Some of you would remember I wrote a similar article few months back. This article is in continuation of that with a bigger and updated list. Most of you are so lazy or ignorant enough not to click the custom option of installation of any application on your PC. This small laziness results in installation of toolbars, applications you never wanted.
Most of the good applications give you option to deselect any apps included in that particular bundle. But many of the apps dont even give you that option. Some of the installers install toolbar apps by default untill you untick them.
See some screens below and you will know what i am talking about.
Here’s a compiled list of almost all the Apps / tools that bundle something or the other stuff like toolbars and badware with their installs. The list is reproduced here with help from Calenderof updates forum and some other additions from my side.
- Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition – Google Chrome
- Adobe Flash Player – Google Toolbar
- Adobe Reader – eBay Desktop
- Adobe Shockwave Player – Norton PC Checkup
- Advanced SystemCare formerly known as Iobit advanced one care – Yahoo Toolbar (selecting no will still do changes on the system)
- AOL Instant Messenger – AOL Toolbar
- Apple’s Software Updater – Safari Browser, QuickTime, iTunes
- Applian FLV Player – Yahoo Toolbar
- Auslogics Registry Defrag – Ask Toolbar
- Auslogics System Information – Ask Toolbar
- AVG LinkScanner (standalone and free) AVG Security toolbar is Yahoo Toolbar
- AVG 8 – AVG Security Toolbar (Yahoo Search bar)
- BitComet – Google Toolbar
- BitDefender Anti-Phishing Free Edition – Ask.com search engine. No opt-in. No opt-out.
- BitTorrent 6.1.2 – Ask Toolbar
- BurnAware Free – Ask Toolbar.
- CCleaner (standard installer) – Yahoo Toolbar <<<Offers Slim version, without toolbar (http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds)
- Comodo Internet Security, Antivirus & Firewall – Ask Toolbar (Comodo Firewall Pro installer has Ask Toolbar too, in case you still have the installer). Note: CIS now have HopSurf Toolbar which has Ask Search
- Comodo Internet Security, Antivirus & Firewall – Ask Toolbar
- Corel Paint Shop Pro X – Yahoo! Toolbar but not pre-checked.
- CPU-Z – Ask Toolbar.
- Cyberlink PowerDVD 8 – Google Toolbar and BETA of Moovielive
- Daemon Tools – Search tool and sponsor ad module, Home page Change
- Defraggler – Yahoo Toolbar
- DivX – Yahoo Toolbar
- FoxIt Reader 3.0 – – installs FoxIt toolbar, makes Ask.com your default search, create desktop, quick launch, and start menu shortcut to eBay
- Free Download Manager – prechecked and bundles Software Informer
- Freecommander – ebay shortcuts. Thanks to member sharp
- Glary Utilities – Ask Toolbar
- GOM Player – Ask Toolbar
- GoogleTalk – no addon but will change default search setting of IE
- GoogleEarth – Pre checked Google Toolbar installation
- ICQ 6 – ICQ Toolbar
- IrfanView (Google Toolbar for IE and Google Desktop Search)
- Isobuster – Ask Toolbar
- iTunes (QuickTime, AppleSoftwareUpdate, AppleMobileDeviceSupport64, Bonjour64, MobileMe64)
- Java Runtime Environment (JRE) – installs Java Quick Starter, Microsoft Live Search Toolbar, OpenOffice installer pre-checked
- Logitech Setpoint (Logitech Yahoo! Toolbar)
- Maxathon 2 – Facebook Sidebar Plugin
- McAfee Site Advisor update – (Yahoo! default browser search)
- MP3 WMA Converter – Yahoo Search and Delio Comparsion Shopping Toolbar
- MyPhoneExplorer – offering ebay shortcuts and taskbar as per member sharp
- Nero Burning Rom or Nero 9 Essentials – Ask Toolbar
- Norton products – Ask Search in Norton toolbar. No option to remove and it was pushed by including in a Norton patch.
- Office Live add-in – includes Silverlight as add-on
- OpenCandy – offering third party software. Report says that even if you do not install the 3rd party software, there is modification in the registry, files and will add tracking cookies. There’s also Conduit Toolbar in the page.
- PalTalk – Ask Toolbar. There’s a nag screen prompting to upgrade from free to paid edition. No way to turn off the nag.
- PC Tools Firewall Plus – Google Toolbar and Threatfire
- PDFCreator – Yahoo Toolbar.
- Recuva – Yahoo toolbar
- RealPlayer – Google Toolbar ,RealPlayer installer have Google Chrome as pre-checked.
- Shockwave Player – Norton Security Scan or Google Toolbar
- SIW (System Information for Windows) – Crawler Toolbar
- Skype – Google Toolbar
- Spyware Doctor – Google Toolbar
- Spyware Terminator – Web security guard, Crawler
- Sun Java RE (online installer) – Google Toolbar / Live Search for Windows Toolbar.
- Sun Java – OpenOffice.org
- Trillian – Ask Toolbar and Weather Channel Desktop
- Unlocker 1.8.7 – eBay Desktop shortcuts
- uTorrent – Ask Toolbar.
- Veoh media player – Yahoo toolbar, search engine change & search protection
- Webroot SpySweeper – Ask Toolbar (This toolbar is detected as spyware/adware by several vendors)
- Winamp – Winamp Toolbar
- Windows Live Installer – Windows Live Toolbar and Sign-in Assistant
- Windows Update – Windows Genuine Advantage Notification – (pre-checked, not required, should not be high-priority)
- Windows SteadyState – Windows Live Toolbar
- Winzip – RegistryBooster
- Wise Disk Cleaner – Ask Toolbar
- xplorer2Lite – Conduit toolbar
- YaHoo! Instant Messenger – YaHoo! toolbar, with ‘YaHoo! Search Protection’ and homepage change to YaHoo!
- ZoneAlarm – SpyBlocker (Ask Toolbar) (This toolbar is detected as spyware/adware by several vendors)
You can place your comments below if i missed something or if any of the above apps have changed some toolbars, or the stuff associated with their installer. I would love to update the above list based on your comments.
JK
September 3, 2009 @ 2:23 PM
Great list and more to add. A few installs without our permission. Any way I hate such programs. Thanks for your effort.
Avinash
September 4, 2009 @ 12:20 PM
thank you mate. The list shows that almost every free app include something bad in one form or other
Antonio
January 11, 2011 @ 4:20 AM
Eu notei que o Defraggler 2.01 não tem uma caixa para aceitação ou não da barra de ferramentas do Google, e o usuário meio que necessita adivinhar que, para não ter a Google Tool Bar instalada, tem que desmarcar a opção de aviso automático de atualizações do Defraggler. Creio que, relativo ao Google, foi a situação mais grave que encontrei até agora, visto que, em programas como Skype, mesmo a opção vindo verificada por padrão, o usuário encontra facilmente o meio de impedir a instalação.
Translated
I’ve noticed that Defraggler 2.01 do not have a case for acceptance or otherwise of the Google toolbar, and the user needs to guess what that means, to not have the Google Tool Bar installed, you have to uncheck automatic updates warning of Defraggler . I believe that, relative to Google, was the most serious situation I found so far because, in programs such as Skype, even if the option been checked by default, the user can easily find the means to prevent installation