Oracle bundles Ask.com adware with latest Java for Mac installer

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Mac Software edited March 2015
It appears Oracle is bringing its adware wiles to OS X with the latest version of Java for Mac, as the installer comes bundled with the Ask.com toolbar, which is deceptively set to install itself by default.


Source: ZDNet


In its latest Java 8 Update 40 for Mac, Oracle is including a version of Ask.com's Web browser toolbar, a piece of adware seen in Windows versions of Java for some time, reports ZDNet.

Tests on a Mac running the latest OS X release proved Oracle's newest Java installer will tack on the Ask extension to both Google's Chrome browser and Apple's Safari, using what some may consider deceptive practices.

The option to install Ask is selected by default, meaning users proceeding through installer pop-ups are unlikely to notice the adware until they open a new browser window. Once installed, Ask's extension points the browser's homepage to Ask.com and inserts the Ask toolbar just below the address bar.

Results from Ask.com and the Ask toolbar are middling at best and come packed with advertisements.

Oracle also made note of the change on its Java for Mac installation webpage:
Oracle has partnered with companies that offer various products. The installer may present you with the option to install these programs when you install Java. After ensuring the desired programs are selected, click the Next button to continue the installation.
Incorporating the Ask adware into Java's installer is a moneymaking endeavor for Oracle. As noted by ZDNet, IAC, Ask.com's parent corporation, owns a variety of different properties, including Match.com, Tinder, OKCupid, Vimeo, Dictionary.com and others. Whenever an affiliate bundles the Ask.com toolbar, IAC pays out a commission.

Fortunately, uninstalling the Ask extension is relatively simple. Safari users can deactivate Ask by navigating to the Extensions menu in Safari Preferences, while Chrome users can uninstall directly from the Ask toolbar's help menu. Alternatively, Chrome users can manually clear Ask by deactivating the extension in the Extensions menu and deleting Ask from the list of viable search engines in the Settings menu.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 63
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,311member
    I deal with this crap on Windows all the time. What's worse it's not just one thing they try to install and then they try and trick you by unchecking the first to not install and then you don't pay attention to the next adware, spyware crap and you uncheck that one also and that means it installs it. You never do the auto installs, but the custom installs otherwise this crap will just be thrown on. So it can get much worse for the Mac then this. You really have to pay attention and know what you're doing installing anything. They're out to get some crap install on your computer no matter what.
  • Reply 2 of 63
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Isn't ask.com a search engine?

    We(everyone) always forget it exists.
  • Reply 3 of 63
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Stop using Java on the desktop.
  • Reply 4 of 63
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,293member
    cali wrote: »
    Isn't ask.com a spam engine?

    We(everyone) always forget it exists.

    There, fixed that for ya ;)
  • Reply 5 of 63
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,293member
    jbdragon wrote: »
    I deal with this crap on Windows all the time. What's worse it's not just one thing they try to install and then they try and trick you by unchecking the first to not install and then you don't pay attention to the next adware, spyware crap and you uncheck that one also and that means it installs it. You never do the auto installs, but the custom installs otherwise this crap will just be thrown on. So it can get much worse for the Mac then this. You really have to pay attention and know what you're doing installing anything. They're out to get some crap install on your computer no matter what.
    Like you, me and my users have been suffering thru BULLSHIT like this on the Winblowz side of the computing world, and now they have the balls to try and contaminate the Mac world as well?

    I'm forced to use Java to manage some Cisco gear and security cameras who were (foolishly) written using Java, but you know what, **** it. In the trash bin it goes, will keep a Winblowz machine around that I don't care about to manage that hardware, none of this bullshit is touching my Mac's!
  • Reply 6 of 63
    ecatsecats Posts: 272member
    Opt-in by default is a deceptive practice. The user has never made the "positive step" of opting in.
  • Reply 7 of 63
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post



    Stop using Java on the desktop.

     

    Stop using Java.

  • Reply 8 of 63
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member

    Steve would have punched Larry in the mouth if he were still around. As it stands, I think Tim needs to make a phone call.

