Is Ask.com taking over the world?

Recently development of Orca was stopped due to Avant Browser now able to use the same browsing engine as Orca. I found RAM usage to be high so I switched back to Orca.

 

And I thought it's Google that's taking over the world, lol.

 

While we are on the topic of crapware in the form of toolbars that often come bundled with software, whether freeware or shareware, one paid for utility to watch out for is "YOUR UNINSTALLER." My "EMSISOFT ANTI-MALWARE" program provided me with a warning that something is not quite right about "YOUR UNINSTALLER," once I downloaded it and commenced to install the utility. I am not talking about a "false positive" here. Apparently, the program installs something called the "ZUGO TOOLBAR," and there is no option given, prior to installation of the utility, to preclude installation of the utility sans the toolbar. For this reason, even if "YOUR UNINSTALLER" were the best utility of its kind in the world, I would not recommend it. I do not wish to have to go through the problem of uninstalling a toolbar that I did not ask for and certainly do not want. Indeed, I wonder whether "YOUR UNINSTALLER" would even allow me to uninstall the "ZUGO" toolbar, given that the utility IS an uninstaller and the Company that is marketing the thing would hardly wish to undermine a paid sponsor, namely, the owner of the "ZUGO" toolbar. Perhaps "YOUR UNINSTALLER, would provide a way to uninstall "ZUGO," after the fact, which, then, would explain why the installer does not alert the user to the very fact that, with the installation of the utility, comes an unwanted house guest. I also note that, as there are often several sites for downloading a particular item of software, each site often has its own particular and peculiar "EULA" in respect to that software. It is becoming increasingly important for users to read the "EULAS" that precede installation of an application, and to read the "EULAS" carefully. I read one EULA that mentioned that I agree to the installation of cookies and other garbage with installation of the software. I promptly cancelled the installation and the Company actually asked me, and, to my mind, rather incongruously, why I decided to forego installation of the software. Once again, I am finding that the user himself is often the unwitting partner to the destruction of his computer and marketers are becoming ever savvier in deceiving the user. Indeed, I am conjuring in my mind, as I draft this note, the notion that the application is the "tease" to get one to download the garbage, as it is the garbage, rather than the application, that ultimately maximizes advertising potential.

In light of the import of this topic, may I suggest that Wilders Security provide a subforum devoted to informing the end user of downloaded software, free or otherwise, that may include unwanted baggage, piggybacking software installations. In that regard, if I may be so bold as to suggest, one might include sections of "EULA," as well, that the end user ought to watch out for.

 

I totally agree. Most machines i see are infected with toolbars and scareware.
And the worst is that most AV won't detect them because the user, without knowing, agreed to install.

Just take a look at this thread:
http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=18938

Just a part of it:

Poster
"I was wondering if Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is able to detect and remove Opencandy (www.opencandy.com). I find this kind of adware extremely annoying as it gets installed silently along with an increasing number of legitimate applications "

Answer from Bruce Harrison, Malwarebytes Vice President of Research:
"Get me a link to anything that installs this without a EULA and/or a checkbox , without those we cant target this ."


Edit: According to this, why all the fuss about new methods to hide malware? Why not just release a freeware application and add to the EULA a clause saying: "By installing this software you agree in give full remote control of your PC, and share all the information in your Hard Drive"?

 

Very nice there! Thanks!

I do hate that Ask.com seems to be dominating some freewares in the market...sometimes even you decline it you'll be surprised that it installs nonetheless. I use RevoUninstaller to remove it.

Have you guys encountered the AVG search toolbar and search engine? Damn I resorted to uninstalling FF just to get rid of it.

 

I thoroughly hate adware bundling, but for the record I have not encountered a bundle where there wasn't an option to read an EULA and Opt-Out. The occasions where I've wound up with unwanted toolbars and homepage/search engine changes were caused by not paying attention and clicking quickly through the installer. The reason adware can exist legally is because they do present an EULA and the option to Opt-Out. Adware companies rely on the laziness of users to unconsciously give consent.

I would be interested if you can link to a legitimate program installer that will install bundled software either without the option to Opt-Out or which ignores the user's choice to opt-out. We went round and round about this in the current Avast 7 thread about the bundling of Chrome and while some people claimed that Chrome installed without consent no one could replicate it and prove that they hadn't just spaced out.

 

Ask.com is just one example, albeit a common one. The Flash player comes with McAfee Security Scan Plus, opt out of course. As for apps bundled with Google's browser, how do you think they're getting those popularity numbers. They're counting all those unwanted installs as new users. The tactic works good on those "jump on the band wagon" users.

As for Ask.com and opting out, ever monitor those installs? With PDFXchange, Ask has its own installer, hidden inside the main installer of course. It tries to run before the actual PDF app installer does. I haven't compared the results between blocking it and opting out. Not really interested to know. The one good thing about bundled adware is that it usually has it's own installers, which can be individually blocked with a classic HIPS.

 

Ask.com toolbar, Bing toolbar, Google toolbar, Google Chrome, I know many people that have some combination of these and don't even know where they came from. It's just wrong. As mentioned, even worse when it is paid software like Nero and WinZip and so on.

 

..and Java!

 

Ethically wrong, yes. Unfortunately not legally wrong. I don't know what it would take to turn the tide against the assault on privacy and make these deceptive practices illegal.

 

It won't happen. Laws are purchased commodities, as is mass access to the people. They have the money and we're left to our own devices.