Intrusive CCleaner pop-up.

[crizal]

1 hour ago, nukecad said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		I had already clocked that you could stop it by using your firewall to prevent CCleaner sending anything outgoing.
	</p>

	<p>
		Temporarily disconnecting from the internet, eg. 'Flight mode / Airplane mode' will also do the trick.
	</p>

	<p>
		But why should we have to?
	</p>
</div>

nukecad -- well said. Consider this -- yes firewall blocking will work. Then, when this popup goes away, there will be another and another and another. Firewall blocking every time there's an advertisement is not a solution. There are only three possible solutions -- CCleaner (Avast) changes policy, you accept this and live with it, or, move on to another product. For me, it may very soon come down to that last option.

[nukecad]

2 hours ago, crizal said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		 There are only three possible solutions -- CCleaner (Avast) changes policy, you accept this and live with it, or, move on to another product.
	</p>
</div>

That's it in a nutshell.

For the moment I'll stay with it and try to help influence a policy change.

I'm not sure whether this will have any success but feel that it has to be worth a try.

I don't like conspiracy theories but I'm just going to put a 'consider this' hat on here for a moment:

• August 2016- Avast releases it's own stand-alone PC cleaning utility. (They had a built in one before).
• Unknown - Avast decides to acquire Piriform, and hence CCleaner the market leader in cleaners.
• July 2017- Avast acquires Piriform.
• August 2017- The CCleaner installer (v5.33) was hacked.

  	(The hackers had been inside Piriform since March 2017 - Just when did Avast decide to acquire Piriform?).
  </li>
  <li>
  	September 2017- Issues started with the Avast offer installing itself without showing the offer (v5.35).
  </li>
  <li>
  	October 2017- An 'emergency updater' was bundled in the CCleaner installer (v5.36).
  
  
  	(This has no easy option to disable it and could allow Avast/Piriform to install literally anything).
  </li>
  <li>
  	March 2018- The CCleaner installer size took a 36% increase from 11KB to 15KB (v5.41).
  
  
  	(v5.41 was when the new summary screen appeared, and was immediately critisized/despised by many).
  </li>
  <li>
  	May 2018- Enter the confusing/misleading new privacy statement/menu (v5.43).
  
  
  	(Required by GDPR, but introduced very ineptly, didn't even comply with GDPR and needed a 'hotfix', the programme still doesn't comply fully with GDPR although the privacy statement does).
  </li>
  <li>
  	June 2018- Now we get this intrusive advertising via a pop-up notification.
  </li>
  

It's almost as if someone is deliberately trying to drive users away from CCleaner?

TBH I've seen similar to this before, where I worked.

We acquired "Approved Contractor" status as a design house for Sellafield nuclear site, because we did things right. This status meant that we were first choice for a lot of work.


One of the losers, a much bigger international company, bought us out to acquire the approved status, and immediately insisted that we did things their way. (The way that meant they had not been chosen).


10 years later they still do design work for the site, but are no longer approved contractors.


The original company where I worked no longer exists.

[crizal]

58 minutes ago, nukecad said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		It's almost as if someone is deliberately trying to drive users away from CCleaner?
	</p>
</div>

nukecad: Not only CCleaner, but Avast as well. There's another forum around that deals with Windows 10 (not a Microsoft forum) and spread throughout the various boards, there are growing complaints about Avast's policies affecting CCleaner, as well as increasing ads on Avast's free version. A lot of people are dropping both products and going elsewhere. Old saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I'm really steamed about this. On one hand, I want to drop CCleaner and move on. On the other hand, I've always liked the program and I'm hoping they can do something to salvage what's left of my opinion. Buy the paid version? -- with this going on, no way, not ever.

As for conspiracy theories, think outside the box and just speculate. Perhaps Avast simply wants to drive us over to their own cleaning utility?????

[mta]

6 hours ago, Andavari said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		With all the complaints about the recent versions I will stay with v5.40 as a "last good version".
	</p>
</div>

+1 but then I've been a promoter of v5.40 since v5.41 came out. (even though I was told by an official that it "as known faults" but hey!, they all do now!)

