McAfee trojan install

[gismo]

Apparently McAfee Security software is piggybacking on Adobe updates now. I recently downloaded and installed a couple Adobe updates (PDF reader and Flash) and ended up with McAfee installing right along with one of the updates. I wasn't asked if I wanted this but I do recall seeing a window indicating one of the updates was being processed by a "McAfee virus scan" during the download but I mistakenly assumed the scan was just part of the installer. But to my surprise McAfee had installed itself and was running in the background and had to be uninstalled manually. Seems like the malware prevention has become malware itself.

 

[ScottM]

Apparently McAfee Security software is piggybacking on Adobe updates now. I recently downloaded and installed a couple Adobe updates (PDF reader and Flash) and ended up with McAfee installing right along with one of the updates. I wasn't asked if I wanted this but I do recall seeing a window indicating one of the updates was being processed by a "McAfee virus scan" during the download but I mistakenly assumed the scan was just part of the installer. But to my surprise McAfee had installed itself and was running in the background and had to be uninstalled manually. Seems like the malware prevention has become malware itself.

I have seen this several times with Adobe update. There is a check box that you need to uncheck to prevent the install. Annoys the heck out of me.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Does McAfee show up in Add/Remove Programs now Lance?
How big is the file?
Can you check Processes to see how much ram it uses, or if it is running all the time?
If it is benign, it might be a good thing...I have been reading about how Adobe (Flash?) was a common virus access point.
This says it is optional btw.

 

[Tom-D]

Does McAfee show up in Add/Remove Programs now Lance?
How big is the file?
Can you check Processes to see how much ram it uses, or if it is running all the time?
If it is benign, it might be a good thing...I have been reading about how Adobe (Flash?) was a common virus access point.
This says it is optional btw.

I just did a search on my computer and sure enough there it was ,, and I had never downloaded it.

So, I deleted it.

 

[RJM62]

I think it's more marketing than protection.

Every time I download something from Adobe (or Java, as well), the installer seems to want to install something else I didn't ask for and have to manually de-select. Sometimes it's a toolbar. Sometimes it's some security app (typically one that will tell you if you're infected, but will only point you toward a paid version if you actually want to do anything about it). Whatever the case, it's unusual to just get what you asked for these days, without something else trying to piggyback on it.

-Rich

 

[flyingcheesehead]

(Hmm - Now there's a smiley we could use!)

And here I was getting mad at the "GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent" that came with Picasa and yells at me to keep Picasa (which I use very rarely) up to date.

 

[Palmpilot]

After it got installed on my computer I tried running it, and all it did was tell me there was some security stuff that I needed to install (and presumably buy), so I uninstalled it.

 

[gismo]

Does McAfee show up in Add/Remove Programs now Lance?
How big is the file?
Can you check Processes to see how much ram it uses, or if it is running all the time?
If it is benign, it might be a good thing...I have been reading about how Adobe (Flash?) was a common virus access point.
This says it is optional btw.

There was an uninstaller in the Add/Remove list and I used that to remove the program as soon as I noticed it running. I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials for malware protection and am pretty satisfied with it. I had purchased McAfee and used that in the past but found it to be a serious CPU hog, making the computer almost unusable whenever it decided to perform a scan.