Yahoo toolbar installed without permission

[swamiji]

Installing the latest CCleaner installed the yahoo toolbar in the background, without asking permission!

 

This is hardly impressive, given the fair amount of work needed to remove all traces of it from the computer afterwards. Is this now company policy? If so, I guess i will stick to older versions of CCleaner or drop it altogether.

 

Most free software I am aware of, that has an arrangement with people like Yahoo, gives one the option to NOT install their toolbar. I personally object to certain software producers trying to hijack part of my display real estate.

 

I am using windows 2k, SP4. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Feel free to email me at xxxxxxxxxx

 

 

email address edited out by moderator

[Augeas]

Just untick the Yahoo Toolbar box when doing the install, or download the slim version which has no toolbar.

[unclebic]

Just untick the Yahoo Toolbar box when doing the install, or download the slim version which has no toolbar.

 

The above is correct and you can find the slim version at the link below. That page will automatically update to the latest version. So if you have CCleaner set to check for new versions, and it notifies you a new version is available, then don't use the link built in, just ignore it and go to this same link each time.

 

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No...lish_d4191.html

 

CCleaner is being sponsored by yahoo so it's in their best interest to make the tool bar available, but not mandatory, in order to provide this great software for free. I'm willing to bet that during the install you accidentally missed the little checkbox to allow it to install or maybe clicked too fast to see it. I too have a Win2k SP4 machine and installed the slim version without issue.

 

Good Luck!

Vic

VicLovan.com

http://www.viclovan.com/ccleaner2settings.htm

[gandorwig]

I'm a newbie here, and hope I do this right. When I up graded my CCleaner, google added thier tool bar. I heard some bad reports about them ,so I decided to delete the tool bar. No one will beleve me, but the very second I deleted the last entry, my pc went crazy.I had to reinstall windows with my cd.Im not a pro at this computer bussiness, but this happened. I have had my pc for 4 years and that has never happened before. I have deleted many such programs. CCleaner is my favorite program ,and I will always use it, but I have some bad fellings for google after that deal(gandorwig)

[unclebic]

I'm a newbie here, and hope I do this right. When I up graded my CCleaner, google added thier tool bar. I heard some bad reports about them ,so I decided to delete the tool bar. No one will beleve me, but the very second I deleted the last entry, my pc went crazy.I had to reinstall windows with my cd.Im not a pro at this computer bussiness, but this happened. I have had my pc for 4 years and that has never happened before. I have deleted many such programs. CCleaner is my favorite program ,and I will always use it, but I have some bad fellings for google after that deal(gandorwig)

 

Several points -

 

1. This post should really be started as a new topic.

2. CCleaner has one major sponsor and it's the Yahoo! toolbar.

3. If you installed CCleaner and it installed the Google toolbar, please post the link where you downloaded that version of CCleaner.

4. Not that it's impossible, but the Google toolbar is outstanding for either Firefox or Internet Explorer. It has been installed on more computers than any other. It is unlikely that clearing out something would cause you to have to do a complete reinstall (and if there's a next time, on WinXP or Vista, first try the "last known good", and then, as much as I hate to use it, try using the system restore).

5. When you say that you deleted the last entry, exactly what are you referring to? Are you talking about the last entry in CCleaner, or the toolbar?

6. What security software do you use? Please list both AntiVirus and AntiSpyware programs.

7. What version of Windows do you have?

 

Good Luck!

Vic

VicLovan.com

http://www.viclovan.com/ccleaner2settings.htm

[gandorwig]

I have windows xp , internet exployer 7,dell 3000, I use msn for browser avg and winow deffender.l have CCleaner, regseeker. I know i'm not an expert, but when I deleted the last file on google, my pc was unuseable. I could not get on internet , would not let me use system restore point, my desk top was in a total mess. It was a total mess. and the last know was just the same.Im 70 years old and not the sharpest computer genuis, but I know what I saw. I can think of no reason why google would do that, but it happened, and I can not see any other reason for my problem. I know i'm going to catch alot of flack for saying this, but I am going to tell my story. I am new to this forum, and i'm enjoying it , but even if this gets me banned , so be it. This happened and i'm not happy about it (gandorwig)

[hazelnut]

Gandorwig, CCleaner has no connection with the google toolbar so it can not be held responsible for problems to do with it.

