101–110 of 395 posts
This is the #1 reason Windows is no longer on my kid's computers; it's too easy to install crap-ware no matter what security package you use.
Recently I visited my dad and his laptop was just full of crapware. I noticed the only thing he uses is the web browser, maybe editing the occasional word doc. So I just wiped the machine, put on ElementaryOS and hopefully there will be less problems. Haven't heard any complaints so far.
I really wonder why people prefer some other websites to download the product instead of its own website. When you type "ccleaner", "kmplayer" etc on google, the first one is always the product website. The second and third ones are the websites distributing product with adware/spywares.
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> I feel your pain. Whenever family ask me to look at their computer I spent an hour deleting spyware and such. The worst bit is they do have antivirus and Windows defender, but they do nothing to stop it :/ Once I installed Linux for my folks, all these problems magically disappeared.
I can't find my InDesign icon... where have you put it?
If you type terms like 'firefox' into google search much of the time the top result (which is actually an ad) takes you to a site offering a version of firefox bundled with toolbars and god knows what other malware. The story is similar for other popular windows downloads. I've even seen these ads crop up for things like Chrome in the past.
For example, here is a search I did just now for the term 'download firefox'. The top result is an ad leading to malware: http://i.imgur.com/Ote9c2k.png
Imagine having to explain to an inexperienced computer user how find to firefox or other common software, without clicking on any of these landmines google carefully disguises right at the top of the results.
I've been bringing this up on HN for a while now and nothing has changed. Many of the sites are the same as they were a year ago. Google does manual review of adwords sites. The domains of these sites have been the same for at least a year. Google knows exactly what is going on, making them just as bad as donwload.com in my view.
Google search ads are probably one of the biggest vectors for malware these days, along side the kinds of big download button ads you see on software sites (many of which are also google ads).
Previously:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7335401
And this is why Apple created Gatekeeper and made the Mac OS X App Store so ridiculously onerous for developers[1]. The software world is, for all intents and purposes, a thin sheen of gold flecks and diamonds atop a veritable cesspool of shit. You can just imagine the conversation at 1 Infinite Loop: Marketer: The Panic guys are considering pulling out of the App Store. Maybe we should reconsider our App Store strat…
What does download.com have to do with this? Anyone in their right mind will figure out that it's terrible. I don't think the App Store really competes with download.com. It competes with independent websites that use PayPal downloads and license keys. Download.com, macUpdate, softpedia, download.cnet.com, and the like don't give anyone an excuse to lock down their platform this tight. The cure is worse than the dise…
*edit: Wish it were a surprise.
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> and that it's our own fault Whose fault exactly is it? Has anybody in HN worked with a company which does this crapware bundling, let alone creating? Or does anybody know anyone who's "in the business"? Because I, quite honestly, can't understand how or why people would be doing this. Is it really that "Well, I know this shit is going to infect thousands of machines with software which nobody would like to have, bu…
> Has anybody in HN worked with a company which does this crapware bundling, let alone creating? If anyone here has worked for Adobe (Flash included crapware for a long time), Oracle (Java updates used to or still do include crapware), Google (browser toolbar was crapware), or Apple (Quicktime for Windows attempted to install iTunes and Safari), then yes.
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Yeah, I'll allow that one to be honest. Also, the Malicious Software Removal tool is probably a good thing too, as it's real and from Microsoft, and will definitely help some non-technical users.
Although a better way to deal with this perhaps is for the "Your download is complete, thanks etc" page you see after clicking download to include recommendations from MS with their seal of approval. I would consider that a welcome gesture from MS, bundle-ware not so much.
If you had it at the end you'll get very low participation rates. If you're installing DirectX it's because you are trying to play a game, so an additional screen to the effect of 'would you like to play your game now or in 5 minutes' will result in everyone picking the 'play game now' option and nothing being installed.
Sites like download.com are fraud sites, which install programs that are essentially viruses. I'm surprised Google doesn't crack down more heavily on them the way it does on warez sites.
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> and that it's our own fault Whose fault exactly is it? Has anybody in HN worked with a company which does this crapware bundling, let alone creating? Or does anybody know anyone who's "in the business"? Because I, quite honestly, can't understand how or why people would be doing this. Is it really that "Well, I know this shit is going to infect thousands of machines with software which nobody would like to have, bu…
Pretty much, yes - if there's a buck to be made and the law isn't being broken (in a way that will be meaningfully prosecuted), someone will do it. To answer your first question, someone from HN should surely about this given: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20130115/y-combinator-is-fu... Extensive commentary at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5059806
