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December 15, 2006 2:54 PM PST
Yahoo's IM update: A Trojan horse of surprises
Last modified: December 15, 2006 5:41 PM PST
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But the company has stopped prompting customers to update the software until it can sufficiently test that the fix works, said Yahoo spokeswoman Terrell Karlsten.
"We're testing the fix until we can get it behaving the way we want it to behave," she said.
Yahoo Messenger 8.1, when it was released Friday, automatically installed a Yahoo Mail icon in a user's system tray and changed the user's default mail settings to Yahoo Mail, said Karlsten.
Yahoo had alerted 73 million users worldwide (or all those using its IM service before November 2) to download the latest software version, which includes free or low-cost PC-to-PC calls among its chat features.
The company said the update increases stability and reliability, and improves security. The previous software contains a security flaw that could cause other applications like Microsoft's IE to crash, or prompt users to be involuntarily logged out, Karlsten said. The new version, she said, fixes that issue and bundles in new features like interoperability with Windows Live Messenger.
"The reason why we do a package, bundle everything together, is so people can get the latest version with the security updates and the great new features," Karlsten said.
Video: Watch this before installing Yahoo Messenger 8.1
How to update the feature while avoiding unwanted changes to your Internet browser.
By default, the software also inserts the Yahoo Toolbar into the user's Web browser and changes the user's personalized home page and search settings to Yahoo.com. In the original download alert, people could choose to customize the installation under "options" and then uncheck these default settings. What users couldn't change, however, was that the software was adding a Yahoo Mail icon to the system tray and changed their default mail settings to Yahoo Mail.
Yahoo's Karlsten had said the engineering team was not aware of the Yahoo Mail issue and was actively working on a fix. But she said that the problem affected only a subset of existing users. She added that the company realizes everyone might not want all of the features it offers and that's why users can customize their installation. "We have really made sure we've given people choice," she said.
Finally, for some people running Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.0, Yahoo's changes will crash the browser application.
Karlsen said that Messenger should be compatible with IE 7 and earlier versions, but the company is investigating.
The company also added language to its terms of service related to a new auto-updater practice. In the default setting, Yahoo will automatically download software to the client's PC whenever it has an update, and then alert the user when to install the software.
Jacob Nielsen, an expert on user design and principal of Nielsen Norman Group, said that Yahoo is not alone in its default changes, but the strategy runs contrary to what he calls software ethics.
"The basic principle is do not change users' preferences from under them, or not through deceptive dialog boxes because a lot of people click through, like 'yeah, yeah, yeah,' without reading them," said Nielsen, author of Prioritizing Web Usability."
"You don't want to make any changes unless they ask for it," he added.
Through research he's found that the average person on the Internet is clueless as to how to fix the changes that software bundles--like Yahoo's--typically make to their PC. Only people who are tech-savvy or work in the industry understand the concept of maintaining preferences that they can change, he said.
What's more problematic, he said, is that problems or collective clutter resulting from software bundles can serve to confuse the general public and cause consumers to be afraid of downloading anything.
"To the average user, they think, 'My computer used to work and now it doesn't and I don't know why.'
"All these small violations pollute the interface and degrade the ability of all the service providers to make updates, especially when they step over the line," Nielsen said.
At least one longtime user of Yahoo Messenger won't download the new version because she expects problems.
"I don't plan to download the latest YIM because the last one took over so many things without telling me beforehand that it took days to get it all untangled," said Erica Schroeder, a tech executive in the San Francisco Bay Area. "I was so mad I almost dumped the application off my system entirely. Yahoo should know better."
See more CNET content tagged:
Yahoo! Mail,
Yahoo IM,
Yahoo! Inc.,
ethics,
preference
As far as I know, those changes only occur when the user chooses the default installation and that's how it's been with Yahoo! Messenger for some time now.
Yahoo...if your products are good put them in as an OPTION TO INSTALL not an OPTION TO UNINSTALL. You look very unprofessional doing it this way.
Really, can any of this be an accident?
who was then?
Someone put it there.
Idiots.
Are Yahoo saying 'criminal act' has been commited?
Rogue employee edits source code to change everyones e-mail to Yahoo?
lol...
Admit your failures, be brave.
to hijack a persons email client just like you have their search
engine and hompage for years. You are so out of touch with reality
it isn't even funny.
Here Fat Man, see the garbage spam I have to put up with in one single day because you are too busy combarding Yahoo customers with ads in your Messenger and hijacking their browsers to write a decent spam filter. Know how many spam emails I get in Googlemail Fat Man? Zero! Maybe you could learn something from them.
