When you install a program you expect it to install things just for it’s self, but nowadays it seems that the idea is that ‘…if Microsoft can do it, we will too’.

The concept is simple; install a product with it’s ‘auto updater’. It’s purpose is to check for updates for the product you purchased, but to the company that made it you are now a sales lead and a captive audience.

Apple did this with their auto updater. You install Safari, but when there’s a update to ITUNES or SAFARI they automatically check BOTH products by default, hoping you’ll just click on next and not read the instructions or information [and a majority of you will fall prey to this]. What happens is now, the company had installed, basically, unwanted software on your computer. And you can’t tell these damn things you don’t want those updates or to ignore them- very irritating.

My next example is Nuance. I’ve Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 installed; nothing else from Nuance. The auto-updater advised me there was an update.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the update from Nuance on the Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 w/Vista 64 issue. I went from happy to pissed in about 10 seconds. Nuance’s so called update was a sales pitch. They were trying to sell me $200 in garbage products, where I can get comparable products for free.

I started sifting through the garbage options, I couldn’t find anything to stop sending me these sales pitch ‘SPAM’ crap. You can’t; you have to look at each one and then choose to HIDE the so called UPDATE. What kinda’ crap is this?

I restarted the updater and was doing some more poking around and as I looked at the screen I just thought this was so laughable and stupid at the same time.

The updater was displaying pop ups was telling me that there were no updates, but the UPDATER told me there was a update to my product. It’s a complete lie. This was a sales pitch.

I ran the updater again, it returns a page saying my product needs an update; it’s clearly showing ‘Dragon Naturally Speaking’ [the only product I've got] and then below it’s showing me all the products I don’t have and it’s letting me know I could have it all for $200. Wow! Updates to products I don’t have, and trying to sell me crap I don’t want; what a novel idea.

While I’m using Nuance as a example, other companies and programs do this. It’s just underhanded.

I hate these kind of tactics and it’s deceptive and very uncool. Why do I need to know about your other products that I don’t own. Why can’t I choose to opt in or out of your little sales pitches? If I wanted this kind SPAM I would just check my inbox, but since I’ve to use this updater to get my products updates, I’m a captive audience. Companies can send anything they want to my computer and I’ve to look at it. There’s not a option to not look at it.

And see this is not new. Microsoft has came under fire many times for pushing out updates to PC’s that weren’t really updates. It’s just what they wanted to push out and hopefully no one would care; but they did.

Does no one even think that it’s a little suspicious that when the updates come from Microsoft, they offer basically an EXPRESS and MANUAL options. They hope that you just click on EXRESS and install anything they want. I’m not this person, so I review every update to my machine and find out WHY I need this update.

So to those companies, please just give us our updates and only the updates for our products. Stop trying to push your crap on us.

Regards,
NapoleonAG