How can I install a Flash update without installing McAfee?

[cynodontia]

I have tried twice to install and have cancelled both times because it seemed that McAfee was installing. I have Norton installed and am happy with it. I don't object to Adobe's encouraging the use of a competing product, but I do insist on the freedom to decline, and I didn't see a way of doing it.

[God_I_hate_Adon_tbe]

Ok.  I've found a way myself.  I had to restart in safe mode to disable the load of this software and uninstall that way.  That's not going to be an easy task for those who don't know about it.

@Chris (Adobe): If you wouldn't mind feeding this back to your partner in crime I would appreciate it.  I see this as your duty as you condone this software.

It seems, however, that Adobe are wholeheartedly attempting to drive off their customer base; this isn't the first time I've had to come to this forum and have a rant at an employee of this company due to it's lack of customer care and poor organisation.

Come on Adobe - give a little back to your customers without thought of profit would you?  You never know - it may pay dividends.

[chris.campbell]

I will relay your concerns to the team responsible for this page (I do this each time I talk with them) so that they are aware of your request to have a more visible way to see what is being installed before the installer is downloaded.

[mattflo65]

Had to create an account just to post my disatisfaction with Adobe. I'm with deskside support for a publishing company that uses adobe products on mac and pc platforms. Having to uncheck the Mcafee install box with the many, many updates for flash has totally changed my opinion of Adobe. We can't write an update package (and test it) each week, so we let some users update themselves and run into this issue constantly. Different Anti virus programs don't work well together...duh.

This is now a company and software that I will now go out of my way to avoid and to tell everyone I can about this disgusting practice. If this was some sort of two bit outfit I'd understand.

Chris, you keep passing along everyone's complaints to the team responsible...Any responses from that team that you can put in print? Probably not, as curses and disparaging remarks from that team will make Adobe look even worse. I'm a pc guy, but undestand what Steve Jobs was talking about (yes I know it wasn't this issue in particular).

Since Flash has so many flaws and vulnerabilities necessitating these updates, maybe you are forcing McAfee onto machines to try and protect your own software?

There is a reason they found McAfee hiding in the bushes in Chile or wherever the heck it was: He's a piece of garbage and so is his software...

Go ahead and cash your profitsharing check while I go clean out another family member's machine...

Thanks in advance for "relaying my concerns to the team responsible".

[starsknight]

Hi Chris,

For some time I have considered the default opt-in for McAfee a minor hassle. I'm not fond of it, but since I could opt out, I did not consider it a major problem.

However, today when I received a notification to update Adobe, I clicked through to the page, and there was no mention of McAfee at all. I clicked the "download" link, and a moment later, the option to download McAfee appeared in its normal place, with the box checked. After I had started the download.

It would appear Adobe has now designed that element of the page to load last, so that those of us with slower connections will download the software unknowingly. If that was intentional, that is a despicable business practice. If it is unintentional, it's just careless/poor programming. Either way, please pass this issue along. Adobe is the only company I'm aware that most people consider "legit" which downloads software onto a user's computer without the user's knowledge or consent.

[Shako73]

Wasted a day to find out how to prevent installing your crapwares (McAfee + Google Chrome).

I found them and very proud of getting rid of that problem.

FOAD Adobe.

[qwerty6054]

Chris, Given you are reportdly not the person responsible, how about you go get the ones whom are ,out of their office, and get them involved in this thread, to answer us all?

The issue is not whether we should notice in time and uncheck the McAffee AV (and chrome for some other products), its an issue that you've got this as a DEFAULT on... and that you're trying to ram another AV down our throats to start with. 

THAT is what we want answers to.

So, instead of patronisingly thanking us for our time, and passing the sentiments along to the department responsible ... how bout the responsible team actually get involved and show their face instead of hiding behind you? (and professionally I feel for you having to field these questions to begin with when it's not your doing).

Almost all computers have AV already installed. What do you think happens when you install two AV's? especially in the enterprise?  ... mayhem.  You don't just go pushing an AV software out whimsically, uninvited, unplanned, its madness. AV choice, and its associated configuration / tuning of it, is something quite critical, and something that requires planning.  You don't just go pushing it out, especially to other peoples computers who didnt ask for it! Fortunately we rarely allow users in the enterprise to install things themselves.

It is not an acceptable thing to do, to try and push an Antivirus product out by default or proxy , in a completely unrelated product. 

A flash update is a relatively small innocuous thing to do, installing a whole new AV is most definately not.  It's like booking your car in for a service and finding out they've repainted it, put new wheels on it, and turned it into a pickup-truck. You dont do that.

What next, you'll try and bundle a completely different OS, and have that "install by default"? ... Install a flash update, and bingo the machine is wiped, with Ubuntu installed sneakily by default?

