John Griswald
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Posts posted by John Griswald
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Update: I have just gone through my registry more carefully and found an entry I didn't spot the other day:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Google\No Chrome Offer Until\Piriform Ltd
Value: 2017-08-28 (precisely 6 months after the installation date)
Removing this made the Chrome offer appear for the first time - it's a huge offer which no one could fail to miss.I'm pretty sure I know what has happened now. At some point in the past (probably within the last 6 months) I must have updated CCleaner, and it offered me Chrome and I declined - this added a "No Chrome Offer" to my registry, which prevented the Chrome offer from being shown. However, Chrome was installed anyway due to some kind of "bug", either accidental or deliberate.
if using v3.14 works for you and gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling, of course by all means use it.
just be aware it is now over 5 years old and methods in how it cleans and the way info is stored has moved on.
the way some browsers and sqlite databases are cleaned has changed.
the included winapp.ini rules have additions and corrections.
additional browsers are supported, even your Firefox was only at version 16 or so back in the v3.14 days.
there are additional features; like monitoring and duplicate file finder.
and the list goes on....
hopefully you are on Win7 still, because v3.14 was before Win8. 8.1 and 10 so who knows how it handles, say, registry cleaning, Office 365, MS Store apps etc.
full version history can be found here; https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/version-history
Thanks for the info, I will bear that in mind. And yes I am definitely still on Win7
It explains why your screenshots do not show the optional download screen.You still had/have some Chrome related entries in your registry (or elsewhere) and so the downloader assumed you already had it and did not offer it to you again.
To insist that I failed to see the huge Chrome offer really is an insult to my intelligence. The offer is HUGE. No one could possibly miss it!
What people are saying about Chrome being difficult to completely remove, that is part of why I am so angry about it being installed without my permission. -
You have still not explained just why you were taking screenshots of every stage of the process BEFORE you got the alleged unwanted 'silent' Chrome download.
Sorry I thought it was obvious: I didn't take the screens on the original installation. After installation had finished, I immediately uninstalled everything completely and re-ran the installer in order to take the screenshots.
The wizard was identical the second time, if anything had changed I would have noticed, even if it had been really subtle. But now that I have seen what the Chrome warning actually looks like, there is no way I could have missed that, it's huge and is there in plain site.
None of the exes mentioned in this topic would have installed anything extra without a warning (offer to decline).
I ask you, which possibility is more likely:
1. Having slowly and carefully scrutinized every tiny detail of the installation wizard, and reading everything meticulously, including the terms and conditions - I somehow failed to see a huge, clear warning about Chrome!
2. The Chrome warning - which we know sometimes hides itself - can occasionally screw up and hide when it's not supposed to.
3. FileHippo occasionally delivers software to people's computer without a warning, knowing that there's no way to prove what an online installer delivers since there is no installer file to examine.
Piriform is able to provide a free version, by bundling embedded software.
I don't like bundling, but I am not here to complain about that, I'm specifically complaining about the lack of warning. If there had been some warning, I could simply have opted out, or not installed it. I am aware Piriform has bundled in the past and that's something I can live with if there is an opt-out.
After this incident, I will be wary about using CCleaner again. If I want to use it I will cautiously run my previous installer (v3.14) which caused me no problems.
I think the cold hard fact is either yourself, or another user of the PC, simply missed the opt-out chance.another possibility is it wasn't Piriform at all, but another recent 'free' program that was installed on the PC from your account or any other user profile.
so a bigger question may be, if CC truly offered no chance to exclude Chrome, it was because Chrome was already installed OR detected in the Registry.
No one else uses my PC, and I did not miss the opt-out chance. There was none! Chrome has never been installed on my computer before, nor has Opera. I only use Firefox.
It wasn't some other program which installed Chrome. The CCleaner installer told me it was installing Chrome during installation, then after installation Chrome immediately loaded with "welcome to Chrome" etc.
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Assuming everything said here is true, see post #19, the part about earlier installations.
I appreciate you investigating this. I don't quite understand your explanation about there being keys left in the registry saying not to install Chrome. If such a key had been there, then how could Chrome have been installed?
