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.

[yrteMmorFlliB]

Chris Campbell wrote:

@AnotherAGladys - 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.

The way I see it is also simple:

Flash Player is offered to the web community for free because you want developers to buy Flash.  Developers need an audience.  Flash Player allows them to reach that audience with interactive content. 

If Flash Player was not free, I would not buy Flash Player. Web developers would not be able to reach me with interactive Flash content.  They would not buy Flash.  They would buy a competitor's product or find another way to develop interactive content.

It's that simple.  But then, Flash Player is no longer truly "free", now is it?

The COST to web site visitors is us putting up with automatic installs of McAfee.  Time = Money.  The time it takes to remove the product because you KEEP ISSUING UPDATES and we have to KEEP UNINSTALLING MCAFEE equals time we're not doing something we would rather be doing.  ANYTHING is better than uninstalling software we keep forgetting to uncheck on your repeated attempts at making Flash Player stable and secure.  That is what it costs us to install Flash Player.

[foistware]

Agreed.  I hate it when an app foists crapware on me.   Absolutely hate it.  And this is the worst infringment yet - not even an option not to install.

Did Adobe never think that McAfee's security scan might conflict with other security applications that might be running?

[mgrist]

I would like to add my voice to those objecting to the way this is presented, requiring the user to opt-out of the toolbar installation process. For myself it's OK as I am aware. But many friends are not aware and then they come to me and I find this type of junk on their computer which I then have to work to remove. It's taking a lot of my time and I am NOT a big company, so it's my own time and money that is being wasted here. I strongly object to this tactic and I request Adobe to make this check box UNCHECKED by default. Really it makes one feel that Adobe is joining the ranks of so-called "freeware" companies which install junk by default. Adobe has in the past been a reputable company making large profits and is in no financial need I am sure to go begging to McAfee. The problem is that this product is now so widely used that it has become essential to many internet users and so Adobe have us over a barrel. I do hope that something can be done about this as I can see from the other comments in this thread that many,  many other people feel the same way.

Please, please make this option UNCHECKED by default, so that users have to make an effort to opt-in, not to opt-out.

[mungox]

Adobe  is doing fine financially. And will do even better as customers convert to the cloud versions 

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/pdfs/201306/Q213Earnings.pdf

[CelsoDeMelo]

Just adding one more voice of dissatisfaction to this Adobe posture of making the "opt in" option the default one.

The argument that this is a mechanism to offset development costs seems weak, since you have to pay to develop in Flash.

Additionally, in account of recent news regarding the owner of McAfee, it's particularly surprising Adobe still chooses to associate so lightly with this company.

Btw, noticed the default options for registering to this forum were also to get a bunch of spam mail from Adobe. Unchecked them all...

[whyDontUCmyLogin]

Adobe, I'm a Flex developer (DoD, Fandango, Mashable, BigFish) and put out by this tactic.  Advertising and synergy is totally understandable, but the "opt out" paradaigm is very frustrating.  Preserving and restoring your brand should take precidence over using cheap buisness tactics to stay afloat.  At the very least, change it to "opt in".  I'm having to develop with a previous version of Flash Player because of this.

[Guest]

Just wanted to say I totally agree with the OP.

I'm sure Adobe gets lots of money for initially checking that McAffee checkbox, but you lost me as a customer because of it and I will investigate in alternatives for Flash

I spent like 1 hour removing all the McAffee crap after what I thought was a quick flash update and I didn't spot the checkbox unfortunately.

Thing is, I didn't know I should be that alerted when using software from a big company like Adobe.

Utterly unthankful way to deal with your customers.

I'm really thinking about making some blog on a big website making public more aware that we should boycot companies that allow installers like this.

Maybe even contact some politicians in the EU to point this out so they can forbid it.

At the moment I'm really disgusted by you Adobe. Bad bad bad buisiness.

[samuelhallstrom]

This is sooo bad I can't believe you are doing this. I just uninstalled your flash player, just like I uninstalled Daemon tools and other sofware long ago becuase I got tired of all crap that came with it. Luckily I'm aware of these cheap tricks so I have never happened to install anything by mistake. But I don't know how many times I have helped people with their computers because they have been starting to act weird and slow. And that's often because of multiple anti-virus and "protection" software, toolbars, and other software installed all over the place, without the user knowing it.

I'm thinking like this: If I feel have to be alerted when I install software, do I trust the source of the software? No I don't. Adobe is way past that point now. This kind of opt-out installation option relies on users not being on their toes while installing, or that they don't read everything you show them. You say, "hey, just untick that checkbox if you don't want to install that wonderful software", but really, if you seriously think most people read everything you show them, and that you are offering something that your users want, they would tick it if it was opt-in. You are intentionally trying to make the users of your software install software they don't want. That is not very nice of you, is it?

And last: Congratulations for making me register just for the purpose of writing this post. It's the first time it ever happened.

