Avast is ruining CCleaner -- malware, bundled software, popup ads... what's next?

Avast is ruining CCleaner -- malware, bundled software, popup ads... what's next?


It's clear from what's said in the quote above that Avast plans to push more advertising messages to users in the future, and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Avast Antivirus bundled with CCleaner again at some point.

 

Yes another issue how many more, I want my old Old XP Windows Computer Back with no bloody updates or spyware leave us alone....

 

Yes! Do you remember this happened to me not too long ago and it wouldn't let me uninstall Avast AV?

The only way to get it off your machine is to download the tool from Avast and run it in safe mode.

 

This is all very depressing reading about things like this these days. MS and many other software companies have have lost their way IMHO. Your OS you paid for to serve you on your own machine you bought is trying its best to spy on you and report back everything you do just to get even more money out of you. Everything that's good and useful ends up being snapped up by someone else who wants to milk as much out of you as they can. You have to scour the internet every time your machine updates itself just to fix all the problems this update has caused and find ways how to turn off new telemetry/spyware/adverts that you never even asked for in the first place.

I used to use Avast, and CCleaner individually when they were good but now these 2 have joined the 'dodgy' and 'to be watched like a hawk' list.

 

I stopped using my paid version of CCleaner with the version that wanted to run in the background and "monitor" my system to keep it "safe" LOL. To that I can only say no thank you, and screw you for even thinking about it. That was like a year or two back. I am sure it is worse now. I agree with all of the negative comments expressed already. We are living in our darkest days in terms of software, firmware and OSes being screwed up messes.

 

I just use the free version and it works just fine for me. As for Avast I use Defender W10 and have no cleaning issue.

 

Watch out people there is another CCleaner has just surfaced.........
CCleaner v5.45.6611

 

I wonder what little 'gems' this update includes.

I dread updates these days, it feels like having unprotected nookie with a random stranger and hoping not to catch anything.

Not that I've ever actually done that of course, you understand!

 

Well Ive installed it but as long as you change a few settings in CCleaner and Block the outbound connection in the firewall settings all is good.
As I do still like CCleaner just got to be a bit cautious.

 

Yes. ccleaner (and a bunch of other programs) in my firewall for a long time, all is well.

 

Warning: DO NOT install the latest version of CCleaner-betanews.com

A month ago, I wrote about how I felt Avast was ruining CCleaner, the excellent system cleaning software it took over when it acquired Piriform last year.

In Avast's short tenure, we've already seen CCleaner suffer from malware, bundled software, and pop-up ads. In my article headline I asked "what’s next?" Well, with a new version of CCleaner available to download, we now have the answer. Inevitably, it's not good.

In a forum post, Avast addresses the unwelcome changes stating:


Avast is clearly in no hurry to fix these issues, and given its past behavior this probably won’t be the last time we have to warn users off installing or upgrading the software. Do you still use CCleaner or has Avast's management put you off it?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Dont install or upgrade to CCleaner 5.45-Ghacks.net

Closing Words
CCleaner was a program that worked fine out of the box for years but that is not really the case anymore. While the cleaning works as good as it did years ago, recent decisions to push the monitoring functionality, introduce advertising popups for pro upgrades, hack, and analytics/privacy controversy have painted the program and the company in a bad light.

The battle to win back user trust is an uphill one. If you ask me, Piriform needs to implement clear and functional opt-out options (better opt-in but that won't be happening) and reveal exactly what data it collects and how that data is stored, shared and processed.

 

I've used CCleaner for as long as I can remember. Loved it and used it to work on other people's computers as well. The inability to stop it from running regardless of the settings you choose along with the data collecting is unacceptable. So what is the best or some of the best alternatives available to use. I've I stalled this on a lot of others machines who aren't very tech savvy and now feel I should install something different on the ones I can get to. Very disappointing, it was a great tool and started going downhill a year or so ago.

 

Couldn't agree more. Im uninstalling from all mine and the machines I look after, and also getting a better alternative to Avast AV now as I dont trust them anymore. Totally fed up of stuff trying to make money out of me especially when I paid for it already. When will these idiots learn?

All the good stuff is getting bought up by greedy bar stewards trying to squeeze that extra bit of juice out of us all. I hate the way this is going.

 

Depends on the use case and what needs to be cleaned up. Here are my suggestions:

• For clearing temp files, etc.: BleachBit
  
• For cleaning out .NET Framework : MSFT .NET Framework Repair Tool, .NET Framework Cleanup Tool
  (link: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/astebner/2008/08/28/net-framework-cleanup-tool-users-guide/ )
  (like you did the security updates for .NET Framework, and you wish to revert, cleanly -- or wish to uninstall and return to a prior major version, cleanly -- or maybe your MS Office or other .NET Framework dependent program is crashing or running terribly).
• For cleaning up uninstalled programs: Revo Uninstaller.

