avast! 7.0 released!

Good question.

 

That is purely a matter of bad grammar.... the reviewer is saying that the default install is to OPT IN.... a clear case of sloppy writing IMO (having worked for that particular rag many moons ago, I can say that after the Ziff brothers departed the scene, standards, ah, changed there. The imply is there, but the auto-install is not... you can still OPT OUT, just not easily.

 

That's certainly a possibility (that the article is poorly worded). But it's still unclear as to whether or not it's automatic when the Express Install is chosen. If, in fact, the Express Install does not provide the "opt-out" boxes, then, by default, Chrome is installed, by definition, by default, every time that option is chosen.

 

If im not mistaken the option to install chrome comes at the first screen where we have to choose the install options
and Express install = Normal install
Custom install = We get to choose the shields
Compatible install = Second line of defense [To install this with another anti virus]
jeez ppl dont even see the installation process properly and den complain

 

I wonder what are the scenarios and system states when there are supposedly no checkboxes for Chrome. Which i somehow find very strange considering it's the same screen where you confirm the installation of avast! in the first place by clicking the "Express install" button (and where you can pick Custom install as well). What ppl are saying here is apparently that avast! installer, after execution installs the program right away. I find that hard to believe unless you run it in silent mode. But not sure any of you do that anyway...

 

I noticed this too.
Is NJR's "bundling fees" assertion the result of thorough jounalism or is it his assumption?
Could Vlk or Vincent Steckler elaborate for us?

 

skbaltimore,

Here's how it worked for me. You get the "Welcome to Avast version 7" screen.

On it you see 3 installation choices: Express Install, Compatibility Install and Custom Install (in small print).

Below that on the left are the OPT Boxes:

[X] Yes, Also install the Google Chrome web browser
[X] Make Google Chrome my default browser

Here is where you get to choose what you want installed and what you do not want. If you leave the check marks there, the Avast installer does its thing and there are NO more screens where you can change your mind. If you clear the check marks from the boxes, Chrome is not installed. In other words, you can OPT OUT by manually removing the check marks for all 3 types of installation here and only here IMO.

 

That's how it worked for YOU. Did you not see the OTHER screen in post #456 in which those options that were visible to you were NOT visible at all?

 

I wonder if any of the users with this problem with lack of checkboxes ever had Chrome installed in the past. And what version it was. Maybe that's causing avast! to detect Chrome in a wrong way.

 

That's an interesting possibility. Because a number of users have said that the 2nd installation of Chrome (from Avast) messed up their original installation of Chrome. But by the same token, if having Chrome installed already is enough to change the Avast installation options screen, you'd think it would prevent a 2nd installation of Chrome that overwrites the installation of Chrome already on the computer. At least that's how it should work, IMO.

 

Assumptions are being made about the screenshots. I posted the picture of the Avast installer where there is no mention of Chrome specifically to larryb52 asking if that was the screen he saw during his install. I don't know for a fact that that screen represents an Avast installer that included Chrome. It was just a theory which could explain larryb52's comment that there was no indication that Chrome was bundled. FWIW I installed the current version (7.0.1426) of Avast 7 Free yesterday for someone using the installer available at Softpedia.com. That installer included Chrome and displayed the screen where that was obvious (see message 456 screenshot #2) and included the two checkboxes.

I'm making this clear because I feel the screenshots I posted are being used to "prove" that Chrome was hidden in some Avast installers. I don't know for a fact that that was ever true and I regret speculating "out loud" about it. It is definitely not the case with the latest installer from Softpedia (also Majorgeeks).

 

Then where did you get the screenshot showing no Chrome opt-out options? And what was your point in posting it, if not to demonstrate that some Avasts installations did not offer the opt-out of Chrome checkboxes? It's got nothing to do with assumptions when someone posts a screenshot of a product installation that doesn't show any opt out option boxes. Why post a screenshot of something in the first place if it's not representative of what's actually being presented to customers?

 

Where is the uproar about this forced Chrome install on the avast forum?
I'm not saying that there isn't one, but I searched and couldn't find one.
I'd have thought the forum would be bogged down with complaints about it.

 

Good question. Maybe the majority of the users of the "Free" version don't object to the installation of Chrome. When I got a Toshiba laptop before Thanksgiving, it came with Chrome pre-installed. At that time, I'd only heard good things about Chrome so it didn't bother me in the least. All I did was make FF my default browser, and unpin the Chrome icon from the taskbar. It was only after I started reading about issues involving Chrome that I began to pay more attention, and I uninstalled it from the Toshiba. After that, I decided that I did not want it on any other system. So when I got a Lenovo laptop a month ago, I was very particular what I wanted -- and did not want -- on it. In my case, I did see the opt-out boxes, because I chose the "Custom" install of Avast. I wrote it off as the same kind of "opt-out" boxes for toolbars that come on CCleaner and Defraggler. I don't like that sort of thing, but I accept it as part of the deal for getting "free" software. The issue here became magnified when people started reporting that they were not shown the opt-out checkboxes, especially considering that Avast is an antimalware program to begin with.

