Can I trust Installer programs used by most programs? Now that I've thought about my previous Add Remove control panel question, I've started to wonder that, if I don't use it, what to prevent a program Installer from doing anything it wants to my computer? I would assume, probably wrongly, that if I let Windows monitor an install, it would intervene and try to prevent any mischief.
I also wonder if the Installer could install, but not create an uninstall entry in Add Remove. Then again, maybe Windows does not automatically create an uninstall entry for the programs it does monitor. I have never had to mess with restore points (I'm crossing myself three times and sacrificing a goat now) and would prefer not to.
Can I trust the Installer program most programs use?
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pschroeter
- Silver Member
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- Joined: 2007 Jan 27, 00:46
The correct question is: Can you trust the installed program!
Once again: Now matter, which way you choose to install a program, it is the matter of the installer, what he does and what not. (and later the matter of the program)
3 examples:
If you have a program, that simply gets unzipped, also via control panel -> Software you cannot install it.
If an installer is poorly written or configured, the program will go (unless you change the installation path manually) in another than the expected folder. This is mainly to be seen with installations on a non-english Windows-version, where the name of the program-folder is different than "program files". The installer should respect the environment, where the actual name of the program-folder is set, but poorly designed installers create a "C:\program files" path, although the program folder is on another drive or named differently. This is BTW not problematic.
An installer can install without providing an uninstall-entry, if the author did not implement this - out of what reason ever. This will not change, if you install via Control Panel.
Also Windows does not intervene during install - at least not in the way, you seem to expect.
System restore can mostly restore to the previous state, but a software, which is written to harm the user's system, can also delete the existing restore points. But you can use a tool, to save an image of the system partition; this will let you go back in every situation.
So, the point is: Check the trustworthiness of the software and its source, before you install.
Once again: Now matter, which way you choose to install a program, it is the matter of the installer, what he does and what not. (and later the matter of the program)
3 examples:
If you have a program, that simply gets unzipped, also via control panel -> Software you cannot install it.
If an installer is poorly written or configured, the program will go (unless you change the installation path manually) in another than the expected folder. This is mainly to be seen with installations on a non-english Windows-version, where the name of the program-folder is different than "program files". The installer should respect the environment, where the actual name of the program-folder is set, but poorly designed installers create a "C:\program files" path, although the program folder is on another drive or named differently. This is BTW not problematic.
An installer can install without providing an uninstall-entry, if the author did not implement this - out of what reason ever. This will not change, if you install via Control Panel.
Also Windows does not intervene during install - at least not in the way, you seem to expect.
System restore can mostly restore to the previous state, but a software, which is written to harm the user's system, can also delete the existing restore points. But you can use a tool, to save an image of the system partition; this will let you go back in every situation.
So, the point is: Check the trustworthiness of the software and its source, before you install.