Revo is sort of new to me, so it may not be a best in breed tool for this. I also have no affiliation and not financial interests in any of these tools. None of these are a replacement for good tested backups or a complete OS reinstall.

 

Here’s What You Should Use Instead of CCleaner-Howtogeek.com


CCleaner just became worse. The popular system-cleaning tool now always runs in the background, nagging you and reporting anonymous data back to the company’s servers. We don’t recommend you upgrade to CCleaner 5.45. Here’s what you should use instead.

We haven’t been huge fans of CCleaner for a while now. CCleaner nags you to run it because the paid subscription can automatically run itself—you’re paying to disable the nags. CCleaner has even been hacked to contain malware.

 

This is a perfect example of the issue. For someone such as my neighbor or father or hell, even me when I'm lazy, CCleaner was a good all in 1 utility for this stuff. There is no way in the world I could expect them to use multiple tools and jump through hoops to get the same things accomplished that they did with CCleaner. I would be getting calls all day and night from them asking me what they need to do. A utility comparable to CCleaner is still needed for the majority of people.

The real crappy part of this is that I went over a year without updating to a new version. I just always used the old version I had installed on all my PC's. Never had an issue. Then all of a sudden, my dumb a** decided to get with the times and update it on each machine and now it sucks. I still have a few old installers if I want to keep using it without the Malware. Revo is good tho. I've used it occasionally for years now.

 

Glay Utility`s has a free cleaner "Glary Tracks Eraser" it`s the free not paid version, also a number of other free apps, warning untick bloatware during install.

If it`s any good i don't know.

Scroll to bottom of the screen for the free app links.

https://www.glarysoft.com/

 

I still use CCleaner but not the latest model ccsetup532 v5.32.6129 because after that the malware infected a later version and since that time I stopped it from asking to update and so far it has worked fine. Also Avast should be flushed down if it is breaking other software-no A/V should be doing virus and malware fixes not breaking software unless the software is malware infected to scan for it.

 

CCleaner 5.45 removed
Posted on August 3rd, 2018 at 22:17 Kirsty Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
A couple of days ago, Martin Brinkmann (on ghacks.net) wrote:

Don’t install or upgrade to CCleaner 5.45

Piriform/Avast released CCleaner 5.45 recently to the public that Windows users may not want to install or upgrade to.

Today, Lawrence Abrams (on bleepingcomputer.com) wrote:

CCleaner v5.45 Pulled Due to Anger Over Usage Data Collection

It has not been a good week for Piriform’s PC cleaning tool CCleaner. With the release of CCleaner version 5.45, it was quickly discovered that the program’s “Active Monitoring” component, which is utilized to send anonymous usage data back to Piriform, could no longer be disabled.
First discovered by Ghacks.net, users of version 5.45 discovered that unlike previous versions there was no privacy setting that allowed you to disable the sending of anonymous usage information to Piriform.

This was discussed here on Piriform CCleaner & Speccy

Now, feedback has resulted in changes, as noted on piriform.com today:

Today we have removed v5.45 and reverted to v5.44 as the main download for CCleaner while we work on a new version with several key improvements. You can grab version 5.44 from one of the links [below]:

(You can find those download links here)

It’s nice to know that feedback can make a difference, while they go back to their drawing boards, trying to keep their customers happier.


OtherCCleaner, feedback, Piriform

------------------------------------------

Avast pulls the latest version of CCleaner following privacy controversy-betanews.comy


Piriform rolled out updates for CCleaner on a monthly basis, and this is something that has continued since Avast took over. The latest update, CCleaner 5.45, wasn’t at all well received due to a number of changes affecting privacy, and the company’s response to the matter proved to be unsatisfactory -- to say the least.

Now it seems that Avast has seen the light, and pulled the latest update. The current version available is 5.44. On its forums the company had this to say:

Continue reading →

@Phoenix @Mr. Fox +++ all not mentioned but not forgotten.

 

I use old CCleaner 5.43,BB,wise disk cleaner(Avoid advanced cleaner)

 

I want to chime in, I remember this CCleaner since 2.x version from Win7 and then they upgraded the UI to 5.x after the Win10 abomination happened, Later on Android the Cheetah mobile ruined the Cleanmaster which used to work perfectly, Cheetah mobile is an epidemic. Later Avast buys out CCleaner. I tried out CCleaner on Android and it used to work flawlessly. Very neat, no ads nothing. Perfect.