@nukecad, with your list, what I find even more alarming is if you constructed a "For" list to go with your "Against" one, how would that balance out I think???

I suspect a lot heavier on the For-side rather than the Against-side.

[JSmith117]

This is exactly why I stopped upgrading CCleaner as soon as Avast bought them and will be removing it from all the PCs I manage. I used to use Avast's Antivirus and the popups were terrible. Not just the "Great Offers" but the news stories and everything else. It's annoying even when you're not playing a game.

There's plenty of other free antivirus and cleaner programs out there that don't do this crap.

[Andavari]

12 minutes ago, JSmith117 said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		Not just the "Great Offers" but the <strong>news stories</strong> and everything else.
	</p>
</div>

Panda Free Antivirus (now called "Panda Dome") also has "news" in the GUI however it's only in the main GUI it doesn't pop-up and annoy. I find it pretty damned silly for an antivirus to have "news" built into it but at least it isn't ads.

[Andavari]

1 hour ago, mta said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		+1   but then I've been a promoter of v5.40 since v5.41 came out. <img alt=";)" data-emoticon="" height="20" src="<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/default_wink.png" srcset="<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/wink@2x.png 2x" title=";)" width="20">  <span style="font-size:12px;">(even though I was told by an official that it "as known faults" but hey!, they all do now!)</span>
	</p>
</div>

Every version has had bugs however in the most recent versions the bugs are too obvious so I'm staying with v5.40. and if I need it to clean other software I have installed I can make my own winapp2.ini entries for it. Since I'll stay with v5.40 I've deleted my bookmark to the download page, no need for it anymore.

I find it interesting going through my "Setups" folder and seeing how many programs I've tagged on the end with this text in it:

(Last Good Version)

[nukecad]

@mta, I'm not sure what you mean?

I wasn't making an 'against' list, I'm not against CCleaner at all. If I was I wouldn't be using it and wouldn't be here.

I'm just dismayed at the way things seem to be going with what is still the best cleaner programme for a Windows PC.

My list was just noting the timeline of a seemingly linked 'series of unfortunate events' that have gotten up peoples noses.

(That might make a good book or film name).

OK there have been a few cleaning issues, but mainly caused by Microsoft updates, or browser updates, or AV updates changing things, that's only to be expected.

The core programme is still excellent, it's the unwanted/unneeded/intrusive/advertising stuff that is annoying people.

More than one person who's computer I occasionally look after has asked me to remove it because of these changes.

PS. The pop-ups have stopped popping-up on my laptop.

Maybe they are on some kind of 'first-##hrs-only' timer, or maybe someone at the other end of the link ( ipm-provider.ff.avast.com ?) has disabled them?

[raiso]

The fall to hell of Ccleaner, one of the most useful applications of PC

https://www.adslzone.net/2018/06/28/caida-infiernos-ccleaner/

Many of us have historically recommended Ccleaner when they asked us about a tool to clean the PC. However, a series of catastrophes have ended in the fall to the underworld of one of the most useful PC applications. The last blow we have received with the last two updates that have turned Ccleaner into a complete adware full of advertising and advertisements.

Many point to July 19, 2017 as the date on which everything changed for Ccleaner coinciding with the purchase of Piriform by Avast. At that time, this application had 130 million users worldwide, being a reference when freeing space, accelerating applications by deleting the cache and unused content and a host of cleaning functions for the PC.

CCleaner changes owners: Avast buys Piriform


CCleaner changes owners: Avast buys Piriform

At that time, we had doubts about whether it was good or bad news and we gave ourselves more time to evaluate the situation. Now, almost a year later, a series of events show that that day began the fall to the hell of Ccleaner. This is the chronology of the facts:

The fall to the underworld of Ccleaner

In September of 2017 it was announced that Ccleaner was hacked during the month of August and compromised versions were uploaded to the Internet. Specifically, the versions CCleaner v5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud v1.07.3191 were both compromised and with enough affected users. On September 12, a free version of these problems was finally launched.

ccleaner

Later, in November 2017, we saw how the Avast antivirus was being installed at the same time as Ccleaner if we did not uncheck the box "Get Avast Free Antivirus now" that was activated compulsory during the installation process. This is something that did not like too much among the regulars of the application.