  • Reply 9 of 63
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Phone-UI-Guy View Post

     

     

    Stop using Java.




    And Flash.

  • Reply 10 of 63
    cashxxcashxx Posts: 114member

    Here all start complaining!!!

     

    http://bugreport.java.com/bugreport/main.jsp At the bottom under “Report an Issue” from the drop down select “Comments and/or Suggestions” and write away! 

     

    If thats not enough for you send the CEO’s an email as well!! [email protected] and [email protected] they seem to hold a joint CEO positions.

  • Reply 11 of 63
    solipsismysolipsismy Posts: 5,099member
    magman1979 wrote: »
    Like you, me and my users have been suffering thru BULLSHIT like this on the Winblowz side of the computing world, and now they have the balls to try and contaminate the Mac world as well?

    I'm forced to use Java to manage some Cisco gear and security cameras who were (foolishly) written using Java, but you know what, **** it. In the trash bin it goes, will keep a Winblowz machine around that I don't care about to manage that hardware, none of this bullshit is touching my Mac's!

    Cisco makes some great HW and I love working with IOS, but their support SW sucks balls.
  • Reply 12 of 63
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post

     



    And Flash.




    Use Lightroom.

  • Reply 13 of 63
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post

     



    Use Lightroom.




    No, don't use ANY Adobe products.

  • Reply 14 of 63
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,293member
    solipsismy wrote: »
    Cisco makes some great HW and I love working with IOS, but their support SW sucks balls.

    God tell me about it, like their ADSM suite for managing their switches, HOLY **** what a piece of horseshit!
    thewhitefalcon wrote: »
    Steve would have punched Larry in the mouth if he were still around. As it stands, I think Tim needs to make a phone call.

    Forget Steve and Tim, give me Larry's address and I'll go down there and do the honours!
    thewhitefalcon wrote: »

    No, don't use ANY Adobe products.

    Adobe Lightroom is one of the few usable alternatives to Aperture, which is now going the way of the dodo bird :( Lightroom is quite capable, albeit a bit clunky, and the Camera RAW engine is best-in-class. I've been using Lightroom for many years for my photography, but since the Creative Cloud bullshit, I've begun exploring replacement options, and have come up with a few possible candidates if they make Lightroom a cloud app.
  • Reply 15 of 63
    thewhitefalconthewhitefalcon Posts: 4,453member
    I'd use Pixelmator, though I intend to get a copy of Aperture when I can. I've got a machine that can handle it but which can't go past Lion officially anyway.
  • Reply 16 of 63
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member

    I remember quite a few times when I installed Java on my iMac and then after just a couple of days, it would be outdated. 

     

    I don't bother with Java now. If I run into some website that says I don't have the latest version of Java installed, I simply navigate away. 

  • Reply 17 of 63
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    (Thinks about this for a second)
    "Still better than Google."
  • Reply 18 of 63
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,384member

    Absolutely disgusting. 

  • Reply 19 of 63
    manfrommarsmanfrommars Posts: 104member

    So anyone under 80 will immediately delete this, and anyone over 80 will ask their grandkids to immediately delete this.  So who is the target audience?  Do these ploys actually generate revenue?

  • Reply 20 of 63
    desuserigndesuserign Posts: 1,316member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    I'd use Pixelmator, though I intend to get a copy of Aperture when I can. I've got a machine that can handle it but which can't go past Lion officially anyway.



    That's almost like saying you'd use Preview instead of Aperture. They both do things with pictures, but one's not a replacement for the other.

    Pixelmator is an image editor (ala Photoshop) not a non-destructive image processor, organizer, and archiver like Aperture or Lightroom.

     

    I hate it when Apple does this to us users. We pay extra for pro software that's going to be built out really great (honest.) The buildout never comes, we hold out hope, then they leave us stranded in a cul-de-sac. It's not like others don't do it, but I begin to trust Apple not to do it, then wham! Seems more and more likely that Lightroom is the only option out there now—and I swore I was done with Adobe!

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