Signed up just to add another comment - Avast installed with no opt-out option here as well.
I was extra careful, when going through the installer, as I already knew the installer offered the installation of third party software.
Nothing in the first screen, nothing in the more screen. Nothing.
I'm not saying this is out of any malicious action - but you've obviously got something buggy in your installer which actions the install in some situations without offering a opt in/out option.
Changing the default to no would be the simplest approach to fixing this, if you're wanting to prevent accidental installations as much as you say you are - then this should be the obvious fix, even if it's just until you have the new installer out.
Actions, not words are what's important. For the time being I will be unable to suggest the installation of your software, because I fear I'd just be adding work for myself, guiding people to uninstall applications they never wanted in the first place.
Avast/Piriform supposedly fixed the installer... or not.
They've had a periodic lag/latency issue over the years (used to be a Google bundle-ware issue) where the offer is not shown when it was supposed to be. It's the default ticked box for Avast that causes it to install.
They would probably do better to not offer anything at all during installation due to prior and on-going unwanted bundle-ware, and instead use the pop-up notification offers CCleaner Free has had for awhile now to advertise Avast Free Antivirus, and if:
1. The user clicks upon it then open a webpage where the download is available.
2. The user has to actually download it like all other software on the web - manually themselves because they want it.
3. Finally the user would run the installer themselves in their Downloads folder.
Three point install authentication, well sorta. In that scenario unwanted installs would no longer be an issue.
To put the nail in the coffin, along with piriform's silence on this matter - Avast has been collecting browser history, selling it on. Avast can now be considered malware, and this situation has changed to a more disturbing case of piriform silently installing malware on users computers.
Owned by the same company or not, this is disgusting.
I will never suggest the use of piriform's software again - good riddance.
Please be assured that CCleaner does not collect browsing data. CCleaner only wipes browsing data held in databases and other files.
Whether you’re using a free or paid version of CCleaner, it is necessary for some other data, such as the operating system of your device and the language you’re using, to be collected. This data allows us to maintain CCleaner and make sure that it works well. We’re transparent about the data we collect and what it’s used for. More information is available in our Data Factsheet: https://www.ccleaner.com/about/data-factsheet and the CCleaner privacy policy: https://www.ccleaner.com/about/privacy-policy
We are also working on improving the installer flow and this should be available soon, with clear yes/no install option for our Avast offering.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
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Hi <a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/profile/86352-surpriseantivirus/?do=hovercard" data-mentionid="86352" href="<___base_url___>/profile/86352-surpriseantivirus/" rel="">@surpriseantivirus</a>,
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Please be assured that CCleaner does not collect browsing data. CCleaner only wipes browsing data held in databases and other files.
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Whether you’re using a free or paid version of CCleaner, it is necessary for some other data, such as the operating system of your device and the language you’re using, to be collected. This data allows us to maintain CCleaner and make sure that it works well. We’re transparent about the data we collect and what it’s used for. More information is available in our Data Factsheet: <a href="https://www.ccleaner.com/about/data-factsheet" rel="external">https://www.ccleaner.com/about/data-factsheet</a> and the CCleaner privacy policy: <a href="https://www.ccleaner.com/about/privacy-policy" rel="external">https://www.ccleaner.com/about/privacy-policy</a>
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We are also working on improving the installer flow and this should be available soon, with clear yes/no install option for our Avast offering.
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Please let me know if you have any further questions.
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Thanks,
Sandra
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@Sandra CCleaner You're probably correct that CCleaner does not collect browsing data - I'm talking about avast here. I'm not going to link to third party websites, but avast most certainly does collect browser web history. Plenty of reports for people to read through. Seems to involve a subsidy called Jumpshot.
If only your response to this silent installation issue you've had for at least the past TWO YEARS was as prompt as your response to my claims about avast being malware lol.
Hopefully this news about avast will cause more people to complain, and cause this to become a PR issue. Seems that might be the only thing that'll get you to fix this damn installer.
