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Beachcolonist
Beachcolonist
Inspiring
January 16, 2021
Answered

Thanks Adobe, for installing putrid McAfee on my PC without my permission!

  • January 16, 2021
  • 5 replies
  • 15038 views

Acrobat Reader was running poorly (spinning wheel), so I decided to reinstall it from their site. No problem right because I am a loyal Cloud customer and we can trust Adobe! Wrong.

 

The devious installer put "McAfee Safe Connect" GARBAGE software on my Win10 PC, without my permission. It is a god awful experience trying to get rid of it and I have not done so yet.

 

McAfee are complete LIARS, their advertised uninstall via Windows usual methods is BS that just removes the reference to the name of the program from a list. Wtf Adobe are you not making enough $$ that you have to screw with long time Cloud subscribers??

    Correct answer try67

    The McAffee installer is an optional download with Reader, and is not selected by default, so unless you ticked those boxes at some point it should not have been installed on your computer:

     

     

     

    I agree it's not very good software, but that's neither here nor there, and Adobe has the right to recuperate its investment in the free Reader by partnering up with third-parties and bundling their software with theirs. This is a very common practice, and I personally prefer it over having ads in the application itself, for example.

     

    5 replies

    OneWileyDog
    OneWileyDog
    Participating Frequently
    November 13, 2024

    McAfee is simply a virus pretending to be anti-virus. It will not uninstall, so I may try deletogn all the files and cleaning my registry.

    Meenakshi_Negi
    Meenakshi_Negi
    Legend
    November 27, 2024

    Hi OneWileyDog,

     

    Thank you for reaching out.

     

    If McAfee was installed with Acrobat Reader, you must uninstall It. Then, McAfee will be removed automatically.   

    You may install Acrobat Reader from the following page: https://adobe.ly/3ARf26R. 

     

    Hope the information helps.

     

    Thanks,

    Meenakshi

    D
    Donald37439314ea4v
    Participant
    September 11, 2024

    You can use Revo Uninstaller (free) to remove McAfee, and just about anything else.  Be careful after scanning, and do not check anything not in bold.

    P
    Peter26299257xf83
    Participant
    September 26, 2022

    Thanks Adobe for wasting my morning unistalling an unwanted program. Very deceptive and a terrible business practice. I can tell you without a doubt I do not want Mcafee on my PC and had no intention of installing it. I was simply running an Adobe update, that is it. Shameful.  

      FeliTec
      FeliTec
      Participant
      July 22, 2022

      I have filed a formal complaint regarding to this case [here]

      This is completely outrageous and unacceptable (make have actually touched US law: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 18 U.S.C. § 1029 and 1030), please help to support the complaint crusade by upvoting & commenting my submition to their product team here: [Click here to direct], 30 upvotes will get us to the top of the list.

        Carol F Metzger
        Carol F Metzger
        Inspiring
        July 23, 2022

        I never solved it. Husband's PC. I have Acrobat with CC, so I don't need the free reader on my Mac.

          try67
          Community Expert
          try67Community ExpertCorrect answer
          Community Expert
          January 16, 2021

          The McAffee installer is an optional download with Reader, and is not selected by default, so unless you ticked those boxes at some point it should not have been installed on your computer:

           

           

           

          I agree it's not very good software, but that's neither here nor there, and Adobe has the right to recuperate its investment in the free Reader by partnering up with third-parties and bundling their software with theirs. This is a very common practice, and I personally prefer it over having ads in the application itself, for example.

           

            T
            Tellya Later
            Participant
            July 27, 2022

            I just tried to download free Reader after previous trial of Adobe Pro DC, and not only were there not any boxes to uncheck, but I even tried to cancel the download and files STILL kept downloading.  So then I clicked both Yes and No...and McAfee just kept right on downloading.

             

            If you're sooo certain it includes boxes to uncheck, then please provide the download URL so we can all have the same experience for Acrobat Reader, free version.  Thank you.

              M
              Matt27277857slw7
              Participant
              December 7, 2022

              It seems Adobe just revamped the download page (which is the same URL as before: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ ) . The box to include McAfee is more visible now, and at least for me it's not ticked by default. You do have to scroll down to see it, though...

               

              New landing page:

               

               

               

              When you scroll down a bit:

               

               

              And a similar interface on the More Download Options page, too:

               

               


              December 7, 2022 update - No mention at all of McAfee software, but yet it was still attached to my download.  In process of removing from my system as we speak.  Unbelievably shady business practices on the part of Adobe. 

               

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