TechDish: The Skinny on Bundled Software

Posted on: Fri, 07/09/2010 - 08:56 — us104_techdish

Hey everyone, today on TechDish we're talking about bundled software and we'll see if we can bring a little awareness to the table for all. Here in the shop at IDEaS, time and time again we see instances where a user, in a rush to install some super awesome mouse cursors or desktop wallpaper, blows through the software install so quickly caution and rationalle are thrown to the wind. The mouse button switches to rapid fire mode as checkboxes are clicked, agreements are agreed to, all in a rush so "Next" becomes "Finished" and those adorable dolphins that jump over your mouse arrow when something is clicked can be fully enjoyed.

The problem is, what are we agreeing to and accepting when we're clicking those checkboxes?

Dilbert.com illustrates this perfectly.

What is Bundled Software?

When installing a program or application, bundled software is software that comes included with the installer of the software being installed on your computer. You may not be informed initially that this software comes with extra bundles; however most of the time there is the option to opt-out of installing this software, usually in the form of a checkbox.

Why does Bundled Software Exist?

Bundled software exists for a variety of reasons, most of them directly or indirectly related to revenue streams of the source content publisher. Much of the time, bundled software is found in free software, to help the software publisher keep the software free while still paying for its costs. For example, Company A has a screensaver that is available for a free download. To cover operating costs, and to make a profit, the Yahoo! Toolbar is bundled with the screensaver software's installer. Yahoo! pays out x dollars to Company A every time a user accepts the bundle and installs the toolbar. So, Company A makes some revenue from Yahoo!, and Yahoo! benefits because the toolbar is directly tied in to Yahoo!'s web properties and search, presumably increasing exposure and usage of their services. Company A wins. Yahoo! wins. You, the end user get a free screensaver. Everone wins, right?

Is Bundled Software Harmful?

Only in certain scenarios. The key thing to keep in mind is that most bundled software has a practical and functional use. The Yahoo! toolbar from our previous example allows you to see if you have new email, without having your email window open. Weather.com's Desktop Weather allows you to see today's forecast without even opening a browser. MLB.com has a toolbar that displays up-to-the-minute scores of your favorite baseball team. These and most other bundled software have beneficial hooks that help to make it more convenient to use their services and access their information.

The way bundled software can become harmful is when too much of it is installed and running at the same time. No matter how spec'd out your computer might be, you still have a limited amount of resources (CPU, RAM, etc) available at any given time. Every software application and service that runs takes up some chunk of those resources. Sure, it may be minimal, but enough of these applications using minimal resources individually can, as a group, be a significant factor in your system running slow. So, keeping this in mind, we recommend that you don't install anything that's unneeded, and continually evaluate the software that is installed on your computer, uninstalling things you don't, or rarely use.

Awareness, awareness, awareness.

If you want to know exactly what a certain bundled software is or will do to your computer, especially in regards to the privacy of your data and browsing behaviors, it's a good idea to check out the End User License Agreement (EULA) and any privacy statements that the publisher has made available. These two documents are commonplace areas for the publisher to describe how and what its software will be up to.

How do I Remove Bundled Software?

Removing bundled software is handled the same way as removing any application from your computer, using the Start Menu > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Start Menu > Control Panel > Programs and Features (Windows Vista/7). If you cannot remove the software this way, it's possible that you have adware or malware on your hands. Try doing a virus/adware/malware scan on your computer to detect, and then remove this problem software.