Updates with assumed extras ...
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 611
Likes: 62
From: Down under
Updates with assumed extras ...
In recent days I've been invited to update to the latest versions of both Avast and AVG.
Each of them had small print offers and boxes already ticked which, if not noticed and unticked, would have installed other crap - toolbars, browsers, and other programs which they assume I cannot live without.
Mind you, AVG and Avast are not alone here. Quite a few programs offered these days have partially hidden assumptions built into their install routines which, unless deleted or declined, will go ahead and install things which you never expected or wanted.
I regard this as totally dishonest, and having had to already disinfect a couple of friends machines who hadn't noticed the extra stuff they were assumed to need, I getting a bit pi**ed off with these devious tactics.
I wish them all a generous dose of the pox!
Each of them had small print offers and boxes already ticked which, if not noticed and unticked, would have installed other crap - toolbars, browsers, and other programs which they assume I cannot live without.
Mind you, AVG and Avast are not alone here. Quite a few programs offered these days have partially hidden assumptions built into their install routines which, unless deleted or declined, will go ahead and install things which you never expected or wanted.
I regard this as totally dishonest, and having had to already disinfect a couple of friends machines who hadn't noticed the extra stuff they were assumed to need, I getting a bit pi**ed off with these devious tactics.
I wish them all a generous dose of the pox!
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,173
Likes: 0
From: .
Of course they are paid for including the toolbars in the download. Its how the free downloads are paid for.....without the addons, there wouldn't be anything free. Its simple enough just to untick the box at download time.
And don't let the addons put you off Avast. The new version is quite brilliant, with an advert blocking web plugin, and a routine which checks how up to date other software is, and whether its vulnerable. It will check and recommend updates for flash / adobe / java and more
And don't let the addons put you off Avast. The new version is quite brilliant, with an advert blocking web plugin, and a routine which checks how up to date other software is, and whether its vulnerable. It will check and recommend updates for flash / adobe / java and more
More bang for your buck
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,513
Likes: 1
From: land of the clanger
And don't let the addons put you off Avast. The new version is quite brilliant, with an advert blocking web plugin, and a routine which checks how up to date other software is, and whether its vulnerable. It will check and recommend updates for flash / adobe / java and more
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,663
Likes: 0
From: Earth
No such thing as a free lunch FOR.
How else do you expect them to fund your free software ?
Buy a proper commercial anti-virus and you won't have any of those silly problems associated with the free brigade.
How else do you expect them to fund your free software ?
Buy a proper commercial anti-virus and you won't have any of those silly problems associated with the free brigade.
Last edited by mixture; 30th March 2013 at 09:08.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 611
Likes: 62
From: Down under
Are you running AVG and Avast together?
No such thing as a free lunch FOR.
Buy a proper commercial anti-virus and you won't have any of those silly problems associated with the free brigade.
My point in raising this was simply to alert users to the fact that both AVG and Avast now include additional software in their upgrades which you need to decline if you don't want the surprise of discovering that default programs in your machine have been pushed aside and replace by the unexpected. I've had to deal with that in the computers of a couple of friends, and I've better things to do with my time that undo problems caused by "trojans" of this kind.
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,694
Likes: 15
From: Wellington,NZ
I've been using Avast for years, usually apply the updates within a Google or two of being notified they're available, and have never seen an "opt-in by default" part of the install, except for a year or two ago, when Google Chrome was offered (and pre-ticked) as part of the Avast Free package, on initial install.
Certainly the update routines tend to lead one toward trying the full (and paid) alternatives, as the section to be ticked in order to keep the free version are a little less blingy than the other sections, but that's to be expected.
Certainly the update routines tend to lead one toward trying the full (and paid) alternatives, as the section to be ticked in order to keep the free version are a little less blingy than the other sections, but that's to be expected.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 611
Likes: 62
From: Down under
Yes Chrome is still installed unless unticked - if it's not already there. If Chrome is already present, with the version 8 update now being recommended, it will attempt to install Google Drive unless you are alert to what's proposed.
FOR
FOR