 

I think it is very possible that of the number of people reporting that they were not shown an opt-out checkbox, it's fair to say that a good many of them failed to notice one that was there. I also think that it is possible that in some instances, the opt-out was not displayed. My sense is that this was more an error of omission on avast's part, rather than a bad case of foistware. And if Chrome WAS being forced upon people, PLUS it was being configured as the default browser, lots and lots and lots of people would have been standing up and complaining.

 

I first saw that setup screen when installing one of the "fixes" that was released. Since Chrome wasn't included in that installer it didn't say anything about this issue. However I was able to find that screen again via a Google images search which made me think that maybe there was something to the complaint that Avast was installing Chrome with no indication it was included. For instance it can be seen here:

http://technojourney.com/softwares/...y7-license-file-activation-code-full-version/

As I said I posted it so larryb52 could have a look and say whether or not that was the screen he saw. Unfortunately larryb52 did not answer. It was a question not a statement, and I had no intention to mislead. When I saw that you and others were taking it as proof I thought I had better clarify the information.

Edit:

I downloaded the installer for AIS Trialware that is linked at technojourney.com and installed AIS in a VM. As the screenshots at technojourney.com show there is no mention of Chrome on the initial screen where one chooses Express, Compatible or Custom install, however regardless of which type of install is selected the user is taken to a screen where Chrome is offered as an Opt Out choice. Chrome is not installed without user knowledge and consent. If someone can demonstrate otherwise I will be happy to test and confirm it.

 

i did answer there was no box...why should there even be a box, DON'T ADD STUFF TO AN AV INSTALLATION , sorry to shout but it's that simple, free , paid , trial or other wise it's my opinion that to add something to your computer is WRONG.

 

I don't think it's fair to say that at all. In fact, I think it's quite presumptuous on your part to presume that people who reported never seeing a box had simply not bothered to look.

 

Agreed. Especially for an a/v program.

 

From my experience, the assumption is well placed. Ppl just whack NEXT button without reading ANYTHING. And then they complain about checkbox not being there. I've seen it too many times and frankly experienced it myself as well. But i knew it was error on my end and i wasn't complaining all over the place.
Besides, i removed the toolbar through Add Remove Programs and called it a day. How hard is it to remove Chrome? It's a freakin worldwide used browser, not some rogue that's really hard to remove. Just go to Add Remove Programs and remove it. How hard can it be?

 

Well, to begin with, I said I think, which denotes an opinion, and I said they "failed to notice one that was there", which is a bit different than them "simply not bothering to look". And I do base my assertion upon what I have read here in the forums over the years... people quite upset about this or that toolbar or feature being forced upon them, until a helpful fellow member points out to them that they failed to see the opt-out option. I've just seen that happen too many times, skbaltimore.

 

But why is it that you think some people would choose the easy course of action, when the other course provides so much more grounds for complaint?

 

And I'm basing my opinion on the posts I've read regarding this product, and only this product; from people who clearly know the difference between skimming past opt-out check boxes, and never being presented with check boxes to begin with.

Avast themselves can clarify the matter by stating whether or not the check box options are, in fact, there, or not there, in ALL installation packages, and with ANY installation option selected (Express, Compatible, Custom). Isn't that a reasonable solution? That would put an end to all this speculation once and for all.

So let's hear what Avast has to say.

 

So...your position is that people would rather complain than not be presented with toolbars in the first place. I see. Very convenient argument.

To begin with, it avoids the primary issue -- why is Avast even bundling Chrome in the first place?

Second, it doesn't begin to deal with the issue of whether or not Chrome was installed without options to not install it.

Third, it doesn't deal with the issue of Chrome installing at the system level, vs the user level, messing up installations of Chrome that were already on a person's computer.

Fourth, it doesn't deal with the fact that Chrome is NOT just "easy" to uninstall. It leaves behind a bunch of crap. So just going to add/remove does NOT do a good enough job of removing something someone never wanted to begin with.

So really...none of your "arguments" hold much water at all.

 

Considering chrome has been bundled with avast for the last 2 years im suprised folks still go on about it.If it did install with out any choice box ,then theres probably a bug somewhere as a user would have to agree to terms and conditions before installing chrome i would have thought.Even if it did install ,it really isnt hard to uninstall.Mountain >molehill seems to spring to mind imo.