A few small excerpts from articles
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The software (Avast) appears to track users clicks and movements across the web, and collects data on things like searches on Google and Google Maps, as well as visits to specific LinkedIn pages, YouTube vids and p**n websites
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The collected data is then reportedly repackaged and sold by Jumpshot, which says on its website that it's able to deliver data on users actions behind "the Internet's most valuable walled gardens." Some past and present Jumpshot customers, as well as potential clients, include Google, Yelp, Microsoft, Pepsi, Home Depot, Intuit and others, according to the report, which cites "leaked user data, contracts and other company documents."
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Maybe the Avast issue is better to address/complain about on the Avast forum?
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As for the CCleaner installer issue I agree, and have made my thoughts about it clear in the past.
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We are told there are changes to the installer coming.
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Sorry, I know it's slightly off topic - but to be fair this does involve Ccleaner since their current installer installs avast. This data collection issue avast has therefore directly impacts CCleaners users - since not all are given the choice of whether they want avast or not.
Essentially the Ccleaner installer has an x% chance of silently installing an application that can honestly be considered spyware, without the users consent. There is no angle that this can be looked at for it to be considered acceptable.
With piriform being owned by avast, I doubt there's any chance of getting it removed from the installer - therefore the only way to fix this issue for Ccleaner users is to fix the installer, and make the choice 100% up to the user. A default option change to a no would solve this, but since that hasn't been done I'd imagine there's pressure from avast involved.
48 minutes ago, nukecad said:
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We are told there are changes to the installer coming.
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This, I'll believe when I see it. "changes are coming" loses meaning when it's repeated over a period of 2 years with no fixes. Lets be honest - this is clearly a very low priority issue for piriform - and benefits avast, their owner. This looks shady no matter how you look at it, and it's getting hard to believe they want to fix it at this point.
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Essentially the Ccleaner installer has an x% chance of silently installing an application that can honestly be considered spyware, without the users consent. There is no angle that this can be looked at for it to be considered acceptable.
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I actually agree with this point. If this were any other software we would be kicking off about it installing spyware without user permission. That the software in question is (formerly) reputable should make no difference.
Also it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe the "fix coming soon" that has been promised for a <em>ridiculous</em> time now is anything other than deliberate delaying to keep up Avast installs. It's such a simple fix that it is inconceivable to believe that a billion dollar company couldn't have fixed it straight away, let alone a year or two down the line!
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this does involve Ccleaner since their current installer installs avast
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Actually it doesn't, the Avast offer has been turned off for a couple of versions now, pending the new installer design.
I can't say if that is the case if you try and use an old, not current, installer. (Maybe by following a link from a third party site that hasn't been updated?)
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it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe the "fix coming soon"
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Actually, the "fix" was back in October of last year (and mentioned in the release notes at the time). The structure of installer offer was overhauled and it worked a treat - we saw a huge reduction in the accidental installs that were no good for anyone. After piloting it for a couple of weeks we took it down pending some back end tweaks, but rather than revert to the old model we stopped the offers entirely in the interim. No-one would have seen one for the past 3½ months unless, as Andavari mentioned, you dig up an old installer - in which case, naturally, you would still be seeing an old experience.
This is Horrible, I'm on my third hour now trying to uninstall AVASt!!> It has slowed my machine down to a crawl! It does not play well with other anti virus such as CA or McaFee. Beware!!!!!! Read carefully wile install CC Cleaner. At least it let me uninstall it right away once I notice it installed Avast. Just having the damest time uninstall Avast. This installation took two hours to complted before I could even begin the process to uninstall it. I say Again. Beware!!! Then The avast uninstaller Takes about an hour to download. OMG this thing is horrible!!
I sympathise, unwanted installs can be a PITA to remove again. I got caught once myself with an unwanted Google Chrome.
However the CCleaner installer offers for optional Piriform/Avast software are far from 'hidden' these days, - it's now a full page in the CCleaner installer with very clear 'Accept' and 'Decline' buttons.
If/when you get an offer during a CCleaner install then you have to click one of those large buttons to continue.
To get Avast AV from the CCleaner installer you would have had to click on the 'Accept' button.
(Note that that does not include any Google Chrome offer, or any other of the Piriform software installers (Defraggler, Speccy, Recuva). Those still have the 'old style' offers so you have to be more careful).
Any AV is deliberately difficult to uninstall, any decent AV will have self-protection to prevent malware from uninstalling or disabling them.
