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Adobe flash player installs McAfee

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
December 14, 2017
13 replies
23565 views

I have just updated adobe flash player since my browser requested it and found that adobe has installed McAfee without me opting in to do so. I am furious about it, and can only refer to a previous discussion point copied in here. Why does Adobe do this it will drive customers away in their droves.

I have experienced this as well.

I'm not going to give any screen shots. What I am going to do, is say that I've been using photoshop since 5, and been a creative cloud subscriber and defender since the first version. I got an email from adobe to install a flash update, which I did, after navigating to adobe on my own to make sure there was no malware attack. I then installed a flash update, from your site. A day later, mcafee is installed on my computer, without any permission given by me.

I don't give a flying f- if you have an 'opt out' option in there, and it was somehow hidden by ad blocking. As any designer who is worth their salt knows, opt out is basically just a way of funneling 90% of users to an option while maintaining an argument that you aren't 'forcing' the option. I'm a paying customer who loves and evangelizes your product, and you just stabbed me in the back. F- you. If this ever happens again, I'm done. End this **** right now. You know it is morally indefensible, no matter what the economic reasoning by some f-wit manager. No, I'm not going to be reasonable. This is not acceptable behavior. Fix it.

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Correct answer jeromiec83223024

I've personally followed up on several dozen reports like this. Given sufficient information, I am always happy to follow-up again.

That said, every time I look at this, it consistently comes down to a situation where a third-party browser plug-in (ad-blocker, anti-tracking plugin, etc.) caused the JavaScript on the page to execute in a way that was different than what was actually written (e.g. they blocked the UI with the opt-out), or the software was downloaded through a third-party UI (a browser add-on manager, etc.), which linked directly to the assets that had the optional bundled offers.

In general, the following always works:

Always get Flash Player directly from Adobe, at https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
If you use browser plug-ins that interfere with the normal operation of the page, you'll want to whitelist them or disable those plug-ins temporarily

Once you have Flash Player installed, you can completely avoid this workflow (and the possibility that any bundles get installed), by doing the following:

Choose Allow Adobe to Install Updates (recommended)
Future updates to Flash Player will be installed automatically. You'll never see a bundled offer unless you need to reinstall.
Use a browser that includes Flash Player as a built-in component
In these instances, there's nothing to install, and updates are handled by the browser or operating system
- IE and Edge on Win8+
  Both include Flash Player as a built-in component, and updates are delivered through Windows Update
  There's nothing separate to download or install
- Google Chrome on all platforms
  Flash Player is a built-in component of Chrome. Updates are delivered by Chrome's update mechanism

In the very unlikely event that you encounter a situation where the wrong payload was deployed (i.e. you opted out, but got the bundled offer anyway), I'd be more than happy to investigate.

The following information, and your geographical location would be helpful.

Adobe uses a global Content Distribution Network (CDN) to deliver content. Knowing the geography and language in play might help me track down any highly localized problems with a specific CDN node or translated page.

The following information about your environment is also always helpful and appreciated:

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1195540

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Emiliano_Ferrari

Participant

Im totally agree with the concern of the users here.. its been 2 years since the thread was open and still the same.. I've even restart de installation just to see where I missed the option to uncheck and no, there was no option in the downloader (after that and googleing it I read it was on the webpage before the download).. Its the most anoying thing to deal with these issues and you find the way to make it even worse! Congrats Adobe team! Clap clap.-

D

defaultdunzu0ni2m2d

Participant

"Be kind and respectful" - is what it says here in the community. At least they got it right. After years of being annoyed by this opt-in rubbish, ever fearing I forget to uncheck it, I thought I see what others say.

And here I am, what more is there to say, it is all said before.

If I weren't fully committed to the good stuff Adobe puts out, I would have stopped using that. Seeing there is no way of not using flash player.

As it is, at least I learned that the auto-update option will not force that shifty bit. So next time I will switch to that; though I think in general, there is heaps too much stuff being forced on us without us ever having any say in it. I mean, buy a new phone, like I just did, and see all the 'dark matter' that comes with it or gets installed soon after; or constantly pesters you to make a decision - like Adobe do in the case of flash player.

I reckon there ought to be law against it.

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

It will be solved forever in one month, as Flash Player will no longer be available. The last update ever has also been shipped. You may want to find a way of NOT using Flash Player as your installed player will shut down forever in a month.

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LabPartners

Participant

Adobe you are so foolish who do you think you're fooling. If you think these types of actions won't absolutely destroy you in the long run you're dead wrong. Deleting everything of yours off my pc now. NO ONE wants Mcafee. Not even Mcafee!!!

I

I_lovejava1

Participant

McAfee IS a legitamate piece of software, however I don't like how they provide a "opt-out" option instead of "opt-in". This is like "check this box to NOT be a donor"

Read terms & agreements like a lawyer and don't install it if you find anything suspicious.

Always opt for custom installation settings and uncheck anything that seems unfamiliar. When you find a offer for a 3rd party software, click "Decline" instead of "Accept".

I'm not very annoyed about this because I always uncheck 3rd party programs. However, I'm glad that the offer is a legitamate piece of software and they don't try to install any virus or bitcoin-miner onto my PC.