Later Avast ruined it to hell. It's basically an ad infestation engine now, ultra bloatware. Useless. I used that with Xposed mod which blocks in app ads but man this CCleaner became malware. It doesn't clean properly and added tons of steps to get the same results like previously 1 step 1 button. To some 5 steps+ and popup etc. Now Win32 is destroyed, I held to 4.x for a long time and moved to 5.x shouldn't have done, now this bites dust. On the other note. Times from India bought MXPlayer. The perfect player on Android which most has codecs and superb playback without waits or hiccups and HW acceleration and gestures etc. Now it's worthless junk, They started IAP + Premium with bloatware and destroyed it. Download and keep the last best one, But Google is hellbent on gimping Android so better use VLC from now on.

As mentioned above these new cheap idiots wanting to siphon off the private user data and their patterns and ask premium on top of it, the Industry is ruined with "AaS" models. Windows, Gaming, and now slowly hardware's turn will come. Unfortunate trends everywhere. Lack of choices and forcing us to walled gardens. Enjoy while it last guys, that's all I can say.

 

I dumped CCleaner,CM Lite, RAM cleaner etc.. for L speed optimiser, Files Go by gogle and SD maid.

 

I suppose for those complaining that an all-in-one tool for the non computer geek or the lazy as an alternative to CCleaner doesn't exist, can't you just hold your nose, have your loved one (or you) install the program, run it, then promptly uninstall it?

For me, the common use case I see (cleaning old files, cruft) it looks like BleachBit does this, and they have a little pledge were they promise to stay malware free.

But truthfully, as @Vasudev hinted at, most of these people have been migrating away from PCs (complex, administrative overhead, difficult to reload OS & restore data) to Android devices (simple, easy to manage, understood factory reset & data restore processes) for just reasons like this. So perhaps the market is reacting rationally considering their needs, time, and skill level?

 

None should support companies who offer malware. What will come next if you let them take your fingers? I will tell you... They will rip off the the whole hand. Bad advice. Very bad!

Same for hardware as f.eks many notebooks. If you accept trash and pay for it... More of the same will be thrown out. You can’t stop it this way. Only boycott will help.

 

Sure running and installing it is easy for some. For others such as my father, he won't be bothered doing that each time nor should he have to. Saying that is an acceptable alternative is absurd.

As far as people migrating away from PC's, frankly I'm getting sick of hearing that. Maybe the 40 and under generation is, but for my neighbors, my parents, and every other general user I know, not 1 of them has moved away from their PC. They have their phones and some of them have tablets and they use them to play a game or check something quickly. But most of these people are older, not tech savvy and stuck in their ways. They are used to the PC and that's what they still use.

As far as saying we are complaining and calling people lazy. So because people don't want to have to install and uninstall a program every time they want to use it that makes them lazy? Seriously? The point is that no software should be making changes to other software on our PC's. No software should continue to monitor our usage when they have given us the option to turn it off only to disregard the fact that we chose that option.

 

I am a PC user and rarely use my phone unless, I'm traveling.

 

Look what's just come out beware........
CCleaner 5.46.6652
.

 

It has an option to turn off telemetry now

 

http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/version-history

Version History
v5.46.6652 (30 Aug 2018)
Privacy Settings
- Added a separate control for the reporting of anonymous usage data
- Added a link to a Data Factsheet ( https://www.ccleaner.com/about/data-factsheet), which explains the data reported from CCleaner, why it’s reported, and what it’s used for

Smart Cleaning
- Renamed the ‘Monitoring’ feature to ‘Smart Cleaning’, to better describe its function (intelligent cleaning alerts)
- Reworded checkboxes for clarity
- If Smart Cleaning is disabled, CCleaner’s background process will close and the feature will not run on startup

General
- Restored previous System Tray and minimize behavior
- Fixed various stability issues

 

I am using an old portable version v5.41.6446 for as long as it remains effective or ccleaner is given the all clear.

John.

 

CCleaner update offers improved privacy controls, renames elements to stop users freaking out, adds bundleware-betanews.com

It’s fair to say, CCleaner has experienced a lot of problems since Avast acquired it last year. We’ve seen issues with malware, bundled software, and popup ads, and most recently the company was embroiled in a privacy controversy, which led to it pulling the last update.

It’s certainly a step in the right direction, but wait, what's this? Oh yes, the installer will attempt to force Avast Antivirus on you.


Have you seriously learned nothing Avast?

Piriform states that the company does not share personal data with third parties, but that it uses Google Analytics to analyze "some anonymous data". Double Puke

 

Looks like maybe this might be safe to upgrade to and... I won't. I will stay right where I'm at for the time being.

 

Block with firewall.

 

Yes. With previous v. of CC, all very peaceful with CCleaner64.exe + CCUpdate.exe in firewall. Maybe more stuff to add in the latest version?

 

Like with Nvidia's telemetry, Autoruns64 stops CCleaner's autostarts. I'm making due with it until I hear the community settles on a replacement.

