Not sure where to post this.
Of the security programs I use, I knew about Comodo from reading this forum. But I was surprised about Avira.
When running one of my secondary programs LONG scans I read this blog
I was surprised at the leading names of Free antivirus programs that were included.
Also when using one of my clean up tools AdwCleaner I will find these persistant items. See attachments
Thanks
UncleDoug
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There some irony in it, isn’t it?
AV vendors installing pup’s, a category they may also be detecting. Then there is CNET having gone almost full circle. Back in the days CNET hosted a lot of freeware that came bundled with spyware for which they got righteously criticized when they set up a conference meeting about the problem of spyware. CNET then changed its ways and stopped providing downloads bundled with spyware. Now they have gone almost full circle but instead of spyware the problem now is pup,s… 
This problem can be easily handled by the end user by not selecting additional software that gets offered during installation. And yes, the user will have to look at the installer and may need to click on a button to find the option to deselect the additional software. I have been practising this for the past decade or a bit more. It saved me a lot of headaches…
Agree completely. The software vendors do make it incredibly difficult to tell whether a PUP is going to be installed and you have to carefully read every window that pops up during the installation and be sure you understand the results of your actions on that window. I install (and then often remove) quite a bit of freeware (I like experimenting) and I very rarely get caught and install a PUP because I take great care to read the windows and check/unckeck or Accept/Decline the appropriate boxes or buttons. I also take a disk image of my c: drive before installing unknown software so if I do install a couple of PUPs I can quickly get rid of them by doing an image restore.
You can’t blame freeware software vendors from trying to make money, the solution is to be more disciplined in the way you manage your computer and especially the way you install new software.
Generally, you are right. However, we are talking about “Creating Trust Online” here. Let’s just search that, shall we?
[b]trust[/b] noun 1. firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. "relations have to be built on trust" synonyms: confidence, belief, faith, freedom from suspicion/doubt, sureness, certainty, certitude, assurance, conviction, credence, reliance "a relationship built on mutual trust and respect""freedom from suspicion/doubt" seems pretty serious to me.
I see nothing wrong in bundled software (“software” might not be the correct term in this case) as long the end-user makes manually the choice. In other words, it should not be served/enabled by default. I like to think of “default” as recommended choice for the end-user.
Bundled PUP are probs.
I find Unchecky an excellent software for average users.
I certainly take your point about “creating trust online” and I appreciate how PUPs can feel like an underhanded way of getting their software on your computer. As long as there are always options in the install process to deselect any PUPs I don’t think “trust” has been violated. For example, I trust Comodo to always give me the option of not installing GeekBuddy (which is a PUP to me) and the option of not making Yahoo my home page. They’re trying to make money and if you assume that all freeware contains PUPs and are careful with the install you should remain PUP free.
What I would have a problem with is when PUPs are installed without giving the user the option of saying no, and sadly that does sometimes happen.