The Ask.com malware bundled with ImgBurn

[Rekrul2]

I know there are already a bunch of topics on this, but I wanted to add my own comments. Maybe if enough people speak out, this annoying practice will end.

 

First off, I've never particularly liked ImgBurn myself. I find it counter-intuitive to use. Why are there separate buttons for adding files and directories? Every other program lets you select either from the same function. Why do you need to click on the calculator to total up the size when every other burning program does it automatically? Why does clicking on the red cancel/abort button during a burn do absolutely nothing? Go ahead and click it at the start of a burn and it just continues to burn. By the time I forced a reboot to stop it, it had burned half the disc.

 

Anyway, I decided to install ImgBurn so that I could help a friend. She claims that suddenly nothing on her system will burn properly, so I recommended that she try ImgBurn. It was the only free burning program that I could think of and I'd tried it a few years ago. I didn't realize that it now comes bundled with malware.

 

Yes, I said malware. That's what you call software that runs without permission, puts crap on your system without permission and provides no way to remove it.

 

After my firewall blocked the installer from connecting to the net, I came here and searched the forum. Naturally, I did NOT install the toolbar, (does anyone ever install these things?), but I wanted to see what else it might have done to my system. After reading some of the other messages, I searched my system and sure enough, there was a DLL file sitting in the Temp dir, plus several registry entries for the Ask Toolbar, which I had to manually delete, since none of the registry cleaners I tried listed them as invalid entries.

 

If you want to bundle crap with your software, that's your business, however, said crap has absolutely no right wahtsoever to run on a user's system BEFORE they allow it by leaving the boxes checked. The fact that it runs without asing permission and then modifies the registry makes it malware.

 

Until you stop bundling malware with your software, I will not only not recommend it to anyone else, I will recommend that they AVOID it, as I do with the ever growing list of programs that include this crap.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Why are there separate buttons for adding files and directories?

 

Because that's all Microsof's standard dialog boxes allow for and they work fine for what 'Standard' input mode is designed for.

 

If you want something a little easier for when you're adding a bunch of stuff, just switch the 'Input' mode to 'Advanced'.

 

Why do you need to click on the calculator to total up the size when every other burning program does it automatically?

 

You're comparing apples with oranges.

 

ImgBurn's calculate function does a dummy run on how the final 'Build' process will go. It gives you the exact size of the final image file, not just a running total of the file sizes.

 

Again, if you want that info, just switch to 'Advanced' input mode.

 

Why does clicking on the red cancel/abort button during a burn do absolutely nothing?

 

Your request to abort gets logged and it'll abort just as soon as it's in control again. A lot of the time, the drive is off doing its own thing and the program is just sitting there waiting for it to say it has finished.

 

If you want to bundle crap with your software, that's your business, however, said crap has absolutely no right wahtsoever to run on a user's system BEFORE they allow it by leaving the boxes checked. The fact that it runs without asing permission and then modifies the registry makes it malware.

 

The thing with toolbars is that they have to check it's even worth offering them (compatible OS, browser etc and not already installed). That's just the way they work. You have no clue how much software does behind your back. I'm sure (I know) Ask's stuff is perfectly innocent, it's just doing what it needs to in order to function. If you end up with a file in your temp folder or registry key that hasn't been deleted then I'm sorry for that. My temp folder fills up with rubbish all the time, I don't lose any sleep over it.

 

Until you stop bundling malware with your software, I will not only not recommend it to anyone else, I will recommend that they AVOID it, as I do with the ever growing list of programs that include this crap.

 

Welcome to the real world. Last time I checked, all the main freeware burning tools do the same sort of thing. Hell, I get offered Google / Microsoft / Ask toolbars with tons of stuff now. Believe me, it's only going to become more prevalent. It takes 1/2 a second to uncheck the box saying you want to install the toolbar. If you're going to write off software because of that, you should probably just stop using a PC.