HoneyBakedHam: Nothing on this planet is as mind-numbingly useless as a search engine toolbar polluting your browser's interface.

Thus I post this warning. I just used Microsoft's Direct X Web Installer (in an attempt to solve an issue with Civ 5 freezing up) to make sure my versions of Direct X was up to snuff. Everything worked fine. No worries.

HOWEVER, had I not been paying attention I would have missed the checkbox that was conveniently pre-checked to install the Bing Toolbar in my browser.

I expect that Yahoo Messenger wants to sneak the Yahoo Toolbar into my otherwise pristine browser. I look for these things when I'm adding or updating a variety of software. I even expect Microsoft to try and clog up my system with shovel-ware if I download their ridiculous Messenger package.

But hiding toolbar loaders in driver updates or the like... well, why not just jam a bunch of malware into a service pack?

Anyway, if you update Direct X anytime soon... watch out for the Bing Toolbar loader.

HoneyBakedHam: Nothing on this planet is as mind-numbingly useless as a search engine toolbar polluting your browser's interface.

Thus I post this warning. I just used Microsoft's Direct X Web Installer (in an attempt to solve an issue with Civ 5 freezing up) to make sure my versions of Direct X was up to snuff. Everything worked fine. No worries.

HOWEVER, had I not been paying attention I would have missed the checkbox that was conveniently pre-checked to install the Bing Toolbar in my browser.

I expect that Yahoo Messenger wants to sneak the Yahoo Toolbar into my otherwise pristine browser. I look for these things when I'm adding or updating a variety of software. I even expect Microsoft to try and clog up my system with shovel-ware if I download their ridiculous Messenger package.

But hiding toolbar loaders in driver updates or the like... well, why not just jam a bunch of malware into a service pack?

Anyway, if you update Direct X anytime soon... watch out for the Bing Toolbar loader.

Kabuto: At one time java used to try and sneak an openoffice install in as well. Stuff like this has made me always cliick on custom installation for everything just to make sure nothing sneaks in.

orcishgamer: Valve let those folks distribute Gator (actual adware/malware) with Gunman Chronicles. I'm pretty sure that takes the cake.

MobiusArcher: OpenOffice is an excellent open source MS Office alternative. I doubt their motives were the same as when an install bundles a toolbar. I honestly think that they believed they were doing people a favor.

rampancy: I admit that I'm not as well-versed on this as I should be since I'm primarily a Mac-guy, but, isn't it (shouldn't it?) be trivial to remove these toolbars? I thought IE by now had an extension infrastructure similar to that in Firefox, which would presumably make removing or disabling them easy?

rampancy: I admit that I'm not as well-versed on this as I should be since I'm primarily a Mac-guy, but, isn't it (shouldn't it?) be trivial to remove these toolbars? I thought IE by now had an extension infrastructure similar to that in Firefox, which would presumably make removing or disabling them easy?

HereForTheBeer: Not necessarily. I encountered one a couple weeks back on a relative's machine. Extensive searching online only gave instructions for turning it off; nothing was shown to actually get rid of it. I suspect the browser would have to be uninstalled and reinstalled but they were fine with just turning it off.

lukipela: OpenOffice is terrible.

HereForTheBeer: Not necessarily. I encountered one a couple weeks back on a relative's machine. Extensive searching online only gave instructions for turning it off; nothing was shown to actually get rid of it. I suspect the browser would have to be uninstalled and reinstalled but they were fine with just turning it off.