Sure, most of us are smart enough to get around this and untick it ... but the amount of unsuspecting people I come across who call me with a dysfunctional computer here in IT support, only to find its because there's several AV at play, because of the flash installed Mcaffee product, is bemusing , and annoying.

Seriously, what the heck?

I'd understand if mcaffee and adobe were the same company, but they're not? why are you trying to push their AV that we have no intention of wanting.  Or , ironically for one of my clients .. they already ARE using Mcaffee ... at an enterprise product level (it works well enough, pretty good product actually) ... yet this consumer grade AV got installed and still killed a laptop, for a bloke who was travelling on business.

Love your other products, and people pay good money for them. You give flash for free and its costing money? ... then make some money from your other income streams to offset it (such as your expensive CS suites) ... rather than this cheap tacky nightmare of bundling MCaffee to earn a few referall bucks.  Thing is, flash is free for the vast majority ... because you charge for Flash developers! Just like Acrobat / Reader, and practically every other developer/internet-viewer model ... piss enough people off and you really are tarnishing your product and reputation quite severely .. for what, a short term cash flow gain in some kickback from McAffee? Nuts.

Whoever is in your PR , Marketing, and business unit decision making team needs to seriously consider their sanity.  Whatever their ploy was, the overwhelming voice of reason being shown by your customers should ring in their ears as a lesson learned ... especially when many of us are the ones who sway decisions, and make decisions, on what products an organisation should pay well for.

It stuns me just how many people this actually will affect.

[John_Probert]

It's a while since I contributed to this thread, and since then I've received a copy of every posting, generally a heap of abuse of Adobe, and a quiet expression of concern - but with no apparent power or responsibility to do anything about it - from Chris. I have recently received a Flash update that I have pended because my impression from the posts is that it's even more difficult than it was to avoid installing software I don't want, and which may compromise my computer. So thank heaven for the post from qwerty6054, which is coherent and comprehensive and authoritative. So why don't you, Chris, extract the text of that single post and escalate it up the line as far as you can - up to CEO if necessary - so that the people actually RESPONSIBLE for this mess actually act on that responsibility and sort it out. Surely they can see how the reputation of a major software company is suffering. This is really not very good customer service, and I think qwerty6054 has hit all the right nails on the head.

[keran12345]

Very well said qwerty6054.

Registered in this forum just so I can add my voice to this shameful practice. So this is for those who have slow internet connections and novice computers users such as old persons who were victimized by this company. I agree with starsknight, I didn't notice the element when I was brought to the download page probably because  my internet connection was slow. I just immediately clicked on the "Download" button because my webpages are loading so slowly. I swear I didn't see any notice telling me Mcaffe would be installed too. I missed it because it was intentionally made to be inconspicuous.

It is a huge hassle on my part because I should be working but I had to search how to correctly uninstall the unwanted Mcaffe and found others who are outraged like me and had to read posts since yesterday.

I am a novice to computers but when I find an alternative I will ditch everything adobe in my machine. I am completely turned off by your practice and can not understand why after years of complaint this still continues to this day.

Shame on you Adobe and McAffe!

[qwerty6054]

Hey Chris, we haven't heard back from you on this issue, what's going on?

Your profile shows you're still very active on the forums, and have been replying to other threads as little as 10 hours ago.

I presume Adobe do not wish to answer our legitimate grievances outlined above?

News Corporation put this on their news site just now, I found it very amusing when thinking of this thread : http://www.news.com.au/technology/how-to-uninstall-your-antivirus-with-john-mcafee/story-e6frfro0-12...

[GIinOZ]

@ qwerty6054: Oh hell yes what a funny video pitty it's not showing up hear in a continuous loop.

Hey Chris Campbell can you please put the video on this page

Thanks

[Guest]

In the past the opt out box has been present in the update process.  Today, I clicked on the download button and it was downloaded without any opt out box.  When I doubleclicked the install file, a window came up showing both flash and McAfee being installed.  I aborted that install and stated over, being very careful to check for any opt-out button.  There was none!  I ended up having to uninstall McAfee.  I am not a happy camper.

[Myron_Achtman]

I don't bother trying to install Adobe Flash Player updates anymore. The process never completes itself because there is a bug in Adobe's installation routine.

Perhaps they'll fix this issue before Flash becomes obsolete.

[qwerty6054]

just did a java update for a client.  Mcafee bundling wiht that too!!  McAffee need to stop sticking their bits in everyones business or it's going to really backfire. 

Java and Flash.  They're lucky they're needed, for now.

[GIinOZ]

@Chris what do you think happens to people whom TRUST that all they are getting is FlashPlayer yet a bundled search take over of their browser or an AV program that fails to install as another is already present

thus may cause Flashplayer not to finnish installing.

Corrupting that persons OS, and your flashplayer.

