No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Freeware and shareware seems to come laden with 'extras' these days.

The DivX video player comes with Firefox and the Google Toolbar.

QuickTime (another movie player, graphic viewer and patch inducer) comes with iTunes.

Nero comes with the Yahoo! toolbar.

Can we please come up with a standard registry entry that I can set, which says "I download exactly those tools which I need - don't install any optional tools which are not intrinsically a part of the software which I am currently installing"?

I'm really sick and tired that I have to be awake and alert for every software installation, just in case someone manages to sneak a piece of software onto my system that I don't want.

I don't want Firefox; I don't want any extra toolbars; I don't want iTunes (because I like my music "unprotected" from my apparent inclination to thieve by choosing when and where I play music I've bought); I don't want anything but the software I downloaded.

Is that really too much to ask?

Published Sunday, September 17, 2006 8:54 PM by Alun Jones
Filed under: ,

Comments

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Uh.. Quickbooks 200X comes with Google Desktop as an option you have to say "no" ... don't ya just love it?

Sunday, September 17, 2006 11:10 PM by bradley

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

You're preaching to the choir brother.  

Real Player - Google toolbar

Cyberlink - Google toolbar

InterVideo - Google toolbar and Desktop Search

Acrobat Reader - Google toolbar

Firefox - Google toolbar

WinZip - Google Toolbar *and* Desktop

Dell was thinking of bunding Google Toolbar and Desktop - did that go ahead?

Sun Java - Google toolbar... or is it Yahoo... who knows, its one of them.

Macromedia Flash and Shockwave - Yahoo toolbar

Acer - Yahoo Search

MSN Messenger comes with too much bloody stuff:

http://msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/archive/2006/08/24/109382.aspx

Somebody tell me why Google are the "good guys".  As far as I'm concerned they are getting dangerously pervasive in a way MS never was. Google is, and always has been, ahead of the pack when it comes to gathering information about us.  Google knows what we search for, it knows what we listen to, it has our emails in its never-to-be-deleted database.  It was/is even contemplating using a PCs microphone to capture sound bytes from you for targeted advertising:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/03/google_eavesdropping_software/

Are you afraid? I'm starting to be.

Monday, September 18, 2006 7:15 AM by sandi

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

I get the impression, too, that the DivX player is far from being the only software that has offered not just to give me the Google toolbar, but also to shove an entire change of browser at me.

At least Nero doesn't ask me the question every time I install, it's an option on the download page, so as long as I install from a copy I previously downloaded, I don't have to remember once again that I'm not into the Yahoo! toolbar.

My kid's machine, on the other hand, has at least five different toolbars installed into it, to the point where I wonder if he has enough space to read the web page he's browsing to.

Monday, September 18, 2006 11:40 AM by Alun Jones

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Clearly what's needed is for Google to distribute a "Google Toolbar Blocker".  Download it and deploy it, and all future attempts to install the Google Toolbar will be blocked.

Going down this road, of course, it's obvious that what is really needed is a "Global Installation Blocker", that blocks installation of every piece of software unless you specifically enable that piece of software to be installed. :-)

Monday, September 18, 2006 1:25 PM by Alun Jones

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Heh. I sure hope that *all* your son has on his machine is those toolbars...

Monday, September 18, 2006 7:37 PM by sandi

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Is there really a significant difference between spyware and these various toolbars?

They all try to worm their way onto your machine by including themselves with other stuff you wanted, and hoping that you don't remember to read the check boxes before you click "OK" to the installation.

I guess "do no evil" is somewhat fungible.

Monday, September 18, 2006 10:57 PM by Alun Jones

# I'm still not that into Apple

Apple Updater showed me two new software updates the other day - "Quicktime" and "iTunes

Monday, May 14, 2007 11:20 PM by Tales from the Crypto

# re: No, I don't want your -bleep- software

Could it be possible to customize installshield to prevent it from installing cerain blacklisted programs such as google toolbar, itunes, and yahoo toolbar?

p.s. there was a time when apple was sued for putting spyware in itunes. they had to remove it on their next update.

Saturday, May 31, 2008 1:21 AM by Fogmind

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