Crapware

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The English term crapware describes unwanted software installed on a computer or smartphone.

The term is a cross of English crap , in the German meaning for crap , and software . Unlike bloatware , in which an actually desired program is made too large, confusing and cluttered ( English bloat for German  bloated ) is Crapware either software from security reasons Crap So, manure can be called, or the a priori is undesirable and thus offers no apparent function for the user. In the latter case in particular, there are ultimately undesirable business interests for the user of a computer that are associated with the term crapware .

Crapware as a business model

There are various programs that are offered for installation with software that is mostly available on the Internet and that fall into the category of crapware. One example is the Ask toolbar , which was offered for a while when installing or updating Java as an additional pre-selected installation option. If the user didn't pay attention during the installation and quickly clicked on “Next,” the Ask toolbar landed on the computer. The only function of this software was to redirect the standard search in the web browser to a special page and thus generate advertising income for the provider. The company behind the Ask toolbar financed itself with this adware- like function.

Crapware is often preinstalled on new personal computers in addition to the operating system, with functions similar to adware. This should help to offer devices cheaper on the market, as additional income can be expected from the pre-installations.

Plagiarism

There is also often plagiarism of actually free software that additionally copies said crapware onto the computer during installation . The real problem, however, is that most users do an Internet search not paying attention to where they are downloading a program from.

Badly written software

When it comes to functions that are actually desired, some manufacturers fail in the area of ​​security. For example, an update program provided by the manufacturer is preinstalled on many computers that automatically checks whether new versions of preinstalled application software or drivers are available. Updates are intended to make a computer more secure, since errors found are usually fixed with such an update. However, if the error is in the update program itself, this otherwise positive effect is reversed. This happens again and again with programs actually intended for security, such as anti-virus software or update programs.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pascal Schneiders: Be careful when buying a PC! Dangerous crapware. In: FAZ.NET. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, March 16, 2015, accessed on February 6, 2017 : “The term is derived from the English crap, which means crap in German. It stands for third-party software that is installed on a computer at the factory. "
  2. ↑ a b Crapware. In: Computer Hope Dictionary. Computer Hope, accessed on February 6, 2017 (English): "Computer manufacturers often include this software in exchange for special deals with the publishers, which often help reduce the overall cost of the computer for the consumer."
  3. ↑ Leo Becker: Oracle attaches adware to the Java installer for Mac OS X. In: Heise online . 5th March 2015 . Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ Achim Killer: Software that nobody wants. Crapware. Deutschlandradio, September 13, 2014, accessed on February 6, 2017 : “If you see more advertising than usual while surfing, you probably have so-called crapware on your computer. It is annoying, is often difficult to uninstall and also represents a huge security problem. "
  5. ↑ Torsten Kleinz: The business with crapware. Superfish. ZEIT ONLINE GmbH, February 24, 2015, accessed on February 6, 2017 : “Many Lenovo laptops had preinstalled software that posed a security problem. It was part of a business model that all hardware manufacturers follow. "
  6. ↑ Ronald Eikenberg: VLC struggles with loopholes and fraudulent clones. In: Heise online . July 15, 2011 . Retrieved February 6, 2017 .; Quote: "Everything just stolen: If you download VLC here, you get adware on your computer."
  7. ↑ Ronald Eikenberg: Android virus scanners sniff out surfing behavior. In: Heise online . February 24, 2014 . Retrieved February 6, 2017 .; Quote: “Virus scanners for Android that have been installed millions of times monitor the surfing behavior of their users and transmit their findings to the manufacturers. You are even undermining the security of encrypted HTTPS connections. ”.
  8. ↑ Fabian A. Scherschel: Crapware: Many updaters from PC manufacturers have glaring security gaps. In: Heise online . 3rd June 2016 . Retrieved February 6, 2017 .; Quote: "The pre-installed update tools from the PC manufacturers are actually supposed to make the users' systems more secure, but in practice they often offer a lot of scope for devastating attacks."