Bundling Google Chrome and Toolbar???

[chieftech71]

Has anyone noticed that the latest Flash update automatically installs Google Toolbar and Google Chrome? What a horrible business decision Adobe. Force installing software like you are Napster. I would fire the product manager that made that decision. As a CTO I will be informing my IT staff to set Flash to ignore updates from this point forward. QA staff cannot have additional items installed that are not part of the base browser installation. Ridiculous that Adobe snuck this crap in. All I can hope now is to find something that challenges Photoshop so I can move my design team away from Adobe software as well. Smart move trying to make pennies off of your high dollar customers.

[talisman3179]

I, for one, am not interested in any "bovine excrement" to quote an earlier post. I have now gone through every PC on site & at home and ensured that Google Chrome & the Google toolbar are not installed on any of our machines. Tomorrow I start going through all again and uninstalling/deleting ALL Adobe product. I've got enough alternatives for what HAS to be done on the machines & I'm sick of this garbage regurgitating itself (1 way or another)every few weeks. I'm voting  with my feet & walking away from Adobe product at EVERY level possible.

[clinton296]

Chris Campbell wrote: "I hear you guys and assure you that I take this sentiment...."

No, you don't here us at all. The fact that you even include opt in buttons that are automatically selected is by its very nature decietful and dispicable. The kind of behavior was once only within the realms of the worst type of SW providers, yet Adobe likes to think of themselves as a first teir org...

Your assertion that adobe needs to offset the development costs of flash thru nefarious activity is laughable. Adobe has made millions, if not billions off of flash, off of us, your developers.

Your org's carefree disreguard for our systems and our privacy is a travesty. The recent inability to easily disable auto updates in cs6 and other sw's and the spyware included with cs6, reader and other adobe apps is indicative of your company's thinly veiled contempt for your customers.

The actions of Adobe Inc leaves me searching for open source alternatives to your products whenever possible. Unfortuantely, like most content creators, I find myself forced under the thumb of Adobe's monopoly jagurrnaut.

Adobe can easily argue that it is simply follwing the course of most other corps in the industry and that's fine if it's the company that Adobe desires to share, but pulllease quit feeding us this marketing scripted bs that you have deep concern for our systems, our privacy or our needs.

[HikerJoe2]

Chris,  I was just forced to take Google Chrome and Google Toolbar.  I have the screenshot to proove it but I saved it as a MS Word Dox flie which I am unable to attach.  Tell me how and I will post this for all to see.

[chris.campbell]

@HikerJoe2 - You can email me (ccampbel@adobe.com) the word file and I can take a look at the images or you can save the screenshots as jpg or png and then use the camera icon in the reply toolbar in the forum.  That will allow you to attach the image and have it displayed in your response.

[NormFox]

Chris,

     While you are technically correct that Flash Player is a "free product", your assertion that you need to "offset our ongoing development costs by offering selected third party software" is patently false.  Flash Player exists solely to allow users to consume content generated with your paid Flash Professional CS software.  Costs for the player should covered by sales of Flash Professional.  Given that flash is one of the biggest sources of security holes on the web, it makes it even more egregious that Adobe has chosen to make it less likely that users will install updates by bundling a ton of garbage that they don't won't with a "Security Update"

[bjf2000]

I have to agree with that last response. And the same goes for Reader/Acrobat.

On machines where we've opted in for silent updates, I don't want users to ever see an upgrade notice. But the need to push out 3rd-party software is apparently preventing that from ever happening for all updates. And no doubt Adobe makes a lot of money this way, since really, how many normal users are going to even notice the ability to exclude 3rd-party bundling?

That some here are not seeing the ability to exclude 3rd-party software is particularly egregious. I understand that it's not by design, but that's cold comfort.

[HEC-mr]

This is certainly making a mess of trying to maintain business machines.

Helpdesk calls with every patch wondering why they have a new web browser, etc.

On a similar note, how do you manage all these updates in a business environment?

What if you have admin lockdown?

- silent upgrade will still pop up for credentials - like every week...

What if you have antivirus restrictions on installs?

- hard to set bypass rules when patch installers change every week...

What is everyone else doing to handle this?

[vobguy]

Are we sure that it is not by design? Has adobe made some sort of statement owning up to an error then?

