Hate!  Yes, I hate Adobe Flash at the moment.  Not because it isn't working, but because I was dumb enough to do an update on it while I was tired and not paying close attention.

You see, when Adobe Flash does their update, they have a cute little check box that is very easy to miss. 

Do you want to install McAfee scanning software while you are installing flash?

The box is PRE-CHECKED.  In other words if you don't UNCHECK the box, it will install.  Since you are doing an update on the Flash drive, you are already saying yes to updating software.  So, all of it goes ahead and installs.

-- I was tired this morning. 
-- I was trying to get some work done that I needed a browser to do. 
-- I downloaded the update very irritably for Firefox because it was after me yesterday and I said "not now" but every time I open the friggin' browser it asks.
-- after I let it update the damned browser it tells me "Update your Adobe Flash Right NOW".
-- I did
-- I forgot to look carefully for the damned check box
-- I ended up with McAfee's removal tool on my computer

DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN!!!

I had to uninstall it, go to McAfee, get the removal tool, run it, reboot.

All because I didn't look for a tiny little checkbox.

Adobe and McAfee should be shot for this.  At the very least they should be pilloried for using malware tactics to get software onto someone's computer. 

I hate this kind of crap - especially when I'm tired and busy.  Like today.  Adobe is the major culprit here.  Adobe flash needs to die. We need to get rid of it as any kind of necessary part of computer use.  ASAP.

Posted by: Teresa in Idiocies at 12:34 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 318 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I hate that kind of stealth distribution.  The manufacturers enter into deals and we suffer. 

Posted by: pam at October 02, 2010 01:47 PM (i3Kno)

2 What you two said. And ... speaking of useless & unwanted software ... could somebody explain to me what Microsoft's "Silverlight" actually does, other than eat up more megabytes of space on a hard drive?

Posted by: Rev. Paul at October 02, 2010 02:17 PM (OrRMk)

3 Companies that irritate end users who know also how to make themselves heard on the Internet *will* suffer -- all that "what the market will bear" stuff we were recently discussing applies here again. Foolish Adob-eh. Foolish MacAfe-eh.

Posted by: sheri at October 02, 2010 02:57 PM (zRG4u)

4 Amen. It's beyond irritating when they do crap like that. It makes me hope Sheri is right.

Posted by: Julie at October 02, 2010 06:01 PM (CFSKj)

5 Worse yet are those frigging toolbars (Yahoo, Ask, etc) that are often  stealthily bundled with software and end up cluttering your browser.  

Posted by: diamond dave at October 02, 2010 10:44 PM (bz/FF)

6 I'm pretty sure Sheri is right: there is a limit to how much we'll put up with, and companies who routinely push the limit will eventually find themselves on the outside looking in.   McAfee used to split the antivirus business with Norton, and nobody else mattered; now people are actively seeking out non-intrusive security packages specifically to avoid the likes of McAfee and Norton.

Posted by: CGHill at October 03, 2010 11:06 AM (UY5Q4)

7 Hey Teresa, I'll supply the bullets...yes I will.

Posted by: Yabu at October 03, 2010 04:24 PM (RDdNW)

8 Gawd, but I can't agree more. I love this post and think it deserves a Peabody Award for excellence in public service reporting.

Posted by: Joan of Argghh! at October 03, 2010 06:58 PM (XgugD)

9 Excellent!  Sounds like everyone is with me here.  Now if only we could stage a rebellion.  

Posted by: Teresa at October 03, 2010 10:26 PM (TeQXy)

10 Yeah... it sounds like McAfee has turned down a dark and disgusting path.  Some colleagues of mine downloaded the free version, which claimed to have found a virus.  Which one?  It WOULDN'T SAY, unless they purchased the full version.

Well that just does it for me -- goodbye forever, McAfee!

Posted by: mike at October 05, 2010 12:34 AM (GH2Wi)

Hide Comments | Add Comment