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AshWoods

Participant

Well said, I couldn't agree more. It's underhanded and dispicable. I understand they need revenue for offering it free, but 'sneaking' it on to your system if your not deft enough to notice is unacceptable (seems like they took a page out of the microsoft playbook on that one!)

Every time I update (and omg, it wants to update constantly!), I turn that off, cause I made the mistake once and it was painful. However, I don't want to go on further on 'should or shouldn't's; but instead have a pragmatic question:

Is there a way to let it update automatically and NOT get McAfee? I'm too afraid to try...

UPDATE: I since saw the post from the Adobe employee unmistakenly claiming it would NOT install any 3rd party software, so I'm crossing my fingers and giving it a shot.

J

jachu

Participant

Just had this happen, and likely had the same issue as everyone else with an adblocker.

And I feel compelled to let Adobe know this is dishonest and I don't plan on ever letting them see a dime of my money if this is how they want to operate.

I can find alternatives for other paid programs you sell.

J

janicel27916964

Participant

For those of us with tracking blockers like Ghostery, THE OPT OUT CHECK BOXES DO NOT DISPLAY. So, I'm being punished for trying to protect my browsing privacy by having crapware like McAfee automatically installed. Shame on you, Adobe. Why in the world would you want to antagonize customers in this way? Not exactly a great marketing strategy.

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into_the_unknowm99208135

Participant

Here's the deal folks. To play Devils Advocate here, this is what their support doesn't want to tell you, but, it should be plain as day...

If you have adblock installed and you don't want McAfee, you are not a paying customer and they don't care what you think.

This company is in it for the cash, like every other company in history. Adobe has a few ways to try and monetize their platform. One is by you buying "professional" versions of their software (which don't have this McAfee issue, because you are giving them money directly), Installing McAfee, for which they get a kickback as a company or Ad revenue.

You people above who have an adblocker, are trying to get Adobe Flash for free and don't want McAfee are not supporting them monetarily at all, so they don't care what your opinion is of their software or their policies. They will try to get you to funnel money to them whichever way they can. You want everything free with no ads, no anything and.... yeah... companies want something different.

So, its you vs them. You try to get what you want for free and they try to make you pay, somehow, someway... anyway they can!

It's ALL about that green cash dollar! Remember that! If you aren't supporting them with cash, they don't care what you think, at all, whatsoever.

Cheers.

S

sah59784865

Participant

Agree with everything breakerbreaker said and every subsequent comment supporting him/her. Adobe buries the opt-out button. You click the install now button without noticing you are getting crapware because it's in the middle of a routine that most of us do without stopping to carefully examine every step along the way.

Frankly, I find this practice by Adobe INFURIATING and would dump flash player in an instant if I could find a viable alternative (Suggestions anyone?). I have not opted for automatic installation of updates because I can't find anything that guarantees that Adobe won't automatically install McAfee (or God knows what else) automatically.

There's an easy solution, Adobe: JUST. STOP! I don't want your bundled software stuffed down my throat under some fake guise that I have given permission because you've made it damn near impossible to find the opt-out button.

I'm going to say this again in case you missed it the first time: JUST. STOP! That's it - JUST. STOP!

Got it?

M

mikes007

Participant

I never expected Adobe to sacrifice their brand image for McAfee. I unintentionally installed this garbage on my work machine thanks to this unethical opt-out process. I make every effort to only install software from reputable manufacturers on my work machine, and as far as I'm concerned, Adobe is no longer a reputable manufacturer. I will never install an Adobe product on any of my workstations again. Apple was right to kill flash off- its cancerous.

-Edit-

Go ahead and blame me for failing to opt out, but don't blame me when the software development community abandons your products.

Zoe7traveller

Inspiring

OMG...this just happened to me as well and it was absolutely *not* listed as an obvious part of the options, but even if it were, this is insane that Adobe would even affiliate itself with crapware, much less try to sneak it in (and this was your intent, Adobe). Fortunately, I saw Macafee was installing and I cancelled before it finished.

I'm really disappointed Adobe would engage in this kind of make-money-fast endeavor. I expected them to stand above most other companies in this regard....

wasecan

Participant

It's like ordering a pepperoni pizza, and getting anchovies on it also - for free - because you didn't remember to "opt out" of anchovies. Yeah, it's partly your fault, but how do you feel about the pizza joint while you're picking all those baked-on minnows off your food? Sorry, but the anchovy industry pays us to do it, and if you somehow forget or don't notice the "opt-out" wording, well, sucks to be you, I guess. It's like being punished for being a customer.

This wouldn't bother me so much if McAfee could just simply be deleted if I, or my wife, accidentally forgets to uncheck the box. But NO, it immediately screws with your defaults and it's a major pain to COMPLETELY get rid of. It plants traces and artifacts all over the place and in the registry. Yes, it IS possible to completely undo an unintentional McCrapafee install, but it's a major pain.

I realize that economics dictate Adobe's decision to stoop this low, and it's actually EXPECTED from a crapware company like McAfee, but you have to know that customers who inadvertently install McAfee DON'T WANT IT, and while some might not even realize what they did (apparently your primary targets), and just leave McCrapafee on their system, most will be cursing Adobe & McAfee the whole time they have to waste cleaning that junk out of their computers.

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