[Guide] Avoiding Adware in Installers


Recommended Posts

Avoiding Adware in Installers

About This Guide

This guide provides several real examples of installers which contain adware. The intent is to show you the tricks that they use to attempt to trick you into installing the adware in hopes that you can learn to avoid it.

Before you brush off this guide as common sense, it may be worth a look. The adware developers are getting very sneaky and I've almost been caught a few times myself. Recently, Foxit Reader modified their installer so that the adware was no longer optional but mandatory. This is a continuing trend and adware is only going to get worse, so it's important to learn how to avoid installing it... unless you like toolbars which track your browsing history.

Note: All of the installers have [#] in their titlebar because they were running in Sandboxie.

Accept or Decline? Agree or Disagree?

This is a common trick that they'll use. To avoid installing the adware, you must click Decline / Disagree rather than Accept / Agree.

post-57213-0-97313500-1307244464.png

This may catch some users because the text looks like the license agreement.

post-57213-0-75118600-1307244483.png


I agree to...

In these examples, you must uncheck the checkbox in order to avoid installing the adware.

I agree to the agreement :huh:

post-57213-0-54889700-1307244460.png

post-57213-0-30507300-1307244543.png


Custom Installation

For some installers, you must choose Custom installation if you want to opt out of the adware.

post-57213-0-01617000-1310709539.png


Post-Installation

This installer attempts to catch you after you've installed the program.

post-57213-0-76124000-1307244486.png


Distraction

Some installers may catch you by tricking you into clicking the wrong option. I'm not sure if these were designed to deceive, but I nearly clicked the wrong options for both installers, so I added them to the guide.

Here, my first reaction was to click Custom installation and uncheck the boxes below it.

It seems obvious, but the Custom installation is the first thing to grab your attention.

post-57213-0-63316500-1307244452.png

Once again, the Custom installation was the first thing to grab my attention.

post-57213-0-44441900-1310709537.png


Mandatory Installation

Recently, Foxit Reader didn't give you an option; You we're forced to install the adware if you wanted to install Foxit Reader. You may think that unchecking the two boxes was enough, but you have to read to understand there's no opting out.

Foxit Reader later updated their installer following several complaints, but this still stands as a solid example.

post-57213-0-38803100-1307244490.png


Websites Packaging Adware in Downloads

This is a new and worrying trend. Many websites, including the popular CNET, have started packaging several downloads in a custom web installer which includes adware, often without the permission of the original developers. The examples below are pretty obvious and easy to avoid, but it's a trend you should be aware of none the less.

CNET's download.com

post-57213-0-93104600-1323809688.png

Softonic.com

post-57213-0-45170600-1323809690.png

Tucows

post-57213-0-86509500-1328579848.png


Installers with Spyware

It was recently reported that DAEMON Tools, a popular CD-image mounting software, installed a spyware feature called MountSpace which reported every image you mounted to an online server. Even if you declined the feature, it was still active without your permission.

http://www.neowin.ne...ted-last-summer

Edited by Xinok
Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1002608-guide-avoiding-adware-in-installers/
Share on other sites

Nice work Xinok, i recently installed Foxit 5 and like you mentioned unchecked the Ask toolbar boxes (as was the case in previous versions) then during install i was alerted to the AskToolbar checker making an outgoing connection. I knew something wasn`t right but carried on, i was like proper :angry: when the toolbar showed up in the browser.

Wasn`t a problem as i just re-imaged from a recent back up, but boy have i lost faith in Foxit. This is not something you should do to potential customers, fair enough if the option to not install is there (these companies pay big money to be included in installers, thus help with development hopefully!) but to downright trick people is out of order.

Needless to say i`m am trying out other pdf options...

Thanks for this. I script a lot of my installers in my custom XP source and one test run wound up with "Dealio Toolbar" installed. I was seeing red, half at myself for not having caught it and half for the marketroid bottom-feeders who buried that installer in there to begin with. I think it installed alongside a disc-burning tool but I'm not sure yet.