Most AV's require a manufacturers uninstall tool/utility to remove them completely, usually this must be run in Windows Safe Mode.
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I sympathise, unwanted installs can be a PITA to remove again. I got caught once myself with an unwanted Google Chrome.
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However the CCleaner installer offers for optional Piriform/Avast software are far from 'hidden' these days, - it's now a full page in the CCleaner installer with very clear 'Accept' and 'Decline' buttons.
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Not true.
I have been using cccleaner for years (15+), am an experienced computer user, watch very, very closely for unwanted tick boxes. am aware that cccleaner has grown a reputation for installing bloatware. Yet, despite watching very closely indeed, just now the latest version of cccleaner from your website installed avast without one single option to not install it. Not once did that option to install or not appear, and I checked (as I always do) the advanced options also. Really shocked that cccleaner is still doing this.
2017 laptop crawled with avast on it so it got uninstalled back when id purposefully installed it. Found malwarebytes actually did what it was supposed to unlike avast, ie not ignoring malware running while freaking out over every zip and exe. Honestly running adblockers is more reliable than avast, and windows defender is leaps and bounds beyond yalls boomerbait.
Figured id run crapcleaner, remembered chrome in the installer so went thru making sure nothing extra, avast wasnt even mentioned. Considering yalls lumbering ui, maybe it was what i assumed was TOS, where the middle was an artifact copy of the desktop and accept and decline buttons on either side. Aka boomerbait, "i hafta accept everything when installing" bs. If your product is good wont hafta bundle it, much less make an opt out vs opt in (either is still a slap in the face for those of us on metered conx)
Running cc when avast icon pops up, have to wait half an hour of uncancellable install still goin, then uninstall it, and the worthless junk installer it uses never frees windows so had to restart just to uninstall cc too.
Seriously. Eat me w the "oh it says it right thar" bs. Just downloaded it off your site minutes before. Shouldnt need to load a site in the installer to know what im accepting, esp since it looks like everyone elses crappy TOS section. Thanks for making me have to go wipe yalls feces out the registry.
Heck speccy still never figured out amd cpu temps, go figure
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the middle was an artifact copy of the desktop and accept and decline buttons on either side
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There is a <u>very infrequent</u> issue where the offer image does not load and only the 'Decline' and 'Accept' buttons are showing.
It is being worked on to try and find what may be causing it.
There may or may not also be a circle of dots and some grey text showing.
It happens so infrequently that it has been difficult to even capture a screenshot of it happening, but that has now been managed -
If this should happen to you then simply click on the 'Decline' button and nothing other than CCleaner itself will be installed.
The developers are looking into what may be causing it, but as it happens very infrequently it's proving hard to pin down any cause.
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It happens so infrequently that it has been difficult to even capture a screenshot of it happening
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Indeed, out of over 80M successful installations with the improved offer layout since March @nukecad seems to be the only person to have actually captured this in the wild - and we've been unable to replicate it. So if anyone else get a screen that looks like the one that he posted above - we'd love to hear from you.
For everyone else, if you get an AV offer in the installer (not the "if" - offers are not always made at all) it should be rather hard to miss:
This is why Windows Defender has blocked CCleaner as PUA... maybe developers will smarten up and remove silent installs of other apps or the same thing might happen
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This is why Windows Defender has blocked CCleaner as PUA
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The free installs of CCleaner, Recuva, Speccy and Defraggler were flagged as containing PUA (not being PUA) for the presence of the Chrome offer ... which has been in there since 2010 ...
Again, none of the offers are silent installs. And the risk of the AV offers slipping through unnoticed due to client connection failures was eliminated in October of last year. Since then only @nukecad seems to have found a way to break it - and even he hasn't been able to replicate how he did it.
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Since then only <a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/profile/73689-nukecad/?do=hovercard" data-mentionid="73689" href="<___base_url___>/profile/73689-nukecad/" rel="">@nukecad</a> seems to have found a way to break it - and even he hasn't been able to replicate how he did it.
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I resent that somewhat.
I didn't 'find a way to break it' - it was broken at the server end.
I can't replicate it because I haven't tried to, - no point trying because it was broken at the server end.