How do I stop installation of UNWANTED McAfee during Flash update?

[mynameiswrb]

I'm running Win8.0, Firefox 34.0.5. I have NO options presented when I select upgrade - I get a 'save' option for the download, after which I have to go to the Download folder, selec & run the .exe file, which installs BOTH the Flash player upgrade AND McAfee software. I DO NOT want McAfee, and immediately uninstall it. How can I prevent its installation? Thanks!

[jeromiec83223024 · Accepted solution]

The easiest way is to simply use Internet Explorer, Edge (for Win10) or Chrome, all of which bundle Flash Player as a built-in component on Win8 and higher, so there's never an installer to download, or an update to install (they're delivered via Windows Update or the Chrome updater, respectively).

For Firefox, you'll need to uncheck the box for McAfee on the download page itself, at which point you'll get the installer that doesn't bundle McAfee.  I've posted much longer explanations on the topic, so I'm not going to get into it here, but you're welcome to look through my feed for the longer, more eloquent background.

[mynameiswrb]

Jeromie - thanks but ... Not sure what 'download page' you're referring to. I click on Firefox's 'update flash' link, I get a small window asking me where to save the file, and it downloads the .exe file. I double click on that and both Flash and McAfee start installing. I've not used IE in roughly a decade, and I never allow any automatic software updates.(Interestingly, I researched the Forum posts and found scores of people with the same complaint AND the same inability to opt out of the installation, with some harsh words as a result. I'll be nice... but.. it seems not understanding your scenario is not my problem).

[_maria_]

Hi mynameiswrb

Which update flash link are you referring to?  I have the latest version of Firefox and installed a fairly older version of Flash and performed the following:

• Go to https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/‌ and click on the Flash Player Update Now button:
  
  Firefox launches a new tab to https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/‌ which is the download page Jeromie is referring to, where the option to un-check the McAfee add-on is displayed.
  
  
• Go to a page with Flash content (e.g. www.adobe.com/products/flash/about). Since the FP version I have is fairly old Firefox blocks the Flash content.  Click anywhere inside the area where Flash content is supposed to display and Firefox displays a dialog box with the Update Now link.
  
  Clicking the link launches a new tab to https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/‌.

In neither instance is Flash Player automatically downloaded.  If you're experiencing a different workflow, please provide steps to reproduce (including what version of Flash Player you may have installed before installing the update).

--

Maria

[mynameiswrb]

Maria - thanks, but... I've followed precisely the steps you first mentioned. I've also gone from the second scenario to the update. In neither case have I seen ANY mention of McAfee, much less a 'do not install' option. My recourse is simply to go immediately to the Uninstall option. I also read & skimmed a score of posts in the Forum, responding to apparently the same answer I was given after an identical rant from another user, claiming precisely what I'm stating.

[_maria_]

Hi,

Thanks for confirming the workflow.

Yes, I'm aware of users getting the installer without seeing the add-on offer.  Either from some non-Adobe location not authorized by Adobe to provide the installer, of if they go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer, they usually have an ad-blocker installed. If you have add-on blockers installed they'll most likely block the add-on offer:

--

Maria

[jeromiec83223024]

Thanks for the details.  The distribution system defaults to opt-in (this is a business decision that's way outside my purview), and when the opt-out is not supplied, you'll get the binary with the bundled offer.

In the first case, it sounds like Firefox is bypassing our distribution mechanism instead of taking you to the download page.  I'll spend some time testing that this afternoon, and will file a Firefox bug as appropriate.

In the latter case, my bet -- having tested this exhaustively myself after investigating numerous reports from the forums -- is that you're running a browser plug-in that interferes with the normal execution of JavaScript.  Plugins like NoScript, Adblock Pro, Ghostery, etc, are frequently involved in this category.  At that point, you've effectively re-written the code on the page in a way that we can neither detect reliably nor prevent.  You're experiencing a side-effect from software that we didn't write.  In most of these instances, it's the ad-blocking plugin that's blocking the content that allows you to opt-out of the bundled offer.

You should be able to validate my assertion for the latter case by going to Firefox > Help > Restart with Add-Ons disabled (this disables your add-ons until the next Firefox restart), then going to the download page: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer.  At that point, my bet is that you'll see the opt-out dialog in the screenshot above.

Thanks!

[mynameiswrb]

Jeromie... I never installed any ad blockers etc, but I looked at the list of Firefox plug-ins I do have and none seem to be anything like you're suggesting (2 MS Office, 2 Intel Identity Protection, VLC and QuickTime, Windows Live Photo Gallery... except for VLC, all unchanged since 2012 or earlier). But I'll try your suggestion. Who knows?