What ****es me off is that unattended installs offer no way that I know of to cut the worthlessware (hear me advertisers? You and everything you do are all worthless. Yes, you. And yes, everything, really. Go die.) out and just leave the core program itself. Makes it a lot harder to do up some effortless automated installs.

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

So I recently came across an installer that was so bad, I felt the need to post it. I was looking for a desktop application for Facebook chat, so I wouldn't have to keep my web browser open. What resulted is the horror you see below.

Immediately after launching the installer, I'm greeted with the first box I must uncheck. Not only that, but if you read the text, it installs a mandatory background process which calls home.

post-57213-0-66413000-1321136836.png

Next, I had to choose custom installation and uncheck three boxes.

post-57213-0-35765700-1321136839.png

That isn't all! Next, I'm presented with this screen in which you must check Decline, not accept.

post-57213-0-67158200-1321136843.png

Now that I've avoided all that, I continue to install and launch the program. As if all the crap in the installer wasn't enough, they also implement an ad into the interface.

post-57213-0-01380200-1321136838.png

Okay... so I'll just login and see if this program was worth the trouble...

post-57213-0-17528800-1321136835.png

At this point, I stop, clear the sandbox, and check Facebook to make sure it hadn't made any changes to my account.

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Also avoid downloading anything from cnet :p

Lately, yes I'd have to agree, I hate that installer thing you need to have just to download something.

I always choose advanced when installing, to see what I have control over (in case of something I don't want installed) but even then, like OP pointed out you don't have a choice with some software

(usually I'll go find a rival product)

  • 10 months later...
  • 2 years later...

What I cannot understand is why some software developer has never created an app to circumvent these dirtbags. How difficult could it be to create something that would download from CNET into a safe containment (Virtualbox? Sandboxie?), allow one to open the archive, save the target file, and delete the malware? They can create Fraudfox to help juvies steal your credit card info, but not this!

16 minutes ago, Formido said:

What I cannot understand is why some software developer has never created an app to circumvent these dirtbags. How difficult could it be to create something that would download from CNET into a safe containment (Virtualbox? Sandboxie?), allow one to open the archive, save the target file, and delete the malware? They can create Fraudfox to help juvies steal your credit card info, but not this!

Dude this thread is so old, it is moldy. 

 

https://unchecky.com/

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms looming price hikes due to memory shortages by Hamid Ganji Image via Apple Memory and chip shortages have led to significant price increases for electronics over the past year, and it seems that more hikes are on the way for upcoming smartphones and computers. Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the company is planning to increase the prices of some of its products due to the ongoing memory and storage shortages. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook confirmed the looming price hikes for Apple’s future products, adding that “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable.” He also said the company is doing its best to “mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.” The Apple CEO also noted that the allocation of a large portion of memory chips to AI companies has contributed to shortages in the market, resulting in lower supply at a time when demand for devices remains high. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line,” Cook said. Cook also added that Apple is ready to use its vast cash reserves to help boost supply in the market because additional production capacity is needed. While he declined to specify how Apple plans to do that, he said the company will not build its own memory and storage factories despite its financial resources and silicon expertise. Cook did not provide further details on the scale of the price increases or which Apple products would be affected, though iPads and Macs could see higher prices sooner than other products. Apple’s next product launch event is scheduled for September, when the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable iPhone. It remains unclear whether the upcoming iPhones will be affected by the price increases, but given the current memory shortage, higher prices seem increasingly likely. There is currently no clear timeline for the end of the memory shortage. Samsung, one of the world’s three largest memory chip manufacturers, recently said the shortage could persist for several more years.
    • Downloads does not equal actual usage, even less when the app is pre-installed in some Galaxy phones.
    • +1000 to this, don't understand why they added that margin around the top bar, even the close button is a PITA to click without aiming. Ofc, this is just preview and hopefully they will revert such odd UX decision before hitting final version.
    • so the people who bought this will get a refund?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      eurospharma62 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      With What earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Harris Gilbert earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Vincian earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • First Post
      Jocimo earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      542
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      167
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      86
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      64
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      64
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!