Asus ROG Strix XG27UQ review
be quiet! Pure Rock 2 review
Fractal Design Define 7 Compact review
Lian Li Galahad 360 liquid cooler review
Guru3D Rig of the Month - July 2020
Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 3600 MHz (64GB) review
Red Dead Redemption 2: PC graphics benchmark review (revisited)
Kioxia Exceria 960 GB SATA3 SSD review
HP Portable P500 1TB Portable USB3 SSD review
EK-Quantum Magnitude WaterBlock Review
Windows Defender and Security Essentials will now automatically delete annoying cleaners
To prevent people from purchasing unnecessary software, Microsoft has now taken action against cleaners and optimization software that use alarming, coercive messages to scare customers into buying a premium version of the same program.
There has been an increase in free versions of programs that purport to scan computers for various errors, and then use alarming, coercive messages to scare customers into buying a premium version of the same program. The paid version of these programs, usually called cleaner or optimizer applications, purportedly fixes the problems discovered by the free version. We find this practice problematic because it can pressure customers into making unnecessary purchase decisions.
Typically these softwares are free to download and when used, it finds all finds all kinds of issues that need a fix. They alert end-users with alarming messages, pressuring people to purchase a premium version of the software, to fix the issues.
Microsoft updated their evaluation criteria for unwanted software.
“We use the evaluation criteria to determine what programs are identified as malware and unwanted software. In the future, programs that display coercive messaging will be classified as unwanted software, detected, and removed,” Microsoft’s Barak Shein explains.
The move is in addition to earlier steps Microsoft has taken to regulate cleaner and optimizer programs including requiring them to provide users with detailed information about what purportedly needs to be fixed following a scan. "Programs must not display alarming or coercive messages or misleading content to pressure you into paying for additional services or performing superfluous actions", Microsoft explained. Odds are, you've seen these types of programs in practice.
Microsoft to retire Windows HomeGroup feature - 01/29/2018 09:58 AM
The latest Windows Insider build of Windows 10, Microsoft has ended the Windows HomeGroup option. Originally a part of Windows 7 in 2009 and continuing until now, HomeGroup was a way to share files a...
Windows 10 to get tool that shows what collected telemetry data is send to Microsoft - 01/25/2018 10:38 AM
Microsoft has planned to release what is called a Diagnostic Data Viewer later this year. This is a Windows 10 tool that allows users to see exactly what data telemetry Windows 10 uploads to Microso...
Microsoft has ended free Windows 10 upgrades through Assistive Technologies - 01/18/2018 07:06 PM
It had a good, nice and long run. But the options to freely upgrade towards Windows 10 through the Assistive Technologies option, has been removed from the website, the upgrade feature has been halte...
Microsoft Ends Mainstream Support for the somewhat failed Windows 8.1 - 01/12/2018 10:33 AM
Microsoft halted supporting Windows 8.1 this week, the OS will continue to remain in an ‘extended support’ for a few years state though, which will be prolonged towards 2023....
Microsoft Fall Creators Update available to all Windows 10 users - 01/12/2018 09:47 AM
Microsoft Windows 10 version 1709, or the Fall Creators Update is now available to all systems that are eligible for the update. The Enterprise and Pro editions of Windows 10 will be updated on Januar...
fantaskarsef
Senior Member
Posts: 11594
Joined: 2014-07-21
Senior Member
Posts: 11594
Joined: 2014-07-21
#5515987 Posted on: 02/01/2018 10:39 AM
War of the malwarez?
Sounds a little fishy to me that even if a user installs such a software, well aware that it's asking for a premium yet you are fine with the free version, m$ still forces the uninstall onto the user (I did not read about any user defined rules you can change or exceptions you can set). That forcing the software environment sounds to me like what Apple does with their stuff (I have only heard about how that works), once again taking control of stuff that once belonged to the user's sphere of influence (like windows updates).
War of the malwarez?