 

Can you please answer the questions 3 and 5 that unclebic asked you in the post above your last one, and we will try to help you.

[unclebic]

Gandorwig - I'm a tech and will have a few suggestions and comments and now a couple more questions regarding your computer and software that may not necessarily have anything to do with this particular issue. Also I wouldn't worry too much about being banned for telling your story. Especially since you're here trying to find out if you have an actual bug, and if you do the folks at Piriform will be able to make CCleaner better after finding out what's wrong. You'll find that the people here are trying to be as helpful as possible. As geeks we're all opinionated and if you put ten of us in a room, you'll probably get ten different ways to do something. Most of all, we all agree that CCleaner is one of the best pieces of software you can arm yourself with to help keep your computer running smoothly.

 

I looked up what computer you have since you listed a Dell 3000 and found that it's about 4 years old. So that makes me ask if you've had the original hard drive replaced in it yet? If not then you should make sure that you've got some sort of backup system running, the entire Documents and Settings folder as well as any program folders that may have some of your personal data in them, like, AOL, Intuit/Quicken/Quick Books, TurboTax. These are some of the bad programs and older programs that would store your personal data in their own program folder and not in the Doc's and Settings > My Documents folder. You will want to back up to an external hard drive or another computer so then you can start looking at whether or not you're in for a new hard drive or computer. I use an excellent free backup program called Cobian Backup to run my backups. Most hard drive manufacturers try to get five years out of their drives and only a few will give a warranty for that long (I currently like the Seagate ES series for SATA drives and really none of the IDE drives).

 

Cobian Backup download at MajorGeeks

 

So, are you nervous yet? - said with a bit of a knowing as well as evil grin. Don't be. Hard drives fail, it's not if, it's when. Just start doing backups and plan for it. If you're shopping for a new hard drive they're not too expensive but the labor can add up if you have it done for you. If you're going to be shopping for a new computer then I try to keep up shopping guidelines on my site. http://www.viclovan.com/shopping_computer_...estions2007.htm

 

Next I looked up the regseeker since I hadn't heard of it, that's not saying anything since there are so many programs out there, anyway, it had good reviews. I do think it's possible that there could be some issue using that if it's locking any files that CCleaner is trying to remove and causing some possible conflict. I doubt this but I don't know exactly what regseeker is keeping tabs on, or removing.

 

On to the software part of the program. Are you using the actual "MSN Explorer" or just the MSN web site as a start page? And just to clarify this a bit more, "Internet Explorer" ("Internet Exploder") and the "MSN Explorer" are two different browsers and there is also a MSN webpage that is the default start page when you open Internet Explorer. Either way I really want to encourage you to make the switch to Firefox. There may well always be a need for Internet Explorer because some web sites simply won't work with Firefox. The MSN Explorer is just a customized program that is built to run using the Internet Explorer engine underneath the fancy skin on top. I have a page set up just for my clients and other techs that makes it pretty easy to find some of the better "Add-ons" for Firefox as well as several programs for a clean system that is functional for a lot of different tasks.

 

http://www.viclovan.com/how_to.htm

 

I hope you'll find all this helpful and if you could try to answer all the other questions (my first # 3 & 5 as well as the IE and MSN stuff) that would be appreciated.

 

Good Luck!

Vic

VicLovan.com

http://www.viclovan.com/ccleaner2settings.htm

[Keithuk]

I had to reinstall windows with my cd.Im not a pro at this computer bussiness, but this happened. I have had my pc for 4 years and that has never happened before.

Hi gandorwig.

 

You didn't have to reinstall anything. You could have started your computer up in Safe Mode and do a System Restore.

 

So you've had this computer for 4 years and you've never done a System Restore? All as this does is restore the registry, it doesn't add or remove any files.

[krit86lr]

Next I looked up the regseeker since I hadn't heard of it, that's not saying anything since there are so many programs out there, anyway, it had good reviews. I do think it's possible that there could be some issue using that if it's locking any files that CCleaner is trying to remove and causing some possible conflict. I doubt this but I don't know exactly what regseeker is keeping tabs on, or removing.