To top it off, about a month ago, Ccleaner included a data collection function to its own servers to share it with third parties. Again, it was a function that could be disabled, but this time only by users with the Pro version of payment. The users of the free version had to go through hoops.

And finally, with the new Ccleaner 5.44 mass advertising came to our computer. At the moment, the ads seek to buy the Pro version, but nothing prevents this annoying advertising is used in the future for other purposes by seeing the evolution of the application from the entry of Avast.

[crizal]

8 hours ago, nukecad said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		The pop-ups have stopped popping-up on my laptop.
	</p>
</div>

I should be so lucky. Still annoying the heck out of me on both of my machines.

[nikki605]

13 hours ago, Andavari said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		Every version has had bugs however in the most recent versions the bugs are too obvious so I'm staying with v5.40. and if I need it to clean other software I have installed I can make my own winapp2.ini entries for it. Since I'll stay with v5.40 I've deleted my bookmark to the download page, no need for it anymore.
	</p>

	<p>
		I find it interesting going through my "Setups" folder and seeing how many programs I've tagged on the end with this text in it:


		(Last Good Version)
	</p>
</div>

Like you, I'm staying with v5.40. I don't see Piriform changing now that they are owned by Avast. They are just going to ignore our complaints and wait for the uproar to die down.

[hazelnut]

On 5.40 here too.

[nukecad]

Still no pop-up(s) today.

It isn't anything that I have done, so it must be something built in?

I might have a trawl through the registry later to see if I can spot anything.

Of course if someone from piriform would care to make a statement?

I think that's probably the most annoying part, these 'features' are being introduced without any kind of statement or explanation.

Well maybe this pop-up was mentioned, in a very round about way?

From the release notes (TBH I'm pretty sure this was not there yesterday - see below).

Quote

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		Added helpful reminders for expired CCleaner Professional subscriptions
	</p>
</div>

PS. There is also something very weird going on with that announcement thread, I reported this to admin yesterday.

When I visit it then as long as I am on the page it keeps reposting the announcement by MrG. I can currently see 4 of the same post and it's adding more.


(eg. Leave the page open in a tab, change tabs, go back, and a 'new post made' announcement comes up. But not every time.  - Close and reopen the tab and it's back to only the oneMrG  post showing).


The duplicate posts are made still with the "Posted Tuesday at 18:51" timestamp.


Is this some way of being able to change the announcement without showing that it has been edited?

[nukecad]

Sorry this is a bit small because I had to zoom out to show the multiple posts being made:

[hazelnut]

nukecad you will be glad to know I can see it too if I follow the steps you did

First I get a little notification popup saying MrG has replied ''show reply''

I click it and another MG post (the same one ) is there

Do you have a post by Stephen Piriform at the top of the thread with the hashes?

(Have pointed Stephen Piriform to this issue)

[nukecad]

Yes I see Stephens post with the hash checksums at the top.

Again that is usually below the main announcement.

Definitely something strange, and the only reasonable explanation I can think of is what I said above. (But not working quite as intended).

I did use the 'Report Post' to inform them yesterday.

[cor]

Always verify the file when installing an older version. Just noticed there are several downloads "out there" pretending to be ccsetup540.zip.

[nikki605]

37 minutes ago, corvannoorloos said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		Always verify the file when installing an older version. Just noticed there are several downloads "out there" pretending to be ccsetup540.zip.
	</p>
</div>

I leave past version installation files on my PC (originally downloaded from the official Piriform website) just in case of a problem like this so I can easily revert back to an older version that I know is genuine.

[Nergal]

2 hours ago, nukecad said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		I did use the 'Report Post' to inform them yesterday.
	</p>
</div>

All that did was confuse us moderators, report sends it to us not admin

[Andavari]

2 hours ago, corvannoorloos said:

<div class="ipsQuote_contents">
	<p>
		Always verify the file when installing an older version. Just noticed there are several downloads "out there" pretending to be ccsetup540.zip.
	</p>
</div>

You can unpack the official setup files as if they were a zip archive with 7-Zip.