For example, this morning my JAVA Client from Sun Microsystems notified me a security update was available. I always pay close attention to security updates especially if they impact my browser. Since the JAVA JRE provides JAVA services for IE and Firefox, I approved the prompt to go download and install the latest copy of the SUN JAVA Client. And that’s when Sun started peddling software.
Once the JAVA security update began, I was presented with the option to install the Yahoo! Toolbar. Normally I would only be mildly irritated by this kind of behavior. However what annoyed me was that by default the Opt In or Check box to install the Toolbar is checked. Further, I took a look at the Yahoo! Toolbars privacy policy and discovered that the little nugget of goodness SUN and YAHOO! were trying to sneak onto my computer also has some serious privacy concerns. Excerpt from Yahoo Privacy Policy: Web Usage Some might ask “MrGroove, why are you getting so excited about this? You can just uncheck the box and not install Toolbar.” That’s true however I wouldn’t consider myself to be the average PC user either. I’m looking for stuff like this each time I install a piece of software, but that’s usually not the case for the average computer user out there. So, the next time you install a piece of software, or an update, be sure to pay attention and don’t just click Next, Next, Next. Also, Read the fine print even from so-called industry leaders. Otherwise, you never know what might set up camp on your hard drive. Comment Name * Email *
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