I'd just like to add a few things about regseeker. Regseeker is a good program, but is not good for novices for a few reasons. Regseeker is a vigorous cleaner, and if you let it clean everything that finds you will have trouble. The program has an exception section for users to manually input program information to ignore. There used to be a thread with Andavari's exclusion file to download...should still be around here somewhere. He's really the expert on this program. Definitely not a safe program if you don't know to use it.

 

IMHO that was probably the culprit to the pc freezing. Too many missing registry files.

[gandorwig]

Gandorwig, CCleaner has no connection with the google toolbar so it can not be held responsible for problems to do with it.

 

Can you please answer the questions 3 and 5 that unclebic asked you in the post above your last one, and we will try to help you.

I am over whelmed by so many responces, and I want to let everyone know that I appreciate this, but i'm not sure I can anser everyones questions. I' not sure where I down loaded CCleaner. I have been using CCleaner for a long time. I was inorging the google tool bar ,and only decided to delete it after a friend said he thought it was causing problems. Since I was not using google or the tool bar I decided to delete all of google. I have deleted programs like yahoo and even google in the past with no problems. I like to keep my pc lean ,and if i'm not using programs ,I delete them. This is what I did. I typed in google in find after going to regedit.I kept pressing f3 and delete until it told me search complete,and could not find any more google intries. Next I went to search all files and typed in google.I deleded every thing . Iwas down to the last google entry,and excess was denied. This always happens. There is always one or two entrys that won't delete. usally after I restart my pc ,I can delete them. I powered down ,and as I was doing this google flased in my windows exployer(files and folders).Thats when all hxxx broke lose. I could not get to restore system. It gave me warning and said it would not restore. Last know was also messed up.Could not get on internet , could not get to restore , last know was not good.I decided to use my cd that came with my pc. That worked just fine, and i'm now back where i was. This is all I know . I'm not a computer expert , but I know when its broke, and it was broke. I wish that I was smarter,and could anser your questions better. I hope this helps. i'm retired so I have plenty of time if you have more questions for me , I

use internet exployer 7 ie7. My home page is MSN. I have used CCleaner a long time and also regseeker. I have never had one single problem. I use avg,and windows deffender. I realy hope i'm not abusing or causing problems.I have learned that there are some caring people out there, and so the expierience was good for me. Thank you very much everyone. I choose this one to reply on ,but want to thank everyone that responded to me

[Andavari]

There used to be a thread with Andavari's exclusion file to download...should still be around here somewhere. He's really the expert on this program. Definitely not a safe program if you don't know to use it.

That thread, and download are still available here. However I stopped using RegSeeker a while back. I'm definitely no expert with it - more like leary of it to be correct hence all those exclusions.

[gandorwig]

Gandorwig - I'm a tech and will have a few suggestions and comments and now a couple more questions regarding your computer and software that may not necessarily have anything to do with this particular issue. Also I wouldn't worry too much about being banned for telling your story. Especially since you're here trying to find out if you have an actual bug, and if you do the folks at Piriform will be able to make CCleaner better after finding out what's wrong. You'll find that the people here are trying to be as helpful as possible. As geeks we're all opinionated and if you put ten of us in a room, you'll probably get ten different ways to do something. Most of all, we all agree that CCleaner is one of the best pieces of software you can arm yourself with to help keep your computer running smoothly.

 

I looked up what computer you have since you listed a Dell 3000 and found that it's about 4 years old. So that makes me ask if you've had the original hard drive replaced in it yet? If not then you should make sure that you've got some sort of backup system running, the entire Documents and Settings folder as well as any program folders that may have some of your personal data in them, like, AOL, Intuit/Quicken/Quick Books, TurboTax. These are some of the bad programs and older programs that would store your personal data in their own program folder and not in the Doc's and Settings > My Documents folder. You will want to back up to an external hard drive or another computer so then you can start looking at whether or not you're in for a new hard drive or computer. I use an excellent free backup program called Cobian Backup to run my backups. Most hard drive manufacturers try to get five years out of their drives and only a few will give a warranty for that long (I currently like the Seagate ES series for SATA drives and really none of the IDE drives).

