Yesterday I assisted a friend clean up yet another infestation of malware / adware on her computer. Somehow--she has no idea how--within the space of a few minutes the following software installed itself on her computer:
It cost her 1 hour of my time (I bill people for this work to keep the number of requests manageable.)
What the ... ? Suppose you went to a restaurant and the waiter put buns(with butter) on the table and two cups of coffee, then after the dinner gave you ice cream. But when you get the bill you discover you've been charged extra for the buns and the butter, the coffee and the ice cream, because the waiter didn't tell you these were not complimentary but instead items you'd be charged for if you consumed them! Would you eat there again? Would you recommend the restaurant to your friends?
With two other friends, the Avast! antivirus software decided the user would like to have Chrome browser and made it their default browser.
Why is it that Windows users the world over put up with this sort of crap without raising holy hell with (first) Microsoft for not more diligently trying to distinguish between user-requested software installs vs drive-by installs, and (second) the software vendors for sending thsi sort of crap along with their software? Why is it that every time a user want to add a program to their system they have to run a gauntlet of onerous licensing agreements and check diligently to ensure only the software they want installed gets installed?
This is a huge reason why I run Linux. I've never has a piece of software on Linux up and decide I wanted to get another program as well. I realise that could well change if Linux ever became really popular. But Apple has long been a strong competitor to Microsoft and I've not heard many Apple OS users complaining about drive-by installs. Why does it seem only Windows has this problem, and why have its users put up with this?
- Conduit Search Bar (no idea where this came from)
- Internet Updater (via Conduit)
- Install Converter (probably via Conduit; no idea what it does)
- McAfee Security Scan Plus (probably via Adobe Reader update)
- AVG AntiVirus Free Edition (no idea where it came from)
- Websteroids (no idea where it came from)
It cost her 1 hour of my time (I bill people for this work to keep the number of requests manageable.)
What the ... ? Suppose you went to a restaurant and the waiter put buns(with butter) on the table and two cups of coffee, then after the dinner gave you ice cream. But when you get the bill you discover you've been charged extra for the buns and the butter, the coffee and the ice cream, because the waiter didn't tell you these were not complimentary but instead items you'd be charged for if you consumed them! Would you eat there again? Would you recommend the restaurant to your friends?
With two other friends, the Avast! antivirus software decided the user would like to have Chrome browser and made it their default browser.
Why is it that Windows users the world over put up with this sort of crap without raising holy hell with (first) Microsoft for not more diligently trying to distinguish between user-requested software installs vs drive-by installs, and (second) the software vendors for sending thsi sort of crap along with their software? Why is it that every time a user want to add a program to their system they have to run a gauntlet of onerous licensing agreements and check diligently to ensure only the software they want installed gets installed?
This is a huge reason why I run Linux. I've never has a piece of software on Linux up and decide I wanted to get another program as well. I realise that could well change if Linux ever became really popular. But Apple has long been a strong competitor to Microsoft and I've not heard many Apple OS users complaining about drive-by installs. Why does it seem only Windows has this problem, and why have its users put up with this?
via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/N3K79k
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