I am glad I caught it before it got too far in auto-installing Chrome and Toolbar, but now I can't trust an update and I have advised my local group to turn off updates until we are satisfied that Flash will no longer not give the option to opt-out of the Toolbar and Chrome. In the past we have had problems with those corrupting some libraries our work applications need to run.

[johngaineshsv1]

Very uncool of you Adobe to FORCE add Google Chrome and Toolbar. There was not a confirmation screen. There were no "Opt in / out" options.

The update notice appeared in the system tray. CLICK. Then a download page in our browser showing Flash 11 update. CLICK. Then our browser ask to either RUN or SAVE the update EXE. When program runs, we see that he update, Google toolbar, and Google chrome are being INSTALLED. Not cool. Lost my confidence. I have purchased so much Adobe software and this is my reward? 

I do not like flash or Java but I tolerate them. As soon as I can test another Photography program to replace Lightroom and other Adobe programs, you will be uninstalled and no more money fom my business or household. And to think I have been recommending your products. Now my reputation is on the line when you do underhanded business like this.

Don't think you at so big that you can't fall. I may not be the straw but the Internet is one powerful leverage tool when the public decides they have had enough.

I love the "what are you talking about?" approach. "We didn't do that." You have some of the smartest programmers on your payroll and this slipped by you quality control? Are you saying all of us are idiots to believe this? Go ahead, we dare you. To think of the thousands of my dollars I have spent on your software and this infuriates me. I have ZERO tolerance on this.

When software is installed in Windows and then deleted, not all is removed from the registry. New keys are made. It becomes bloated. I run a very clean Windows (best as possible). Programmers don't care what they do to our Windows environments. I evaluate every installation before blindly installing and your AMBUSH just destroyed my trust with Adobe, which gaining my trust in my Windows environment is hard to come by.

You lost it. No more references or referrals. Do you understand how much you pissed me off with this? Do you care? 

[Guest]

i did spot the "yes i would like..." prechecked box, BUT i do a lot of computer help for relatives and friends.

None of them are computer professionals and all miss the OPT-OUT prechecked boxes.

So the next thing they call me, scared of what is happening

Adobe, please grow up and start thinking consumer security. You will never learn people not to click weird stuff, when thats exactly whats needed in your products.

I do get that its free products, but i think your revenue is just fine

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/201203/Q112Earnings.html

[4_Dawg]

I also got Google Crome (NOT at my request) when I updated my Adobe last night.  I am VERY unhappy.  I did NOT see anywhere to opt out of it and when it was all done all my favorites were gone and my computer was a MESS.  I tried uninstalling Chrome and when I did none of my shortcuts would work.  Can anyone help me get my computer bach to where I had it??  I have some trouble with all the technical terms but can navigate my way through medium difficulty stuff. 

[4_Dawg]

AND...I don't know why I should have to OPT OUT of ANYTHING.  If I want something OTHER than Adobe I am perfectly capable of requesting it on my own.  What Adobe did was sneaky and unprofessional.

[dmh165638]

There is no opt out checkbox appearing anywhere in the latest update.  Google Chrome and Goolge Toolbar both install with no option to opt out which is a very poor way to do business.

[Guest]

This just today happened to me again (second time).  This has been going on for several months now and it's still not fixed?  Sounds like someone's not trying very hard.  I absolutely was not presented with an option to opt out of installing chrome.

[Luc4800]

I had same issue. See this article to fix it:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310049

[pwillener]

4 Dawg wrote:

Can anyone help me get my computer bach to where I had it??

I installed Google Chrome last week (not through the Flash Player update, but because I wanted to test something).  After uninstalling it, I had similar issues as some users posted here: e-mail links wouldn't work, shortcuts wouldn't work, lots of stuff failed.

Solution: open your favorite browser and set it as your default browser.

[rschletty]

I am equally frustrated by the default installation of Adobe Reader including Google Toolbar and Google Chrome. The option to exclude this "software from select Adobe partners" is cleverly hidden in a small checkbox and a flyout box. Shame on Adobe for not making the default installation Reader only. I had to cancel my installation twice before I figured out how to download an installer with just Adobe Reader.

Keep making noise, everyone!

[shazbot2000]

rschletty wrote:

I am equally frustrated by the default installation of Adobe Reader including Google Toolbar and Google Chrome. The option to exclude this "software from select Adobe partners" is cleverly hidden in a small checkbox and a flyout box. Shame on Adobe for not making the default installation Reader only. I had to cancel my installation twice before I figured out how to download an installer with just Adobe Reader.

