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Google: Unwanted Software Is Worse Than Malware (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Stack: A year-long study between Google and New York University has determined that unwanted software unwittingly downloaded as part of a bundle is a larger problem for users than malware. Google Safe Browsing currently generates three times as many Unwanted Software (UwS) warnings than malware warnings -- over 60 million per week. Types of unwanted software fall into five categories: ad injectors, browser settings hijackers, system utilities, anti-virus, and major brands. While estimates of UwS installs are still emerging, studies suggest that ad injection affects 5% of browsers, and that deceptive extensions in the Chrome Web store affect over 50 million users. 59% of the bundles studied were flagged by at least one anti-virus engine as potentially unwanted.
If Google truly believed this, they would use the licensing of Google Mobile Services to force manufacturers of Android devices and carriers to stop loading up the devices with unwanted software. As long as Google keeps tolerating the bloatware, they are hypocrites. This "do as I say, not as I do" attitude of Google is quite common and is a massive departure from not being evil.
Yeah like come bundled on every Android device and oh BTW which rely on Google location tracking, snooping and other APIs.
Facebook et al. shouldn't take rooting to get rid of them, stop the bloat abuse.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
That depends on what the meaning if "is" is. Any software I don't want that wastes my time by displaying ads or using machine cycles is malware.
"Google and New York University has determined that unwanted software unwittingly downloaded as part of a bundle is a larger problem for users than malware"
I figured that out when I had the Windows 10 update go in with Cortana and all the other "Apps" that I didn't want.
Perhaps then google you will take note of your own study and stop bundling shit in with lots of other product installs that nobody wants. hint if I wanted your fucking browser I would have gone and installed it.
"Types of unwanted software fall into five categories: ad injectors, browser settings hijackers, system utilities, anti-virus, and major brands."
How are the first two items not classified as malware? Perhaps the real problem is you're too close to the source, Google.
#DeleteChrome
Do you define worse as being simply larger in scale, and affecting more people in undesired ways? Or do you define worse as being a larger headache for those who must deal with it?
If the former, I'd agree. Unwanted software certainly affects more people, but if the latter, I'd have to dissent, and suggest that accidentally having malware get into your system is going to pose a much bigger problem for the end user than unwanted software is ever likely to represent.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
It took a study to figure out the magnitude of the problem.
The number being 20% or 80% could mean the difference between spending a thousand or a million dollars on the problem.
Wonder what the public key field is for?
Steam forced you to install those games, they ran by default and you could neither uninstall them nor keep them from restarting when you kicked them out of RAM?
That's harsh.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Because about a month ago, Chrome installed a new version of itself without asking, without permission, and the first hint I had (since I don't use the nasty thing unless I have to) was a new icon on my desktop. (Didn't even put it in a sane location. It's somewhere down in User Application Data.)
Apparently if you have Google Talk installed, this is what Google does behind your back.
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?