R Block, $19.95, which includes tax advice from editors of this magazine) and TurboTax (Intuit, $39.95 before $10 rebate). Both programs offer a rebate that refunds the cost of electronically filing one federal return and preparing one state return. Not all states accept electronic filing.

"They didn't inundate me with information," says Tincher, who received his 1999 refund in less than two weeks. He says the site was easy to navigate and the program's interview questions prompted him to claim a tax credit for his wife that he might have overlooked if he was preparing his return on his own.

Tincher used the H.D. Vest service to file his 2000 return, but he says the redesigned Web site is packed with banner ads he tried hard to ignore.

After a tax-filing season plagued by technical problems last year, Block rebuilt its Web site from the ground up and added several new features this year to attract taxpayers who want a little--or a lot--of help with their income-tax returns.

Block charges $19.95 for online preparation and filing of your federal and state tax returns. For an extra $30, you can ask for a professional tax preparer to review and sign your return, or for $20, you can ask a tax adviser a specific question over the phone or by e-mail.

If you plan to use an online tax preparation service, get cracking. Forrester Research predicts that six million returns will be prepared online this year-three times more than in 2000--meaning Internet servers could get overloaded and you could be stuck trying to meet the April 16 tax-filing deadline.

Intuit has added an uninstaller feature for those users who are worried about the long-term effects of the Macrovision SafeCast/C-Dilla DRM software on their systems.

"As of today, we're going to give them an uninstaller," said Scott Gulbransen, director of corporate communications for the company. "We listened to that issue."

"The company is run based on the experiences of its customers," Gulbransen added. "If we have to move, we have to move."

Intuit's decision was prompted by a small, but vocal minority of customers which stridently objected to Intuit's inclusion of the MacroVision SafeCast technology in the TurboTax 2002 release, which Macrovision bought from C-Dilla, a U.K.-based developer.

The uninstaller, which will be pushed to customers through an automatic Web update at the time the program is run, will uninstall SafeCast/C-Dilla files and folders at a user's discretion. However, uninstalling SafeCast/C-Dilla will also prevent TurboTax from being run, Gulbransen said.

According to Intuit, the C-Dilla files were added to prevent unauthorized copying of the Intuit software, while still allowing customers some flexibility in doing their taxes. Intuit executives had wanted to add copy-protection software for some time, executives said.

"It's pretty simple," Gulbransen said. "We want to protect our IP."

Actually, TurboTax is the second Intuit product to contain the SafeCast/C-Dilla software; Intuit added the DRM software to its QuickTax software for the Canadian market last year. Gulbransen declined to comment when asked if SafeCast would be added to other Intuit products outside the tax group. DRM software has not been added to TurboTax For the Web, Intuit's online version of its tax preparation software.

According to Gulbransen, Intuit's TurboTax 2002 will only allow taxes to be filed or printed from a single machine. However, the software may be installed on numerous PCs, and files may be saved and copied from one machine to another. "What this means is that you can prepare your taxes on your laptop, for example, and then file them from your home computer," Gulbransen said.

Intuit also allows multiple filings from the same PC, allowing spouses to file separately.

Gulbransen said it was too early to say how sales had been affected by the controversy. "A lot of what happened out there has been misinformation," he said. "It gets out there, quoted from postings which aren't even accurate."

Part of the fault lies with Intuit, however. Gulbransen said a sales agent had mistakenly told at least one customer that the software could not be transferred from one machine to another, setting off the controversy. "But then there's certain people who are opposed to any kind of activation," he added.