Sounds a little fishy to me that even if a user installs such a software, well aware that it's asking for a premium yet you are fine with the free version, m$ still forces the uninstall onto the user (I did not read about any user defined rules you can change or exceptions you can set). That forcing the software environment sounds to me like what Apple does with their stuff (I have only heard about how that works), once again taking control of stuff that once belonged to the user's sphere of influence (like windows updates).
alanm
Senior Member
Posts: 9375
Joined: 2004-05-10
Senior Member
Posts: 9375
Joined: 2004-05-10
#5515988 Posted on: 02/01/2018 10:40 AM
Just now? Would have thought they were doing that from the beginning.
Just now? Would have thought they were doing that from the beginning.
Singleton99
Senior Member
Posts: 1029
Joined: 2012-04-18
Senior Member
Posts: 1029
Joined: 2012-04-18
#5515990 Posted on: 02/01/2018 10:42 AM
A part of me still believes that people who fall for this deserve what they get to some extent. A form of natural selection, if you will.
However, I do still lean towards support for this decision by Microsoft, as I absolutely loathe such scams.
Maybe they should also do the same for RAM cleaners/optimizers as well.
When i first started with computers and the internet some 15yrs ago i did fall for this and also paid money as i didn't know any better at that time and thought that said programs (Registry Mechanic it think it was called) would make my PC run faster, there will be many many novice users out there that fall for these programs everyday and believe like i did that they are fixing problems that don't really exist ,or can be fixed from within windows itself .
A part of me still believes that people who fall for this deserve what they get to some extent. A form of natural selection, if you will.
However, I do still lean towards support for this decision by Microsoft, as I absolutely loathe such scams.
Maybe they should also do the same for RAM cleaners/optimizers as well.
When i first started with computers and the internet some 15yrs ago i did fall for this and also paid money as i didn't know any better at that time and thought that said programs (Registry Mechanic it think it was called) would make my PC run faster, there will be many many novice users out there that fall for these programs everyday and believe like i did that they are fixing problems that don't really exist ,or can be fixed from within windows itself .
cryohellinc
Senior Member
Posts: 3218
Joined: 2014-10-20
Senior Member
Posts: 3218
Joined: 2014-10-20
#5516003 Posted on: 02/01/2018 11:20 AM
A part of me still believes that people who fall for this deserve what they get to some extent. A form of natural selection, if you will.
However, I do still lean towards support for this decision by Microsoft, as I absolutely loathe such scams.
Maybe they should also do the same for RAM cleaners/optimizers as well.
"A form of natural selection, if you will. " That's just a pathetic, childish and ignorant comment. Next time you visit a doctor, he will grin and laugh in your face saying something in a line of - "Oh you got ill? Too bad. Hahaha. Should have studied medicine, you fool! "
Not everyone is tech-savvy, as a lot of people browse the internet without any protection and are absolutely oblivious to potential threats.
A part of me still believes that people who fall for this deserve what they get to some extent. A form of natural selection, if you will.
However, I do still lean towards support for this decision by Microsoft, as I absolutely loathe such scams.
Maybe they should also do the same for RAM cleaners/optimizers as well.
"A form of natural selection, if you will. " That's just a pathetic, childish and ignorant comment. Next time you visit a doctor, he will grin and laugh in your face saying something in a line of - "Oh you got ill? Too bad. Hahaha. Should have studied medicine, you fool! "
Not everyone is tech-savvy, as a lot of people browse the internet without any protection and are absolutely oblivious to potential threats.
Click here to post a comment for this news story on the message forum.
Member
Posts: 66
Joined: 2006-09-23
Not sure how I feel about this.
On the one hand I've regularly found these programs on people's pc and they do induce panic in non-techy people. Sometimes inducing them to purchasing unnecessary software.
On the other hand, this is Microsoft actively removing software from your pc that it doesn't think is appropriate. What's to stop them from deciding the same for other types of software in the future. "This emulator can run pirated software - deleted" "This bittorrent program can be used for downloading copyrighted material - deleted"
Slippery slope.