Also, it is easy to uninstall chrome or the google toolbar.
Perhaps, but it's the principle:
- No one wants stuff installed on their computer without permission.
- If one program was installed without warning, what's to say other programs weren't also covertly installed? How could I be completely sure? It's all just really creepy.
- Chrome may be harmless enough, but it could just as easily have been something more spammy like GeekBuddy.
- It's not always easy to completely remove certain programs, even some big-name apps can behave almost like viruses. (For example, I once tried removing iTunes from a machine and found it almost impossible.)
- Some people are very wary of big, pervasive, data-collecting companies like Google. We all use their websites, but not everyone necessarily wants to give them free access to their computer. The companies we allow to install things on our computer must be a personal choice.
- I was particularly offended by the fact that Chrome made itself my default browser! I've installed a lot of browsers in my time but never has a browser done this without even asking! That really made me angry. I am still angry about this. It is totally wrong for an installer to do this.
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As for a there being a "delay" in the offer appearing… I don't think there was. I happen to be a very slow reader and I read everything carefully, so if anything appeared after a delay, it would have to be a delay of at least 20 seconds.
In any case, putting a delay on a warning is just as despicable as not having any warning. It's downright wrong and companies shouldn't be allowed to do it.
To clarify, I did include the whole dialog in all my screenshot. I didn't cut anything off.I notice in the OP's screenshot of the install page, the bit at the bottom where you untick the toolbar option (as shown in login123's screenshot) is cut off.
The screenshot login123 posted bears no resemblance at all to what appeared on my computer. There's no way on earth anyone could fail to see all that! I've seen PUP offers that are WAY more subtle and sneaky than that, and I've trained myself to spot them.
The fact is, the warning simply never appeared on my computer.
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Chrome was absolutely not mentioned during installation!
In recent years I have become extremely careful when installing any software, ever from companies I trust (Adobe have now started bundling crapware, and if they can do it anyone can!).
I carefully read the T&Cs, I clicked on "Customize" and then "More". I went back and forth a few times looking at every part of the installation wizard to make sure there was nothing I'd missed. I read each of the checkboxes carefully and made my selection. There was no mention of Chrome whatsoever.
I have no reason to lie about this. I have happily used CCleaner for years and I thought it was excellent software until now. If anyone thinks I have to be mistaken because Piriform/Filehippo are beyond selling out, you are being naive. Almost everyone is selling out these days.
I invite people to check it out for themselves. This is the installer file which I have uploaded: http://wikisend.com/download/480886/ccsetup527.exe My system is Win 7 x64 and Chrome had never been installed before.
Bear in mind that even if there is a Chrome warning in the code, we know it will sometimes "hide" the warning (as my screenshots show). It's very easy to imagine them creating a bug to make it "accidentally" hide sometimes - for example, it might hide the warning if ANY Google product is already installed. (I use Google Earth.) -
I am absolutely disgusted!
I have just installed CCleaner and it also installed Google Chrome and made it my default browser!
According to other threads*, it's easy to unselect Google Chrome during the installation. No, there was no mention at all of Chrome, as I show in the following screenshots I took during installation:
This is disgraceful. I used to think programs like CCleaner were helping to protect my computer from PUPs and crapware, but now I can see that Piriform are part of the problem and I for one will never trust them again.
* Related threads:
https://forum.piriform.com/?showtopic=46661
CCleaner installs Google Chrome with NO warning! I'm furious!
in CCleaner
Posted
Once again let me state the facts:
1. I am extremely careful about what I install and took great care to scrutinize every part of the installer, including the terms & conditions. There was no Chrome warning, and there is absolutely no way I could have missed that huge warning!
2. Chrome was installed anyway.
It is unreasonable to say I am lying about this. I am not the only one who had this problem (see the other thread). Clearly, Chrome was somehow installed without warning, either due to a bug, or deliberately.
Checking the installer file won't necessarily reveal the bug because it's an online installer. They could install anything they like and no one could prove it came from them.