 

Cobian Backup download at MajorGeeks

 

So, are you nervous yet? - said with a bit of a knowing as well as evil grin. Don't be. Hard drives fail, it's not if, it's when. Just start doing backups and plan for it. If you're shopping for a new hard drive they're not too expensive but the labor can add up if you have it done for you. If you're going to be shopping for a new computer then I try to keep up shopping guidelines on my site. http://www.viclovan.com/shopping_computer_...estions2007.htm

 

Next I looked up the regseeker since I hadn't heard of it, that's not saying anything since there are so many programs out there, anyway, it had good reviews. I do think it's possible that there could be some issue using that if it's locking any files that CCleaner is trying to remove and causing some possible conflict. I doubt this but I don't know exactly what regseeker is keeping tabs on, or removing.

 

On to the software part of the program. Are you using the actual "MSN Explorer" or just the MSN web site as a start page? And just to clarify this a bit more, "Internet Explorer" ("Internet Exploder") and the "MSN Explorer" are two different browsers and there is also a MSN webpage that is the default start page when you open Internet Explorer. Either way I really want to encourage you to make the switch to Firefox. There may well always be a need for Internet Explorer because some web sites simply won't work with Firefox. The MSN Explorer is just a customized program that is built to run using the Internet Explorer engine underneath the fancy skin on top. I have a page set up just for my clients and other techs that makes it pretty easy to find some of the better "Add-ons" for Firefox as well as several programs for a clean system that is functional for a lot of different tasks.

 

http://www.viclovan.com/how_to.htm

 

I hope you'll find all this helpful and if you could try to answer all the other questions (my first # 3 & 5 as well as the IE and MSN stuff) that would be appreciated.

 

Good Luck!

Vic Thank you very much for your help, I,hope i'm doing this right please let me know if i'm not. I tried to anser your questions on another reply. Was that ok??

VicLovan.com

http://www.viclovan.com/ccleaner2settings.htm

[gandorwig]

Hi gandorwig.

 

You didn't have to reinstall anything. You could have started your computer up in Safe Mode and do a System Restore.

 

So you've had this computer for 4 years and you've never done a System Restore? All as this does is restore the registry, it doesn't add or remove any files.

This would not work, but I realy thank you for you imput. I have done lots of system restores, but this time it would not work. There was some kind of warning, but I do not remember exactly what it was.Just know it scared me ,and so I did not pursue that. I have recovered with my dell cd in past, so I went with that. Every thing is back to normal I hope, it seems to be .Thanks again

[Augeas]

This is what I did. I typed in google in find after going to regedit.I kept pressing f3 and delete until it told me search complete,and could not find any more google intries. Next I went to search all files and typed in google.I deleded every thing . Iwas down to the last google entry,and excess was denied. This always happens. There is always one or two entrys that won't delete. usally after I restart my pc ,I can delete them.

Do you mean you don't use Add/Remove Programs to get rid of programs you don't want? If you don't, then I think you are asking for trouble, or at least finding it.

[gandorwig]

Do you mean you don't use Add/Remove Programs to get rid of programs you don't want? If you don't, then I think you are asking for trouble, or at least finding it.

I usaly use add & remove. I will next time . Thanks

[LEEnoble]

I always grab the latest slim build for my installs. English only and no toolbar.

[gandorwig]

That thread, and download are still available here. However I stopped using RegSeeker a while back. I'm definitely no expert with it - more like leary of it to be correct hence all those exclusions.

I hate to ask a dunb question.Your knowledge of the coputer amazes me, and a'm a little intemadated by this, but i'm going to ask any way.How do i know if I down loaded your thread successfuly. Thank you!! (gandorwig)

[davey]

I usaly use add & remove. I will next time . Thanks

Hello my friend Gandorwig,

As you can see there are many great members here to help you.

You have apparently learned quite a bit on your own over the last 4 years.

Now you have a place to come to read and learn.

Also to verify some things when you are not sure.

If you have a Software related problem you can start a "New Topic" in the Software forum.

A Hardware question then of course the Hardware forum.

