"Foistware" -- Vocabulary Word for the Day--& the Villainous un-unistallable AVG

 

http://www.zdnet.com/avg-security-toolbar-is-the-worst-foistware-ive-ever-seen-7000001055/ <http://www.zdnet.com/avg-security-toolbar-is-the-worst-foistware-ive-ever-seen-7000001055/>

 

Etymology

foist +‎ -ware

Noun

foistware (uncountable)
(computing) Software that is installed without the user's knowledge or consent, often bundled with another product.  [quotations ▼]

This weekend I installed Dropbox. I am old, old, old, but careful. I asked an expert time and again if I should allow something that seemed irrelevant but which I was prodded to do. The words moment was when I was asked to say Yes or No to what was clearly not something that could be answered with Yes or No. Despite all precautions, AVG was foisted upon me and seized control of Internet Explorer, so that I could NOT go to Internet Explorer to uninstall AVG, as one of the internet sites suggested.

To look at the complaints on Google, I am one of many upon whom AVG has been "foisted." Shame, shame, for not making it easy to uninstall AVG! And shame, shame, for foisting it upon old folks who just want to use Dropbox. 

P.S. another howl of agony

 

http://nojesusnopeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/sorry-but-avg-secure-search-is-malware.html

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Sorry, but AVG Secure Search is malware (Update: but maybe won't be in the next version)

Discovered AVG Secure Search today when I installed the trial version of WinZip on a laptop that I only intend to use temporarily. There seems to be some controversy over whether AVG Secure Search actually qualifies as "malware". I understand why some think it's not: AVG appears to be a legitimate company, the software does not seem to be harmful (and may even be beneficial for users who want it), and although I have not verified this myself, I am told that it's all there in the EULA/fine print/options of the software you are installing.
But here's why this little shit of a browser extension is malware anyway: It conceals itself deep in the fine print, piggy-backing on other software (and software that I, for one, generally consider to be trustworthy, to boot! Or did, at least, until today), and -- and this is the most important part -- it deliberately makes itself difficult to uninstall.
It installed itself on Chrome in no less than three ways, each of which in and of itself would have been sufficient for Secure Search's functionality: As my default search engine, as the default page that loads when you open a new tab, and as a browser extension. That's just absurd! And if you don't believe there's a problem, just do a little Googling (maybe even using AVG Secure Search, eh?) to see just how many links there are saying "I tried everything to uninstall AVG Secure Search and it's still there! Help!"