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January 30th, 2013 17:00
A close look at how Oracle installs deceptive software with Java updates
By Ed Bott for The Ed Bott Report | January 22, 2013
"Summary: Oracle's Java plugin for browsers is a notoriously insecure product. Over the past 18 months, the company has released 11 updates, six of them containing critical security fixes. With each update, Java actively tries to install unwanted software. Here's what it does, and why it has to stop.
... Java is the new king of foistware, displacing Adobe and Skype from the top of the heap.
And it earned that place with a combination of software update practices that are among the most user-hostile and cynical in the industry.
In coordination with Ben Edelman, an expert on deceptive advertising, spyware and adware, I've been looking at how Oracle delivers Java to its customers and who it has chosen to partner with. The evidence against Oracle is overwhelming."
Comment:
It has been a couple of years since I uninstalled Java, but I don't recall this obnoxious behaviour at that time. I don't believe Java had a functional auto-updater when I last used it, but apparently it always now installs unwanted foistware (ASK toolbar, McAfee Security Scanner).
Shame on Oracle
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ky331
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January 30th, 2013 19:00
Great article there! Pitiful behavior by Oracle :-(
msgale
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January 30th, 2013 22:00
I don't get it. Just uncheck the box - no ASK software. Is that really that hard? If you do accidently install it, ASK can easily be removed. I don't find the number of Java updates excessive compared to .... say the number of IE updates or Microsoft Office Updates.
joe53
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January 31st, 2013 07:00
Everything you say might be true, Michael. I posted that article to alert folks still using Java, of this new behaviour.
As you know, Java has been much in the news lately due to its vulnerabilities, and need for updating. For Java to sneak in the ASK toolbar in its updates (something it hasn't done before) when folks are scrambling to keep secure is just not right.
You and I might know better to uncheck the default opt-in, but I suspect many do not, particularly when they never had to do this before.
For those who wonder what all the fuss about ASK is, Ben Edelman recently updated his blog:
http://www.benedelman.org/news/012213-1.html
msgale
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February 1st, 2013 18:00
I just installed WinDVD PRO 11 trial, and guess "Install Google Toolbar" was preselected during the installation. If you want to beat up on Java, so be it, but there are hundreds if no thousands that do exactly the same thing.
Bugbatter
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February 1st, 2013 18:00