Fat Man's Spam-O Email Filter
WhitneytoAcostamv@mailvision.net chaise
Mariano Kane Merdeia is pro cellulite kliller
Zelma Greene hi_ ospbfrngichiicmmartl
Henry T. Basil item
Jumanah Bridge Re: hauteu info
Adaline Gordon Anything else u need
Tammie Mccollum Dlon't Let your arlm loan go
Jo Erwin Ere.c.tille meds lowlest cost
Mariana Myers Low-Profile Company With High
Marian Dickey Your lApproval Code
Fannie Hines Order Shipped
under load foAll
Meaghan Rupp Re: halfpennywort
Rick Watkins Want to be a hero in a bed? 6
Barlaam Haltom Re: declinomete
Washington Sorry about last wk
Anthony Babcock Want to be a hero in a bed? 4
Denis V. Park compelling desire
Felicienne Pizarro Re: bombin info
Will this seems to be a huge resource covering lots of different areas.
AllieeSuareza@GoBigWest.com berserk
Stephan Schafer Increase your ***** Size 1
Katheryn astounding opportunity with
Lorraine Field Merdeia isl pro clellulite
YAHOO! I DON'T WANT YAHOO TOOLBAR OR YAHOO SERVICES!
Yahoo has been promising it to us for YEARS and still hasn't delivered.
And, on the PC side, when I read the article, I had to laugh. What high school programming class project actully did this alleged "update" for them?
Even a Programming 101 student knows that it is basic coding to set defaults and load a program! Evidently, no one told the development team at Yahoo this when they went through their mail order programming classes.
And Yahoo development "didn't know that the product was not compatible with" Internet Explorer 6?
Who do they THINK are they kidding?
Basic product testing protocols REQUIRE that a product like this be tested on the most common browsers. And IE, last time I looked, was THE most common browser. So one would obviously check for the TWO most recent releases - 6 & 7.
But not Yahoo, evidently.
So, I have to ask, again - WHICH high school programming class gets the 'F' for THIS boondoggle?
Or, perhaps I should ask "Which MANAGER at Yahoo should get the 'F' for not REVIEWING their WORK PROPERLY?"
Because that's the real question.
This critter was let out of the stable before the vet gave it all of its shots.
D/L again past week. Scrolling still there, could not sign on to my Yahoo. Again emailed Microsoft. again no answer.
Day 2, could not even sign on to wireless connection. Restore again. I think I will go shopping for some fresh fruit.
2. If you are installing software on your computer and you STILL haven't realized that the default / typical install isn't usually a good idea, then you are an idiot and need to wake up!!! You should ALWAYS look for a "custom install" option. Yahoo IM! is no different. It has always had a custom option that lets you turn off all their default crap like changing your home page for instance. Sure they shouldn't try to change those settings ANYWAY, but you could have been alert enough to click CUSTOM instead of just clicking NEXT.
Don't bash Yahoo! for trying to get a little bit out of giving you a free IM program. It's not like they bundle spyware like some craptastic folks do. How do you think they make money on giving away free software? Advertising! How do they do advertising?? Through their website! and through their IM!
So next time you install something.... PAY ATTENTION!!!! Look for a "Custom" option. Never accept some unknown default installation. Think about what you are doing, and think about what the software might be doing when you look at the list of options during installation. Sometimes the defaults are great. Sometimes they suck!
Yahoo was once cool but isn't anymore: they've been just rolling along on vapor. I already boycott the Yahoo "search" (read: ad) engine: will dump YIM within the next few days.
It's annoying! If I just want Yahoo Messenger, that's all I want. If I want QuickTime, don't make me download iTunes along with it. Make it easier to get just one piece of software without having to get the entire bundled package. Offer the bundle for those who want it, but also make it available as a standalone package.
A bot infected Y!s "Answers" section last week and epitomized on Saturday (as far as I know, that's the last time I was in there).
Here's the link to a list of "Questions" discussing it:
http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result;_ylt=Anae8GJwXU9w5LcLVTwKdnUjzKIX?p=%22man%22-bot
I [b][u]HOPE[/u][/b] that link allows you to see the [b][u]PROOF[/u][/b] of the holes Y!s OWN servers have in them!
Yahoo! needs to look in the mirror FIRST and leave it's users' computers ALONE!!!!
I wish CNet would report on real news and not blow these non-stories out of proportion when they're too lazy to do real journalism.
- Nothing new from Yahoo
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by Marv99
January 5, 2007 6:07 AM PST
- Yahoo has had other applications installing it's search engine and IE bar for years. It's one of the pushiest applications company I've ever seen.
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See all 34 Comments >>Why would this surprise anyone?
I don't often leave it on any machine I use as the search engine tends to mess up the URL and want to search for web pages that are simply down at the time. This wastes time. Sure I can change that in options but why bother for something that doesn't add function for me at any rate? BTW MSN search has the same problem. Same engine? One wonders.
Er Google rules <G>