 

These kinds of cleaners are pointless. They only make it a little bit easier to clear bloat which is already possible through Windows tools, therefore making it useless.

Avast are a greedy, terrible company.

 

CCleaner Is Silently Updating Users Who Turned Off Automatic Updates

Howtogeek.com | SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2018



CCleaner is forcing updates on users who specifically opt out of automatic updates. Users will only find out about these unwanted updates when they check the version number.

The change was noticed by a forum user last week. The unwanted update happens in the background, without the users’ knowledge, and also results in Piriform gathering anonymized information about the user.



Earlier today I tried to say something nice about CCleaner, pointing out that a public beta could help users catch sketchy stuff before release. That was overly optimistic of me.

I know a lot of you love CCleaner. I used to too. In the late 2000s CCleaner was a fantastic free program from an indie developer who cared about building trust with geeks. Avast bought that company and is hoping to coast on nostalgic goodwill. Don’t let them. Crap like this isn’t okay, and a program originally called Crap Cleaner shouldn’t be pulling it.

 

Its the task created by ccleaner in task scheduler to cause auto update and I removed it. So, no update nagware.

 

Doesn't matter... Avast push Malware or shall we say virus? I will never ever touch Avast! They have gone all too far with this scam.

 

That's it for me with the latest CCleaner Slim v5.47.6701 cant turn off (Help Improve CCleaner by sending anonymous usage data) the tick keeps coming back even when i have blocked it with Inbound and Outbound Rules through my firewall. arrh

 

Version 5.47 pulled due to a bug. Another Avast/Piriform blunder.
What A Joke.......
Hey guys there is a bug here and we're hotfixing it now. v5.46 has been restored in the meantime.
Quote From ( Stephen Piriform)

 

I can't remember the last time I used CCleaner. The only thing that really was nice was the registry cleaner but I'm sure there are other programs out there now that do that job more efficiently and I don't have to worry about ads or background monitoring. I've since then learned alternate way to clean out temp files and empty folders that I no longer need.

 

@Ultra Male Ready to test out the brand new CCleaner Portable 5.47.6716 ?

 

What the hell! Maybe this isn't new but the last thing I want from a system cleaner is the ability to identify my credit card info so that it can supposedly "clean" it. I am the farthest you can get from being a "regulation" type person but all these tech and software companies need to have their asses reigned in. From Microsoft, to Google, to Piriform, and every other tech company, the ability to monitor, make changes and take and sell our info really needs to be stopped along with forced updates and a thousand other things they get away with.

And Apple too since now they are assigning trust scores to iPhone users based on the phone calls they make and emails they send and receive.

 

Among many other things, yes.

 

Avast Premier user here. So annoying that even in the paid version you get bugged with "privacy" alerts.
If you look in detail to it its the typically nonsense; like people can see your IP on the internet (ad for their vpn) or you are leaving traces (ad for their ccleaner rip off module)

 

I've moved to Revo Uninstaller [free version] for file/registry cleaning. Ironically, I haven't uninstalled CCleaner because it's a convenient way to prohibit a bunch of autostarts ...and then autoruns64 stops CCleaner's.

 

@Ultra Male where are you? Avast "Malware" have released CCleaner v5.48.6834 10/25/2018

Spoiler: RELEASED NOTES FOR v5.48.6834

v5.48.6834 (25 Oct 2018)
Browser Cleaning
- Added workaround for cleaning Edge while in the ‘suspended’ state on Windows 10, build 1809. This workaround is temporary while we consider a more permanent solution.
- Fixed cleaning of Edge cookies in Windows 10
- Fixed a bug where cleaning Firefox Internet History would corrupt the profile

Feature Previews
- Added support for ‘feature previews’ (limited release of features in development)
- Keep your eyes peeled for forthcoming feature previews!

General
- Renewed our digital security certificate as the previous one was due to expire.
- The certificate publisher has been updated from ‘Piriform Ltd.’ to ‘Piriform Software Ltd.’

 

New update from Piriform Avast Malware (12 Nov 2018)
CCleaner Portable 5.49.6856

Spoiler: Released Notes

Version History
v5.49.6856 (12 Nov 2018)
Windows and Browser Cleaning
- Added and improved cleaning to the Common Language Runtime (CLR) folders
- Extended the cleaning of Windows error reporting temporary folders
- Fixed Firefox cleaning rules which were causing corrupted profiles for some users

General
- Minor bug fixes
- Small UI improvements

 

@Ultra Male where are you? Need gp. Avast "Malware" have released CCleaner Portable 5.50.6911 (29 Nov 2018).

Software Updates
- Added new menu: ‘Options’ > ‘Updates’
- Added new controls for automatic updates and update notifications