McAfee software forced install with latest Adobe flash update 12/26/14

Question

So it seems that Adobe has once again chosen to go the route of not even giving an opt-out option for whatever 'software' they bundle their Adobe Flash update with. I fail to see how this practice creates anything but mistrust for these products from a consumers perspective. Having worked in  IT and having had to deal with questions like "Why is my browser changed/messed up?" or "Why did X show up on my computer and is now spamming me to buy something?" it's frustrating knowing that in many cases it's large companies that are to blame. In this case it seems even more calculated coming right after a major holiday when inevitably more PC's and more inexperienced users enter the market.
I personally will never use McAfee or Google Chrome or (heaven forbid) Ask.com related software if this is how they intend to do business. I'd like to think that large businesses like Adobe would have better marketing strategies for their sponsors that don't create dissent and distrust among consumers.

Answer 1

Adobe's Flash Player update workflow does present the choice of also getting some "added value" software (e.g., AV - Search Engine stuff for browsers - etc.).
One simply unticks the boxes on the step that displays the choice.
Oh yeah, ya do gotta look rather than do a fast click through which will result in a gotcha eh.
One "gotcha" back in the day was all it took for me to "STAR" these sort of updates.
No "gotchas" since.
You'll observe similar with other software package updates (e.g., Java, etc.).