Please have a stand alone installer FREE of all the crap to download.

People want a product and as most people know to have the software or freeware intalled you have to agree to allow it to be installed.

Yet the forced install option is always given to download other software that loads up consumers computers and recources with trash.

As that takes up valuable space and may not have been wanted being given by default your company or any company employing such tactics

should be charged rental of that space fo anything that is not related to the progam that was the sole expectaion to be downloaded.

You state " The answer is simply that Adobe offsets the ongoing development costs of  Flash Player, which is made available for free, by offering users the  option to download software from select Adobe partners." NO sir the option should be not to download by default but give the user the option to download it SEPERATLY.

Thus you have correctly idenified your company as being like a dictator forcing products or software on everyone that may not be wanted, or may corrupt with your

and your select partners full backing to a users computer.

It is a well known fact that Most all Anti Virus or security software do NOT like or even work when their is more than one installed as they CONFLICT.

Thus if anyones security is compramised by these sorts of things the company that packages them together being the primary defaulted way to download a sought after software they are responisble for any security breach regardless of any disclaimer or contract was it was a deliberate action taken to package other software by default.

So please use STAND ALONE downloads and have a SEPERATE tab to download from your select partners.

Thanks.

Oh by the way can you please give me a link to Flashplayer that is a standalone install.  That is when downloaded it installs from the computer it is on not an installer that downloads stuff from the internet.

Thanks.

[John_Probert]

I just looked this up in the forum because what has clearly happened to many others just happened to me, in February 2013 NB. I am very careful with my installations, and I noticed no opt-in or opt-out button for McAfee. I am not swearing it wasn't there, just that I didn't notice it, so if it was there it clearly wasn't that obvious. I will now have to go and uninstall McAfee, which I don't want, and don't feel as though I should have to spend the time doing so!

[chris.campbell]

As Chris352 noted, there are a few options you have if you don't want to deal with optional third party installs.  Please see this FAQ that describes the process that you should be presented with and all of the options available when updating.

Flash Player installation and update questions and answers

@John Probert - If you are able to reproduce a case where you don't see the opt-out checkbox, please let me know.  I've been trying to find one of these cases for months so that we can fix it, however no one has been able to reproduce the issue.

Thanks,

Chris

[Annas58]

CHRIS.  WE JUST DON'T WANT IT!!!.

It's not the fact that you have to pay attention to what you click.  Flash seems to update every other day (more than any other software I have) and every time you forget to click "DON'T LOAD MCAFEE" you have to go back and unstall the software.  I personally prefer KASPERSKY don't want to have anything to do with McAfee  (or Google or any other third party package).  Hence I find it quite annoying to have to click that little box every time flash updates.  Unfortunatly popular sites like You Tube don't seem to work so well without Flash.

You need to have some method of remembering what the user pressed the last time he/she updated and keep it the same.

Once an alternative to flash is easy to find I'm out of here!!!

[Annas58]

p.s.  I've already abandoned Adobe PDF reader and gone for a suitable alternative reader, and Flash Player is next!

http://lifehacker.com/5328211/five-best-pdf-readers

[alohamomma]

I also DO NOT get a check box option in your newest update.  Although in previous update I did.  I will NOT update my adobe until you remove this auto download feature.

[pwillener]

alohamomma wrote:

I also DO NOT get a check box option in your newest update.  Although in previous update I did.  I will NOT update my adobe until you remove this auto download feature.

And why do you feel the need to file an Abuse Report against your fellow forum users, especially since you seem to agree with them??

[alohamomma]

Sorry I have some visual problems and I thought I was reporting the replay from Adobe.  I just wanted to make sure they would actually read it.

[totenmaske]

I have no objections to Adobe offsetting developement costs by giving users the option to install software from partners; however that being said on 11/19/2012 I was prompted to update Adobe Flashplayer - saved the file as directed - clicked on the downloaded file to begin installation and BOTH an updated version of Adobe Flashplayer was installed

[chris.campbell]

@totenmaske - I'm very interested in seeing this reproduced.  Please see this post for another response I made a few minutes ago.

http://forums.adobe.com/message/4860432#4860432

[sjfaust]

Count me among those who feel Adobe has tarnished their reputation with this under-handed move of bundling other software, by default, with the Flash update. For this I would rank Adobe as low as Oracle (who's Java updates also install unwanted software by default) except for the fact that I'm a big fan of Photoshop.

Adobe, when you start operating with such seemingly desperate tactics, I begin to question the future of your organization. A prosperous organization treats their users with respect, not deceit. I do not feel respected, I feel deceived.

[alstech300]

Add me to the list of people very unhappy with Adobe pushing McAffee or Chrome or any other un needed software on me. I'm sure it won't do any good but I will not give Adobe any good feedback until they stop doing it. I will try to avoid the products as well.