您还记得安全供应商过去出售您要的东西的美好时光吗？当您想购买防病毒软件或安全套件(security suite)时，供应商会准确地卖给您：防病毒软件或安全套件(security suite)。然而，时代变了，许多公司不再这样做了。相反，他们对您购买的产品收费，但他们也通过捆绑您不需要或不想要的各种英国媒体报道软件从您身上赚钱。不幸的是，这已成为安全市场(security market)的普遍做法，很少有公司仍然按照旧方式做事。在本文中，我们将向您展示安全供应商中一些最常见的恼人做法：
1.更改您的网络浏览器的主页
许多安全公司选择这样做，即使您购买他们的商业产品。如果您在安装过程中(installation process)不注意，您最终可能会为您的部分或全部网络浏览器设置一个全新的主页。你可能想知道他们为什么要这么做。答案很简单：通过将您的主页更改为公司想要的主页，它可以用广告填充它。点击这些广告可以为最初向您出售其产品的安全公司(security company)带来更多收入。
以下是尝试更改您的主页的商业安全解决方案的几个示例：
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Panda Global Protection - 尝试将您的主页更改为名为Panda Safe Web的网页，该网页由(Panda Safe Web)Visicom Media维护。该公司专门从事在线内容货币化。Panda Safe Web是一个重新命名的MyStart页面，据 Visicom Media 称，“ MyStart 提供了下一代起始页货币化。通过将付费搜索与新鲜、智能和漂亮的起始页相结合，MyStart 在每次浏览器启动时都会产生持续的收入机会。”(MyStart delivers next-generation start page monetization. By integrating paid search with a fresh, smart and beautiful start page, MyStart generates persistent revenue opportunities with every browser launch.")
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Norton Security Premium - 随附Norton Home Page，该工具可将您的浏览器主页更改为名为Norton Safe Search的 Norton 网站。此网页由 Ask 提供支持，(powered by Ask)这是一项声誉不佳的网络服务。这些是公司的话：“Norton Safe Search 是 Norton 的安全搜索引擎，可帮助保护用户免于访问可能出现在搜索结果中的网络钓鱼和其他有风险的网站。它使用 Norton 的 Safe Web 技术以及 Ask.com 搜索引擎，根据网站的安全性对网站进行评级。”("Norton Safe Search is Norton's secure search engine that helps protect users from visiting phishing and other risky sites that may appear in search results. It uses Norton's Safe Web technology, along with the Ask.com search engine, to rate websites according to their safety.")
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Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 - 当您安装它时，它试图说服您的第一件事是"Enhance [your] web browsing experience by setting Yahoo! as [your] home page, new tab and default search engine (all supported browsers)".如果安全套件所做的第一件事是尝试更改您的浏览偏好，那么这说明了公司的政策和意图。
2. 更改网络浏览器的默认搜索引擎(default search engine)
就像更改您的网络浏览器主页的做法一样，一些公司也尝试更改您的默认搜索提供程序(default search provider)。原因？通过为您处理搜索结果，这些公司可以将他们的合作伙伴或他们的广告包含在搜索结果列表中。当然，看到他们想让你看到的东西对他们来说意味着更多的钱。这是安全公司(security company)可以选择使用的最糟糕的做法之一：您不仅会得到不需要的结果，而且会得到比从良好搜索引擎(search engine)获得的结果更差的结果。长话短说，您在(Long story)Google、Bing或DuckDuckGo等知名搜索引擎上获得的搜索结果(search engine), 无疑比你从臭名昭著的Ask中得到的要好。
举几个这样的例子，看看：
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Panda Global Protection - 尝试将您的搜索引擎更改为Panda Safe Web，该网页由Visicom Media维护。
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Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 - 试图让您将搜索引擎更改为 Yahoo。
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Norton Security Premium - 还为您提供 Norton Safe Search，它将您的浏览器的搜索引擎更改为 Norton 网站Norton Safe Search，该网站由 Ask 提供支持。
3.安装(Installing)不需要的、无用的工具栏或浏览器扩展
一些防病毒供应商的另一个不良做法是捆绑不需要或不需要的工具栏或浏览器扩展。他们通常会安装类似于低俗的Ask 工具栏(Ask toolbar)但名称不同的东西。
有些公司不会事先告诉您您将获得一些无用的工具栏。此外，这些类型的工具栏不会增强您的安全性；它们只会减慢您的网页浏览体验(browsing experience)。以下是一些捆绑您系统上可能不需要的工具栏的安全解决方案：
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Panda Global Protection - 捆绑了一个名为Panda Safe Toolbar的工具栏，该工具栏由同一家名为Visicom Media的公司创建。在这种特定情况下，工具栏仅安装在Internet Explorer中。如果您使用此 Web 浏览器，安装并保留此工具栏会减慢您的浏览体验。
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阿瓦斯特！Premier 和 AVG Internet Security - 都安装名为SafePrice的浏览器扩展程序。此扩展与您的安全无关。SafePrice是一个浏览器扩展程序，我们将其归类为广告软件，因为它所做的只是监控您的购物习惯并显示与您尝试在各种在线商店购买的产品相关的广告。
4. 彻底改变你的网络浏览器
是的，也有安全供应商尝试这样做。当安装不需要和不必要的工具栏并更改您的主页或搜索引擎还不够时，一些供应商走得更远，并决定让您将默认网络浏览器完全更改为他们设计的浏览器。如果该 Web 浏览器是增强您的安全性的浏览器，这将不是问题。