Keep making noise, everyone!

This isn't the issue.  You at least had the option to check a box and not have the junk installed, this discussion is about "the checkbox" or any other means simply not being present at all.  It is a random bug for which adobe have stuck their heads in the sand and denied exists!

[rschletty]

Actually, I did not see the option at first due to a slow-loading page – the Google Toolbar+Chrome checked checkbox had not yet been drawn on the page when I hit install. I was using Internet Explorer 8 on Windows XP inside Parallels 8 on a MacBook Pro. When I went back to the download page, I saw the checkbox pop up after waiting about 5 seconds. You are right – your Flash installation "blind bundling" issue is much more insidious.

[HEC-mr]

Gotta love the slow load trick.  They use the same magic on the main download page.  If you are in a hurry and click install you miss a delayed image popping up in the form.  Click too soon and you get the crapware by default.

An honest company wouldn't employ those methods.

[bjf2000]

This would only help corporations and the odd consumer who found out about it (translation: Adobe, you can continue to keep rolling in most of the profits seen from bundling), but what Oracle (or maybe Sun) did some time ago for Java was program Java to look for these Registry settings. When it finds them, there's no bundling by default. Adobe could do the same thing.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft]

"SPONSORS"="DISABLE"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\JavaSoft]

"SPONSORS"="DISABLE"

[ladypsalm]

I ran into this issue this past week when making a CD for my mom's PC for an unattended installation of WinXP SP3.  I was including all the latest Windows Updates and a few other small programs plus Adobe Flash ActiveX. I tested it on a virtual machine, and I was surprised when I saw that Chrome and Google Toolbar were already installed.  Since I hadn't included either of those in my installation, I figured it had to be one of the third-party software programs some freeware programs often include toolbars and such, but it's usually some other toolbars, not Google. I had set them up for silent install, and none of them had installed anything extra. I couldn't figure out what else it could be, but I knew they were piggybacking on SOMETHING. Puzzled, I did a Google search on "google toolbar automatically installing", and to my great surprise, Adobe Flash came up. Never would I have thought Adobe would be to blame. Even the freeware programs which I blamed have opt-out options and do not install the extras on a silent install. That's why I never expected a company like Adobe to slip something like this in. I have removed Adobe from the CD image, and that has solved the problem.

[rendrecompte]

This just happened to me - chrome only, no toolbar. I am second generation computer nerd married to a computer nerd and I just can't believe this issue has been going on for this long and you haven't tracked it down. It is really horrible and offensive. I can't believe there is an adobe staff member sitting on this forum saying they can't repro the issue when this many people have posted screenshots. Just admit it is happening and stop asking the community to fix it for you. Have your staff do their job and repro it themselves and fix it.

I have chrome on many of my computers, I just didn't want it on the one I was patchin with your flash update and I certainly didn't agree to it - nor did I miss any checkbox.

Adobe, get it together!

[ThorfinnTh]

The problem is twofold:

1. Each time you update flashplayer, it gives you 3 options, where the default option is to have Adobe automatically update flashplayer. If you choose this I don't think you can unselect Chrome. Choose the middle ground - let the application look for updates, but set that it has to ask your permission before installing them. This is always the best option, no matter what the "experts" try to fool you with. Take control yourself!

(Btw, you need to specify this every time it is being updated - it always resets to default, which is fully automated updates)

2. As Chris has stated, if you do a manual update, you need to uncheck the Chrome installation (and it being set as default browser) to avoid this.

Adobe continues to be sneaky and forcing you to choose NOT to have Chrome being default browser when updating flashplayer. I am still dreaming of a world where Adobe change their stupid philosophy, and instead let people actively choose to install Chrome if they want to, instead of this crap solution they have chosen to keep.

As long as there is no good alternative, and we keep using Flashplayer they way we (the internet community) do, I guess we have to live with their ways...

But they're not the only ones. Even Java updates can bring unexpected surprises if you do not watch out.

[pwillener]

ThorfinnTh wrote:

I guess we have to live with their ways...

Not really; you can always download the offline installers, which are not bundled with any 3rd-party software.

Windows: http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/installation-problems-flash-player-windows.html#main-pars_hea...

Mac OS: http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/licensing/mac/install_flash_player_11_osx.d...