WARNING: JUNK AHEAD
Junk offender: Ccleaner
If you hate junk as much as I do, you probably already know about Ccleaner – a handy free tool we’ve often recommended that removes unwanted programs, files and registry keys from your PC with just a few clicks.
Ccleaner was first released way back in 2003, but earlier this year its publisher Piriform was bought by antivirus company Avast. And not long after that, junk-haters noticed something new: a box had appeared in the Ccleaner installer, recommending that you install Avast Free Antivirus at the same time. The box was pre-ticked, and tucked away in the small print at the bottom of the window (see screenshot), a classic tactic used by junk smugglers.
If you aren’t paying close attention, and simply click the big blue ‘Install’ button, you’ll end up with a complete antivirus system you never wanted.
Let’s take a moment for that to sink in. A program designed to keep junk off your computer has been turned into a conduit for unwanted software. What a betrayal.
Now, as I’ve said before, Avast Free Antivirus isn’t exactly dangerous. However, it’s confusing and alarming when you suddenly see a security alert from a program you don’t remember installing. What’s more, Avast shows regular pop-ups encouraging you to upgrade to the company’s paid-for security products. Adverts on my desktop? No thanks.
The good news is that the latest versions of Ccleaner don’t include the sneaky extra installer. Acknowledging that not everyone appreciates bundled software, Piriform says it has “paused distribution while we improve the experience to make it clearer to the customer how to accept or decline the Avast offer”.
Here’s a thought: if you want to ‘improve the experience’, don’t pester us with these unwanted offers in the first place. Let’s hope the feature remains paused for good. And in future, to be on the safe side, we suggest you use the portable version of Ccleaner (available from www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds) which comes as a ZIP file with no installer, and therefore no junk.