这就是 Comodo 的例子，(Comodo)在Comodo Internet Security Complete中，它试图一路让您使用Chromodo，这是该安全公司(security company)设计的网络浏览器。(web browser)
Comodo向您承诺，其网络浏览器(web browser)比其他浏览器更安全。但是，您是否知道Google公开羞辱Chromodo甚至无法安全(not even remotely safe to use)使用？
5.捆绑垃圾软件
一些安全供应商与他们的安全解决方案(security solution)捆绑了所谓的“附加功能/工具”。理论上，应该为客户带来额外价值的软件。它们包括诸如不是完全免费的免费云存储空间、克隆(cloud storage space)Windows中已经可用的功能和工具的应用程序等。很少遇到不捆绑无用“附加功能”的安全解决方案。(security solution)许多安全公司更多地关注捆绑这些“功能”，而不是关注改进他们的主要产品，如防病毒引擎(antivirus engine)或防火墙模块。
以下是我们不希望在我们支付的安全套件中看到的一些示例：(security suite)
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云存储(Cloud storage)- 仅当您对少量存储空间感到满意时才免费。大多数安全套件提供大约 2 到 5 GB 的空间。如果你想要更多，你必须付钱。此外，这些服务可能没有适用于所有移动平台的应用程序，而且它们不像其他专门的云存储产品那样灵活。为什么要麻烦提供这个？有一些云服务免费提供 10 GB 或更多 GB，没有任何问题。只需查看 OneDrive、Google Drive 或 Dropbox。此外，这些服务运行良好，并为所有平台提供应用程序。
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用于清理注册表、检查损坏的快捷方式、删除临时文件、对磁盘进行碎片整理等工具(Tools for cleaning your registry, checking for broken shortcuts, removing temporary files, defragmenting disks, etc.)- 几乎每个安全套件都提供清理和维护计算机的服务。但是，我们不需要那个。现代版本的 Windows 会自动执行此操作，或者包含用于这些任务的出色工具。我们不需要另一个做同样事情的模仿者。
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Windows 修补工具(Windows patching tools)- 一些安全套件可以检查您的 Windows 操作系统和您计算机上安装的第三方应用程序是否缺少任何更新。我们同意检查第三方应用程序的更新，但我们不需要安全套件来检查 Windows 更新。Windows 本身会自动执行此操作。
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非常陈旧或过时的软件(Very old or outdated software)——一些公司捆绑了在“公元前 300 年”开发的附加软件工具。它们没有任何意义。然而，他们仍然捆绑它们，可能只是为了营销或假装提供“完整”的安全产品。我们不认为这是一个正确的方法：我们宁愿看到捆绑两三个开发良好的工具，而不是十个无用的工具。
结论
从这篇文章可以看出，很多杀毒厂商已经不满足于靠卖产品赚钱了，转而采取各种与提高安全性无关的黑幕做法。在关闭本文之前，请分享您使用防病毒产品的经验。使用下面的评论表，让我们讨论一下。
Top 5 annoying practices of antivirus vendors
Do you remember the good old days when seсurity vеndors used to sell what you asked for? When you wanted to buy antivirus or a security suite, the vendor would sell you precisely that: an аntivіrus or a security suite. However, times have changed, and many compаnies do not do that anymore. Instead, they charge for the product you buy, but thеy also make moneу off you by bundling all kinds of bloatware that you do not need or want. Unfortunately, thiѕ has beсome a common practice in the security market, and few companies still do thіngs thе old way. In this article we are going to show you some of thе most common annoying practicеs among security vendors:
1. Changing your web browser's homepage
Many security companies choose to do this, even if you buy their commercial products. If you do not pay attention during the installation process, you might end up with a brand new homepage set for some or all of your web browsers. You might wonder why they would do that. The answer is simple: by changing your homepage to one that the company wants, it can fill it with ads. Clicking these ads brings more money to the security company that sold you their product in the first place.
Here are just a few examples of commercial security solutions that try to change your homepage:
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Panda Global Protection - attempts to change your homepage to a webpage called Panda Safe Web, a web page maintained by Visicom Media. This company specializes in monetizing online content. Panda Safe Web is a rebranded MyStart page, and according to Visicom Media, "MyStart delivers next-generation start page monetization. By integrating paid search with a fresh, smart and beautiful start page, MyStart generates persistent revenue opportunities with every browser launch."
