Does anyone else get annoyed with installers, or worse, auto-updaters that constantly sneak in the pre-checked browser toolbar du jour? This is a pet peeve of mine. Two of the biggest offenders on my list are Oracle with their Java and Adobe with their Flash, Shockwave and PDF viewers. These two companies I'll barely tolerate but with most other companies, I'll abort from the installation process as soon as I see the pre-checked toolbar option.
To me, this is a slimy tactic to create a revenue stream for the vendor -- they get paid for tricking people into installing these toolbars. Akin to stuff used cars salesmen would do in years past that gave their profession the stigma they still have today.
If you get annoyed as me, I urge you to complain to these companies. Demand that they quit trying to trick users into installing toolbar or any additional SPAM. Simply un-checking the option by default would eliminate the slime factor, greatly enhancing the vendor's reputation.
Back to work now. Thanks for reading.
