

However, Avast says Microsoft's description of the bundling is inaccurate. Existing antivirus software, including Microsoft Defender Antivirus, might be turned off or uninstalled during this process,” the company added. “If users choose to continue, the bundled antivirus product installs in the background.
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“When it is launched, it provides a preselected option to install Avast Free Antivirus,” Microsoft claims. On install, CCleaner uses a plugin to contact and download an additional file called Microstub.exe. The company also provided screenshots that illustrate how the alleged bundling works. “While the CCleaner installers do provide an option to opt out, some users can easily inadvertently install these bundled applications,” Microsoft claims in the notice.Īn example of the bundling, but Avast says this image is outdated (Credit: Microsoft) The other applications CCleaner can try to install include Avast Free Antivirus, AVG AntiVirus-which Avast also owns-along with Google Chrome and Google Toolbar. (Avast gets a fee from Google for distributing the Chrome browser.) “While the bundled applications themselves are legitimate, bundling of software, especially products from other providers, can result in unexpected software activity that can negatively impact user experiences,” Redmond says in its notice (Opens in a new window). The same installers can bundle third-party software from CCleaner’s parent company, antivirus provider Avast.īut according to Microsoft, these other applications are not required to install and run the junk file removing program.

The alerts occur when Windows Defender scans certain installers for the free and 14-day trial versions of CCleaner. Microsoft’s Windows Defender antivirus software is-perhaps ironically-flagging CCleaner, a junk file remover, as a “Potentially Unwanted Application."
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