Software Installer Warning. Please Read!

These days, more and more software downloads are being bundled with unwanted components such as browser toolbars that may be installed when you install the product you wanted.

These products are rarely malicious but they are nuisances as they can change your home page and other system settings or display ads for commercial products. So generally you don't want them or need them..

Usually these unwanted products can be avoided by unchecking option boxes during the install process. However these options are often made difficult to find and/or understand so you need to be vigilant during the installation process. In most cases you will need to select the "Custom install" option to see the opt outs, rather than using the default installer settings.

In our review details we try to note which products contained these bundled downloads but in the computer world things can change fast.

We therefore advise everyone to be alert and watchful when installing any product and make sure you uncheck all options to install other programs.

The following articles contain additional information:

• General download advice [2]
• Cnet Wrapped Installer [3]
• OpenCandy Installer [4]