Downloading? Watch Out For These Danger Signs

Excellent article: informative and amusing.
[FYI for Bob: Clicked through to your article from a PC Pitstop e-mail message]

I am positively SHOCKED that someone who is supposed to be in the know, did not go directly to Piriform's website to download CCleaner, as I did!

Having said that though, I must admit that I have downloaded software only to find that it tries to foist other downloads on you when you try to install it. But if you simply click decline on however many foistware pages are presented to you, the installation usually goes ahead with no further problems. If it still produces problems, I always cancel the installation and look for a similar program that will install problem and foistware free!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm shocked that you're shocked! :-) I picked CCleaner merely as an example. There are plenty of programs that you CAN'T download from the software company's website (or you have to really dig for the direct download link) because they either don't have the bandwidth to support the downloads, or they have an agreement to forward their visitors to CNET.

Couldn't agree with you more about c|net. I downloaded a video converter from them and got much more than I bargained for.

I've generally had good success with SnapFiles and have used it for many years. But first, I usually try to download programs and apps directly from the vendors' sites.

In a related area I regularly (like daily) download "free" books, because I select the free option rather than subscribed (I'm on a pension), I have to contend with "captchas" and various unwanted add ons, pop ups and redirects. I have learnt to cope the hard way, I'm not a computer expert. First everything gets downloaded onto drive E, then after I run the .exe file which downloads the file I want. I use winzip to open the file in rtf format or if that is not available use "calibre" to convert it. Then I go to my browser and delete all the extensions that have been added, then use task manager to remove the programs creating these extensions.
Now I finally have the book in readable form! Now I have a new problem Microsoft word now says my copy is not activated (worked fine for the last 2 years!). So I've now installed Open Office.
In case you're wondering why I don't use the local Public library, I'm in Thailand, no public libraries and anyway no books in English.

good article ... I dumped tucows years back , just for this reason .. and have recently noticed CNet doing the same ... so like another poster stated ... I try to use the software manufacturer's site for downloads ... Might use CNet to find them but don't download from there anymore.

Bob,--Re:your reply to Sheri (March 1). I have been using ROBOFORM PRO for many years, and they have become a bit like Microsoft with frequent updates/upgrades. About 2 or 3 years ago they moved all their updates/upgrades and Renewals to CNET and I have twice been caught with additional crapware not showing on the download page. Additionally, Bill P. of WinPatrol was advising against using FileHippo as it too was attaching "presents".

I go directly to the software's site instead.

Thanks, Bob.

It's too bad Piriform has forced Ninite.com to remove CCleaner from their website. I guess Piriform needs that Ask.com, etc. money.

The last time I re-newed Avast security suite they snuck in Google Chrome and tool bar. I was called away from my desk to help others when this happened. I go back and was going go to my bank and Google Chrome came on. I tried to use Internet Explorer and could not get online. I un-installed Google Chrome and Internet Explorer to work. I called their support and they wanted to charge me. I do use Google Chrome now with the security issue of IE. I heard from others that Avast has someone else do their support. I got that desktop straightened out, but my laptop that had that Avast security suite has slowed down. I put in another brand of security and it found some stuff, but still not like it was. I used the free Avast for years and liked it. I had trouble when I started buying it. I do not think they should try put other stuff on when you are paying. I guess never leave the desk when they install.

Your Tucows travails are quite a horror story. I checked their homepage, just out of curiosity. It's become very professional, modern, business-like... and inspires confidence ! I've just deleted them from my favorites, thanks to your excellent work.

Going to the publisher's website does not necessarily prevent foistware. One of my pet peeves is the way Adobe tries to force various products on you, like Google Chrome or MacAfee Security Scan, whenever you try to manually update Flash. You need to uncheck it every time.

What is wrong with MajorGeeks.com for the freeware downloads. No crap yet.

Great article & pleased that you took the time to advise your viewers of these 'nasties' Browser Hijaaks are increasing, annoying & so easy for the not too savvy computer user to get 'sucked in' unwittingly only to be faced with problems that they had never encountered. I use Adaware Cleaner but be sure you go to the author's site to download this. Another is Avast Browser Cleanup, a 2.8mb download that removes malicious 'tool-bars' that users really didnt know existed on their computer.
Combo-fix is another very good piece of software
for 'digging deep' [takes a while to complete the task but does do a great job] One does have to be
very observant when downloading/installing new
software-often small ticked checkboxes can be
overlooked if you become a little impatient.
An example & I have been caught a couple of times
with Adobe Flash player updates where the 'stub'
install file has a checked 'MacAfee Free Scan'
This is easy to overlook, I prefer not to add any
additional Anti-virus conflicting software, I am
sure they dont like each other too much.
Bob, your articles are very good, thanks for your
efforts producing these time consuming tasks.

Warren

Good thing that you declined that Conduit offer. One of my customers accidentally downloaded that bad boy and his computer hasn't been the same ever since. Several people looked at his machine and figured that he had picked up some viruses. But his computer was running Avast and technically didn't have ANY true malware (as defined) on it. But it was virtually crippled by adware, toolbars, browser hijackers, etc.. It took me hours to remove it and its many nasty friends. Additionally, more people need to be aware that it's not only viruses and root-kits that can cause file corruption. His was among several others I've worked on this year, where their Windows 8 updater hasn't worked properly after accumulating this kind of stuff. I've exhausted all of the inexpensive solutions posted on Windows and numerous other forums, leaving only the time-consuming Refresh-and-Re-Installation-of-all-Your-Programs, option. (Given the choice, most folks prefer to save their money and get Windows 10 next Spring.) With these kinds of things going on regularly now, unauthorized downloads definitely need to be taken more seriously. Tanx for another great article, Bob.

Thanks Bob,
good to get your newsletter. One more thing that gals me is that the internet is full of crooks, first offering you to download the free edition. It works. Then after some time you get a notice: "free upgrade". You do that and after that your old version is deleted from your PC and the new supposedly free works only if you pay. Note: "Free download" is often a scam. Even my working paid for Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 disappeared after I downloaded a trial version of a more recent edition.

Kaarlo von Freymann Helsinki Finland

Hey Bob, just read in this that you mentioned that if system restore couldn't bail you out, you still had a full backup. I just thought perhaps you should look into a Virtual Machine so you don't have to put your main operating system through all this.

I download my software from Softpedia or MajorGeeks, and I don't have this problem.

Thank you Bob, a timely reminder to be careful when downloading freeware. My go-to site is MajorGeeks, never any problems.

I stopped using CNET years ago for the reasons you mention.
FileHippo went through a dodgy patch a while back.
MajorGeeks is my place to go.

Glad I'm not the only one commenting on an 8 year old posting, in Dec 2021. Many of these wonderful posting NEVER go out of style.

re: BaliRob comment above: I know its far too late to be of use to you, but someone might benefit from my experience.

I used Rufus to make a bootable USB Win 10 installation. Rufus makes TWO very different kinds of USB bootable USBs - one type for old BIOS computers and a completely different kind for newer UEFI computers. I have both types and love Rufus. BUT, I used a UEFI type USB on an old BIOS computer. Boot failed and computer hung. The only fix was to take out the battery on motherboard and reset BIOS.

I think takeaway here is that sometimes the only fix for issues is to remove the battery. My brother had a similar issue with his cell phone after it suddenly locked up. The only cure for him was to let the batter drain completely, then do a factory reset. Laptop computers might have a real issue trying to remove the motherboard battery. Good luck!