What the hell is it with software companies thinking it’s OK to bombard you with additional junk packaged up with their programs already?
I finally got ’round to buying Windows 7 for my laptop (after finding it plain awesome on my AA1) so did the whole back-up files, etc and reinstall malarkey yesterday afternoon. This meant that I had to re-download Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. Nearly every piece of software I’ve wanted to install has tried to give me extra crap on top.
Downloaded Foxit and it tries to install a browser toolbar, do something with the Ask search engine, and spam me with bloody eBay shortcuts on my desktop (even after I’ve told it I don’t want them, it asks again!) Avast anti-virus now comes with Google Chrome (which I was planning on installing anyway, but that’s not the point) and then Adobe installs a Firefox plugin, download manager extension and tried to get me to add some McAfee shit on the download web page too.
I always customise every step of the installation process with EVERY application I install, so no fear of ending up with unnecessary bulk, but your average user isn’t going to bother with that. It’s no wonder people complain about their Windows boxes getting bogged down with bloat.
DO NOT WANT!
16 May at 10:36 am
I wholeheartedly agree. Everything you download is bundled with something-or-other today.
If I agreed to install every toolbar that every download has tried to add to Firefox, then I would have half the window height I have now.
I also don’t like how a lot of services are bundled together now (such as google accounts with various sites)
What if I wanted an account on some site without creating a whole gmail account et cetera with it? I wish everything you download came with SIMPLY the content you want to download.
16 May at 11:56 am
HEAR HEAR.
I installed something a couple of weeks ago, can’t quite remember what – might have been Foxit actually. I told it NO I don’t want the Ask toolbar, NO I don’t want you to reset my homepage to ask.com, NO I don’t want you to autostart a load of rubbish when I start Windows. Guess what? It took no notice and installed all that rubbish anyway. It took a good 2 or so hours getting rid of everything it put on. Even uninstalling the program didn’t get rid of all the junk – nooo all those had separate uninstallers. FFS. Now I know why my parents have a zillion toolbars in IE ("ooh, no idea how that got there") and why my dad says to me "what’s Google Chrome, I seem to have it and I don’t know what it is, I didn’t install it". Rrrrr
16 May at 5:53 pm
I hate this, especially since I’ve dealt with many family members asking me or my boyfriend to fix their computers because they seem to just download whatever any program tells them to. I’ve also had toolbars accidentally show up on IE when I don’t remember downloading them, but I rarely use IE so I ignore them most of the time.
16 May at 8:47 pm
*after installing AVG on my Windows install, it then installs its toolbar on Firefox or one of the browsers I have*
me: "…" *hides toolbar*
toolbar (after I closed and reopened the browser): "We have reenabled the AVG toolbar in case if you hid it by mistake. *explains how to really hide it if you mean it*"
me: "ò_ó…"
And of course, it didn’t seem to remember my decision to hide it again, so I uninstalled the entire thing all together and eventually, AVG. I feel liberated. ;o;
17 May at 1:29 am
I hate the added toolbars, also. Once I "repaired" this guy’s laptop and he literally had SIX toolbars from crap his 12 year old daughter had installed. They were clueless as to why their computer was running so poorly. Imagine what the rest of the computer was like. -.-
17 May at 10:42 am
You’re right about the unsuspecting novice user. At work we can download pretty much anything we like, which for me is great! It means I can have Firefox and Chrome at work! YEH!
However, today I logged onto a PC I don’t usually use and it only had IE7 on it. I opened it up and there was about 4 toolbars!! There was more browser than site.
Needless to say I promptly installed Chrome :)
17 May at 1:43 pm
This is so true. I always customize the installation process because of this as well, and even that sometimes doesn’t work 100%. I try not to complain too much because it’s usually a free product but jesus, there should be a limit on that crap.
17 May at 4:04 pm
I am on board with you 100%. I hate add-ons. I am installing "Software X" I do not therefore want "trial for Software Y" and "toolbar for Software Z." It’s possibly the number one cause of system slowdown for a lot of users; hurray for the msconfig run command!
17 May at 4:05 pm
Also, working in tech support as a couple universities now, the worst I’ve seen was seven toolbars. Seven. It boggles the mind.
18 May at 10:03 am
I learned a few years back that a lot of people do what they do, and say what they say about computers cause they are scared crapless of the piece of machinery in front of them.
Afraid if they actually touch it, and tweek it, it’ll explode and their precious pc will be destroyed. If they only mandated computer classes before allowing people to buy them.
18 May at 8:22 pm
Copy that. I hate bundled software. My favorite is when you download some free software only to find out that not only is it not free, it is mostly advertisements for affiliate software. I constantly find software packaged with a free download of the Yahoo toolbar. I hate those type of things. Sign up for our blah blah and get free download. There always is ten steps to get a software package now. When will it end.
I also hate the "make my pc faster" products. They advertise "Scan your pc for free". Then it scans your system and finds tons of errors. Then you have to buy it to get rid of them. That gets so many people. If that is not enough, the download has spyware attached. So you are actually making your pc worse! ahhh. sweet technology.
21 May at 9:30 pm
Yeaph! thats true take nero for example even it asks for ask toolbaar and so many there are so i hate those spam containing software
12 Jul at 2:23 pm
Sadly, i’m very late with this. but have you tried ninite? ( http://ninite.com/ ) It basically installs whatever you select in a package, then declines any toolbar, addons, or other BS they try to throw at you. Really great service for a fresh pc install.