If it is related to a specific Piriform product then use that forum etc.

 

As regards uninstalling any software,the best practice is to go to the software manufacturer itself.

If Google then Google.com etc. and the same with the other companies.

Software companies don't want a bad reputation.

 

Many products are getting so sophisticated that each product has it's own uninstall procedure and some times special "clean-up" tools.

This makes it easier to remove all related files,programs,registry entries and avoid conflicts with your operating system.

 

This is probably what happened with the Google tool bar when you tried to do it manually.

Many free software products have options to opt out of installing other popular tools.

With CCleaner the option is the Yahoo toolbar.

Some software distribution websites also have free products that you also must opt out of installing the Google toolbar,Google package or some other software products etc.

 

All users must check every install option very closely when installing "free" or "commercial" software.

 

Best Wishes,

davey

[unclebic]

Since I was not using google or the tool bar I decided to delete all of google. I have deleted programs like yahoo and even google in the past with no problems. I like to keep my pc lean ,and if i'm not using programs ,I delete them. This is what I did. I typed in google in find after going to regedit.I kept pressing f3 and delete until it told me search complete,and could not find any more google intries. Next I went to search all files and typed in google.I deleded every thing . Iwas down to the last google entry,and excess was denied. This always happens. There is always one or two entrys that won't delete. usally after I restart my pc ,I can delete them.

 

Now you know that this is not the way to remove a program. Anytime you change the registry the effect is immediate and permanent. If you are going to try to change something in the registry, then you want to export the key you are changing or backup the whole thing. When you do it the way that you did the last time, I'm sure you removed extra keys that should have pointed to some of the networking files and that "broke" the network access.

 

The best way to remove a program under normal circumstances is use the "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel. You can also use the one that is built into CCleaner under Tools, but you do want to use caution there too because the one in CCleaner lists everything including Microsoft Updates and sometimes if a program is actually a group of programs, they will be listed by themselves, while if you use the "Add/Remove Programs" in Windows they'll probably be listed under that parent program. For instance, if you had any of the newer Norton or Symantec AntiVirus programs from 2006 or later then you would see several listings that are related, but if you just choose to remove "Norton Internet Security 2006" the installer/uninstaller program comes up and offers a "Remove All" to remove everything. Now most of the geeks here will know that Norton is "Notorious" for leaving lots of little bits behind once it is removed. Then you have to download the latest version of "SYMNRT" to remove what's left over. Then just to be extra tidy you run CCleaner and use the cleaner and then "scan for issues". When you "scan for issues", CCleaner is removing the extra bits left behind in the registry. That's why there is a backup offered before it fixes anything. You should always do this.

 

There are programs that will help you for adding and removing installed programs. They might take a bit longer to add and remove a program, but leave your system cleaner than just trusting the program uninstaller to get it right. You may like Revo Uninstaller. There are other programs like this one out there but this one seemed to have the best reviews.

 

As I was looking at the way you seem to like to run your system it occurred to me that you might really like "Sandboxie". Get your system set up with just the basics, such as the list on the "how to" page on my site listed above, such as, AVG, Firefox, Threatfire, and Cobian Backup. Do your Microsoft Updates. Maybe even defrag your hard drive, I do a defrag every two years whether the drive needs it or not and then you install Sandboxie. If you don't want to use that program there are other "sandbox" programs out there.

 

Good Luck!

Vic

VicLovan.com

http://www.viclovan.com/ccleaner2settings.htm

[gandorwig]

A special thanks to everyone for all your help. I'v learned alot and found new friends , so not all was bad. I use regedit , because I want to remove all of the program, which add & remove will not do.I will be sure I start there first, and back up regestry next time.I also will be carefull and not let google install its tool bar on my pc. I'm sure I wasn't deleting the way i'm suposed to but I have deleted many programs that way, this time it back fired , I guess. I want to add one more thing and then this issue is over. The week before I deleted yahoo the same way with out any problems, exactly the same way I did google.Enough of that, I think its over done.One more time a very sencere thank you to all on the forum.Im a Cherokee indian ,and I have asked the spirits to reward each one of you for your help and kindness.(GrayBear) gandorwig