[chriss352]

Hi,

every one.

If a user has selected  to the Allow Adobe to install updates recommended . update mechanism, then they will only be prompted for updates on major releases.  All zero day security updates will be installed silently, without any interaction from the user.  Also note that the user can simply decline the major update, in which case we will update Flash Player silently after 30 days.  No third party software will be involved.

Thanks,

www.myniagaratours.com

[kaare1234567890]

For me, upon bootup, I got the flash update request, and when I assented, both mcafee and flash installed, without asking me about mcafee. I did NOT get that nice "install crap" screen shown above in this thread. Yes, I've seen it in the past; not this time.

1. Adobe, you dirty your reputation by installing crapware alongside flash, even in the case where it's possible to opt out.

2. Why do I have to say "no" to the crapware each and every time you want to install a flash update?? If I once say "no" to your crapware, please remember that setting and make it the default for the next time. If this simple task is beyond you, WHY should I trust your software when I edit my pictures and videos.

3. Why can't you reproduce this? Many people are experiencing it. If your (Adobe's) sw skills are so weak that you can't even get the crapware install to work correctly, WHY should I trust your software when I edit my pictures and videos?

I recently bought an adobe product for which there is a very viable competitor. I really thought hard, but went with the adobe product because I've been pretty happy with other adobe products in the past. If this mcafee auto install had happened just prior to my decision, it might have gone the other way. In other words, you don't just gain the pennies per mcafee install, you sometimes lose dollars on sales because of this "screw the customer and install the crapware" policy, and without question you lose respect continuously.

[iamthegooch]

I'd like to add my displeasure to this issue. I recently built a new computer. While I was installing the 500 applications that go along with that, I missed the Opt-out checkbox and installed McAfee. It took a few days to realize that my computer was going slow because McAfee had been installed and was doing a background scan that had been running for days. lol. I've been using Adobe since the late 90's and cannot wait to switch to an alternative technology for documents and Web content.

I hope that  McAfee is reimbursing Adobe for it's lost customers. I'm not gone yet, but it's on my todo list to piecemeal replace their products with something less dodgy.

[degarb2]

Seems in 2013 Mcaffe was a forced install, no option to opt out.

I went to add/remove programs, but  when I clicked on Mcaffee, it suddenly disappeared.  Going to have to roll back and start bugging any idiot webmaster that is requiring flashplayer to just stop and move on to the next decade.

Nothing short of irritating and evil.

[break4me]

Adding my feedback.

I too installed from the update notification upon bootup. I looked for a check box as I always do with installations and I even checked the address bar. I saw something about an adobe & mcafee offer set to false. Mcafee installed anyways. This was on Firefox 22.0 on Win7.

Incorrect link perhaps

I'm in the process of telling my friends so that they are prepared.

[abuhirra]

It is now 11 months since this question was first raised in this forum and still no change.

Again last evening I was tricked into installing Mcafee.

A simple grey box with the red Adobe logo popped up to install Flash Update (no mention of Mcafee).

There was NO optout checkbox.

Adobe is acting with ARROGANCE and DISREGARD in this matter.

They have cheapened their credibility and trustworthiness.

[Annas2013]

I'm not sure Chris is reporting aby of these suggestions to the developers.  Nothing seems to change.  I'm now going to try to get by without using any ADOBE products.  Most of my flash usage is from sites like You Tube.  Rather than use flash I've uninstalled ALL adobe products.

You tube seems to be moving away from flash and now videos are appearing in the MP4 format.  I'll be downloading the flash videos I'm interested in using a video downloader and converting them to MP4.  If this works I'll NEVER load an Adobe product on to my computer again.  The security risks and risk with LSO cookies are a pain.  The opt out McAffee is a pain.  The almost daily security patches are a pain.

Goodbye Adobe!

[C_F_McBlob]

Annas2013 wrote:

The almost daily security patches are a pain.

Updates are about every SIX WEEKS.. If you get notices daily... IT'S BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO UPDATE WHEN YOU'RE ADVISED TO.

Moot point since you're going to stop using any Adobe products anyway... Good luck with that.

[Annas2013]

"Moot point since you're going to stop using any Adobe products anyway... Good luck with that."

Well.  I've been totally Adobe free for one month now.  No Flash. No Adobe pdf reader.

So far I've only been inconvenienced a little.  You tub flash videos can be downloaded and converted to another format and a couple of other sites prompt me to load Adobe saying that they have content that needs the plug in but so far I haven't been inconvenienced.

Frankly if any site insists that I use an Adobe product well they just don't get my business.  Simple.

I'll check in in a month to have another troll.

[chrisokelly]

Its sad that this issue has gone on so long, but at this point there are easy alternatives. And no, I don't mean "HURR DURR, DEATH TO ADOBE, LETS BOYCOTT THEIR PRODUCTS". HTML5 is getting there, slowly, (I far prefer to use youtube with the HTML5 player than the flash one at this point, for instance), but it is not quite ubiquitous enough yet (example: TED videos). Fortunately, if you are using Chrome, you don't need a flash player plugin - as a matter of fact, if you've installed one you're probably not even using it, knowingly or not.

