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Garmin Express download WARNING!!

Former Member over 9 years ago

I just downloaded Garmin Express on my new (6 months old) laptop (Win 8.1, 64 bit) to update my nuvi 2797. It took some doing. Garmin does not like Chrome Canary, or even Chrome (go to IE). After getting all kinds of extraneous error messages or failures, I finally got it to download. There were SEVERAL pages of legalese and AGREEMENTs to approve, which I did, and finally got it installed and up. Then I discovered that Garmin had added/included several unwanted programs in the download. CHROMIUM browser with a homescreen toolbar, plus several ads for AV software and the like.

I've been a longtime Garmin fan, have purchased maybe a dozen over the years, from the first nuvi 200 thru the current fav. I drive/travel the southeast and use Garmin daily. I have advised numerous friends, relatives, colleagues to buy Garmin. The few times I've needed Customer Service, I have been impressed. But this issue of adding, really just sneaking in unwanted software and ads into a download is VERY OFFENSIVE, an annoyance, and a betrayal of trust.

If you are OK with this, it's usually because you just don't know any better, have not been around long enough to experience some of the problems for your computer this stuff can cause. The reason Garmin does it is because Garmin get PAID for doing it by these companies.

VERY POOR FORM, Garmin. If not a breach of ethics, a very bad breach of etiquette.

LowndesW

0 George.Poth over 9 years ago

I never got any of the stuff you mentioned from Garmin. However, I do know that updating Java offers these things, and it is just a matter of unselecting the options. I have found nothing of that in Garmin’s license agreement, and it is obligation to have it there if it can be installed. Are you sure you got this from Garmin and not some other stuff? That would be very disappointing indeed.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

Not Garmin

I do not think these unwanted programs came from Garmin. It was something else that you did.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

Reply to jgermann and George.Poth

Gentlemen:

I do wish/hope both of you are correct, but this was my experience. I had none of this stuff on my computer, have not visited any other sites or downloaded anything for weeks prior to this morning's Garmin Express download and setup. All of this stuff popped up or showed up during or immediately after the download and install. The only possibilities I can think of are the installer adding these, or IE piggybacking this stuff, but I have never heard of that, not even sure it's possible.

This laptop is my "work" machine. I try very hard to keep it up to date, clean and protected. I use a second, older laptop for personal and shopping. Too many problems in the past.

If you have any ideas about what else it could be, please let me know. I'll be trying to get this toolbar off my desktop.

THANKS,

LowndesW

0 SUSSAMB over 9 years ago

Never happened to me in years of using Garmin software. I concur with the posts above, it's something else you did.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

Additional Reply to jgermann and George.Poth

Gentlemen:

I believe I have my computer back. Mostly. Only took 3 hours.

These are the details of this experience (I have screen shots of all of this):

Web Bar, Chromium, Super Optimizer, and Blazer Deals show on the log as being installed immediately before Garmin Express. Properties of each show the date and time, they were within two minutes of the Garmin Express.

"Cassiopesa Search" shows up at the same time, and may be the root of the above problems.

Cassiopesa installs itself by opening as a url in the Chrome Start Up Pages. It then does whatever it wants. It can install whatever it wants. "Uninstall" doesn't touch it, Malwarebytes can't find it, etc, etc.

The QUESTION is, how did Cassiopesa get on here??

Garmin Express and the associated files and programs were all that I had downloaded.

Any ideas??

0 pshare over 9 years ago

It could have been when you were getting all those extraneous errors that you mention or perhaps a drive-by. I remember once having an issue because I typed Starva instead of Strava in the address bar.

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

Reply to pshare

It could have been when you were getting all those extraneous errors that you mention or perhaps a drive-by. I remember once having an issue because I typed Starva instead of Strava in the address bar.

That would have shown up in the Google History.

Any other ideas??

LowndesW

0 George.Poth over 9 years ago

I just downloaded and installed the latest Garmin Express. There is no such software bundled with it. I am sure you are wrongly accusing Garmin.

0 EXPRESSCUSTOMERCARE over 9 years ago

LOWNDESW

I am sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I want to assure you that we do not bundle Express with any other applications if you download from the Garmin website. We have had reports of what you have experienced and have found that it comes from downloading a bundle from some file hosting websites. These websites also typically have an outdated version of express and prompt for an agreement that includes some bundle of other files.

Albert

0 Former Member over 9 years ago

I hope I'm wrong.

LOWNDESW

I am sorry to hear that this has happened to you. I want to assure you that we do not bundle Express with any other applications if you download from the Garmin website. We have had reports of what you have experienced and have found that it comes from downloading a bundle from some file hosting websites. These websites also typically have an outdated version of express and prompt for an agreement that includes some bundle of other files.

Albert

Albert,

Please tell me how and I will send you the screenshots of my history. Maybe you can tell me where the problem comes from. I try to be very careful about the sites I download from and remember checking on the WOT and authenticity of the download.

LowndesW