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Norton Security Premium - comes with Norton Home Page, a tool that changes your browser's homepage to a Norton website called Norton Safe Search. This web page is powered by Ask, a web service with a bad reputation. These are the company's words: "Norton Safe Search is Norton's secure search engine that helps protect users from visiting phishing and other risky sites that may appear in search results. It uses Norton's Safe Web technology, along with the Ask.com search engine, to rate websites according to their safety."
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Comodo Internet Security Complete 10 - when you install it, the first thing it tries to convince you is to "Enhance [your] web browsing experience by setting Yahoo! as [your] home page, new tab and default search engine (all supported browsers)". If the first thing a security suite does is to try to change your browsing preferences, that says a lot about the policy and intentions of the company.
2. Changing your web browser's default search engine
Much like the practice of changing your web browser's homepage, some companies also try to change your default search provider. The reason? By handling search results for you, these companies can include their partners or their ads in the list of search results. Seeing what they want you to see means, of course, more money for them. This is one of the worst practices a security company could choose to use: not only do you get unwanted results, but you also get worse results than you would get from a good search engine. Long story short, the search results you get on well-known search engines like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo, are undoubtedly better than the ones you get from the ill-famed Ask, for example.
To give you a few such examples, look at:
3. Installing unwanted, useless toolbars or browser extensions
Another bad practice of some antivirus vendors is to bundle unwanted or unneeded toolbars or browser extensions. They usually install something similar to the sleazy Ask toolbar but under a different name.
Some companies do not tell you up front that you are going to get some useless toolbars. Moreover, these kinds of toolbars do not enhance your security; they only slow down your web browsing experience. Here are some security solutions that bundle toolbars you may not want on your system:
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Panda Global Protection - bundles a toolbar called Panda Safe Toolbar that is created by the same company called Visicom Media. In this specific case, the toolbar is installed only in Internet Explorer. If you are using this web browser, installing and keeping this toolbar slows down your browsing experience.
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Avast! Premier and AVG Internet Security - both install a browser extension called SafePrice. This extension has nothing to do with your safety. SafePrice is a browser extension that we would classify as adware, as all it does is monitor your shopping habits and display ads related to the products that you are trying to buy on various online stores.
4. Changing your web browser completely
Yes, there are security vendors that try that too. When installing unwanted and unnecessary toolbars and changing your homepage or your search engines is just not enough, some vendors go even further and decide to make you completely change your default web browser to one that they designed. This would not be a problem if that web browser were a browser that enhances your security.
Such is the example of Comodo, which in Comodo Internet Security Complete, tries to go all the way in making you use Chromodo, a web browser that this security company has designed.
Comodo promises you that its web browser is more secure than others. However, did you know that Google publicly shamed Chromodo for being not even remotely safe to use?
5. Bundling crapware software
Some security vendors bundle with their security solutions so-called "additional features/tools." Software that, in theory, should bring additional value to their customers. They include things like free cloud storage space that is not quite free, apps that clone features and tools which are already available in Windows and so on. Encountering a security solution that does not bundle useless "additional features" is rare. Many security companies focus more on bundling such "features" than focusing on improving their primary products, like the antivirus engine or the firewall module.
Here are some examples of what we would rather not see in a security suite that we paid for:
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Cloud storage - this is free only if you are satisfied with low amounts of storage space. Most security suites offer around 2 to 5 GB of space. If you want more, you have to pay. Plus, these services may not have apps for all mobile platforms, and they are not as flexible as other specialized cloud storage products. Why bother offering this? There are cloud services that provide 10 or more GB for free, with no questions asked. Just look at OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. Plus, those services work well and offer apps for all platforms.
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Tools for cleaning your registry, checking for broken shortcuts, removing temporary files, defragmenting disks, etc. - almost every security suite offers to take care of cleaning and maintaining your computer. However, we do not need that. Modern versions of Windows do that automatically or include excellent tools for these tasks. We do not need another copycat that does the same thing.
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Windows patching tools - some security suites can check if there are any missing updates for your Windows operating system and third-party apps installed on your computer. We agree with checking for updates for third-party apps, but we do not need the security suite to check for Windows updates. Windows itself does that automatically.
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Very old or outdated software - some companies bundle additional software tools that were developed in "300 BC". They have no meaningful use. However, they still bundle them, probably just for marketing or for pretending to offer "complete" security products. We do not consider this a right approach: we would rather see two or three well-developed tools bundled, instead of ten useless ones.
Conclusion
As you can see from this article, many antivirus vendors are no longer satisfied with making money by selling you their products, and they turn to all kinds of shady practices that have nothing to do with improving security. Before you close this article, share your experience with antivirus products. Use the comments form below and let's discuss.