For a while now Chrome has bundled PepperFlash by default with its installation and updates. While it suffered some initial bugbears, it seems mostly matured at this point. Even if you have installed the flash player plugin for Chrome, by default PepperFlash is used, unless you have done some manual config to disable it.

On a side note, could this prompt the same argument about bundled software? In my view - no. Even though it is even less obvious that this software is bundled with Chrome and there is not an opt-out feature (even a sneakily hidden one) prior to the download and installation, I feel this is a different kettle of fish, for two reasons:

• PepperFlash is a plugin for chrome - it only runs when Chrome is running, and doesn't chew up ridiculous amounts of system resources from the time you start using your computer - unlike Mcafe or other AV solutions. It is also uninstalled when you uninstall Chrome, it's not one more program added to your 'Programs and Features' list, simply a transparent plugin for Chrome that enables flash content.
• As has been mentioned, flash on the internet is (some might say unfortunately) everywhere. In many websites you will simply not get the full functionality (or any) without a method of interpreting flash content. In this way, the bundled software is ACTUALLY RELEVANT to the software it is bundled with. For instance, I would be far less incenced by this if what was bundled was not a full system AV, but perhaps some security constraints specifically for flash videos, to prevent some of the many exploits associated with them. An argument could be made that a web browser these days without flash functionality is as newtered as a car without seats - sure you can drive it, but it's going to be uncomfortable and your friends may laugh at you. The same argument can certainly not be made for a Flash player without McAfee.

I have uninstalled the flash player plugin from my home machine (sadly I still need it at work) and have not skipped a beat. When Chrome is updated, PepperFlash is updated with it - without going through Adobe's webpage, without any other opt-in software, without them even getting the option to hawk it at me.

TL;DR

If you already use Chrome for browsing, you do not need a seperate Flash player plugin. Go uninstall it now, browse around some flash content and check that it still works for you. You will no longer have the annoying update manager bugging you every month and a half, and even if you run all your updates one morning at 3AM, after a night out on the town, without reading anything (except the EULA, you do read the EULA right? ), with your eyes closed and your mouse fixed on the "Next" button, you will still not find mcafee (or anything else for that matter) added to your 'Programs and Features' list.

If you don't use Chrome for browsing, unless that's for a specific reason (whether that's "It's a work computer and I am forced to use IE" or "I don't trust any company with that much power" or whatever else), you can install it now, uninstall flash player, and refer to the above paragraph. I won't talk about it's other features here for fear of starting a religious war, but suffice to say it is at least as capable a browser as the other big 4.

[mward82]

I was offered an automatic update for flash player (big grey dialog with red band). I accepted and the installation launched, including McAfee!

I do not remember seeing any option to opt out of McAfee. Frankly I shouldn't have to; McAfee is system level software. Adobe should not, under any circumstances, be offering this as an opt-out download with a browser plugin.

The short version of this story is that I lost valuable time at work unsinstalling crap that I did not ask for. Adobe Flash player has been uninstalled from this computer, will be uninstalled from my home Mac and I will be recommending that we remove it from all of our companies PC's.

Adobe, you simply cannot be trusted and will have a hard time ever regaining that trust from me.

[bebeaz]

Thank you so much for your post on google chrome not using flash player. I have been trying for a month to update flash player without luck and doing all the suggestions given by various members to no avail. I read your post and am using chrome for my browser now instead of firefox. Poof!!!!! no more problems, I can do all my games and other sites now without flash player. What a relief!!!!!! Such a simple fix and I had it installed a long time ago but just prefered using firefox. This fix needs to be highlighted for all those users being plagued by flash player and mcaffee. I can't thank you enough. Now I have no reason to come here and read all about the crap thats happening, I'm done with flash player.

[Annas2013]

Except that Chrome is spyware for Google.  Not that it really maters because everyone has already dropped their underpants long ago.

[WebOfWebs]

Adobe - [Removed profanity evasion] Yeah Im angry.

How DARE you install other crap on my computer without my permission?

My firefox displayed webpage wanted flash player (and if it wasnt free no one would use it!!!!!!!!!!)

And i had no choice to install McAfee. This is my video editing machine - the last thing i need is ANOTHER antivirus installed causing no end of problems. So [Removed profanity evasion].

Next time i go to buy some Adobe product i'll give you some un named program for your servers,

which you'll have no choice but to install, or NO SALE.

Lets see how you like it from behind!

Effin Cheek!

Message was edited by: sinious

[sinious]

Nothing is automatically installed. It has already been answered in reply #1 and extensively after that, screenshots included. This thread is now just collecting misguided comments. Please see the first few posts for the relevant details. This thread is locked.