Talk:InstallCore

Where to find SDK?
I was looking for a new installer program and stumbled over this program : InstallCore, but i couldn't find the SDK download they were talking about anywhere on the page. I also never heard about this company before, even though i am quite often using similar products. Then i took a closer look at the Wikipage i found for this program, and it seems odd that a company that has over 90 million downloads a month, and has been existing for 2 years, only has this entry in English? I think it's all commercial products not for free. Just search for the term InstallCore and you will find everything about this program. Saludos, Lars - Larzan (talk) 17:07, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

InstallCore is used by premium accounts not sure it's suitable for none-professional developers. The platform is fully white-label and is been used by some of the biggest sites in the world see here - http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/10/prweb10066055.htm and also from sfgate http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/InstallCore-Announces-Partnership-With-Telecharger-3992894.php — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.160.231.213 (talk) 23:36, 25 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: I know this edit was made in 2012, but if anyone's reading this, keep in mind that the two sources referenced are press releases, which don't count as WP:RS. --gdfusion (talk&#124;contrib) 19:53, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

AdSupported
Edited to reference the identification of the program as potentially unwanted software by Sophos. Future edits should be aware of the technical difference between AdSupported and adware. While both are potentially unwanted, the use of the term may be easier to challenge as there are at least theoretically situations where someone would intentionally install an adware. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.47.103.101 (talk) 19:22, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Major source of "accidental" adware and Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) installs
While InstallCore and it's sibling products are usually not directly named, they are used by some major download portals and software hosts, which receive much criticism for it, because it runs adware installs when downloading a solicited piece of software. Some of these install dialogs are criticized as deceptive, or for completely ignoring user input (e.g. "decline" on adware install) and for installing adware without ever asking.

If you search for InstallCore and Adware, Malware, Virus or similar keywords, you will find lots of reports about malicious and deceptive adware and that security software vendors warn on many InstallCore variants, of adware, Potentially Unwanted Program, or worse, installation.

Not an ordinary installer
Some people seeming to stand in close relation to IronSource/InstallCore downplay the software as just another installer, like InnoSetup, MS Windows Installer/WiX, InstallShield and the like. The main purpose of this seems to be a dubious kind of adware delivery, and likely, to obtain full system access with administrator rights for anything to execute on your machine. If I see correct, most of the main programs (not the adware!) are simply downloaded as their original installers and these are then executed by InstallCore, so it doesn't add any value for their installation. Perhaps some distributed download servers, little less space by better compression, but of course all this is eaten up by the adware. Also, the description says it maintains full control over which ad offers to display (in fact including deceptive and malicious ones), and uses targeted advertising, which suggests that not only the 3rd party adware, but also InstallCore itself has spyware functions.BBirke (talk) 22:57, 5 January 2015 (UTC) BBirke (talk) 16:02, 2 January 2015 (UTC)

Symantec flags by name
Symantec classifies at lease some installers created using InstallCore with the tag PUA.InstallCore. I feel there should be a section in the main article mentioning this and Sophos (mentioned above), tentatively titled Criticism. Ndm13 (talk) 18:16, 28 March 2017 (UTC)

Scam
This whole thing is nothing but a scam. Spent a good one hour and realized that their website has nothing but nicely laid out text and nothing else! Nothing to download, nothing to read, other than PR content! And obviously a submission form for advertising/publishing.
 * The article claims of 100 million installations. Where ?
 * There is a compiler make syntax and Javascript/HTML based 'user interface' - not a single place where this 'SDK' is discussed. Not a single question asked in stackoverflow.
 * Their external links are pointing to their own website, a dead youtube video link.
 * References are nothing but PR stuff for things - which obviously doesn't exist.

There are more jokes in the parent company article IronSource - the company either doesn't exist or is running a big scam throughout the internet. I'm nominating this article and IronSource for speedy deletion. The people have gone to add InstallCore and other stuff in many articles throughout wikipedia. Need to clean up that too. Posting anonymous as I don't want to get spammed myself. 82.135.29.34 (talk) 12:58, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

IronSource/InstallCore not responsible for deceptive and malicious adware installs?
This article had several arbitrary deletions, or vandalism cases, with claims that IronSource/InstallCore were not responsible for malicious and deceptive installs, and that developers/publishers "abuse" the software. The reports and description point to no other source than IronSource and their related companies of the malware (for sources, see the articles on IronSource, InstallCore etc., possibly in earlier revisions, and the IronSource website):


 * Installcore claims to use a "super targeting", by scanning the user system, for selecting adware (thus being also spyware itself).
 * They say they use a "FlowAutomator" ad server for delivering ads/adware
 * Similar malicious effects appear in different download sources using InstallCore products, such as download.com and sourceforge.net (where adware supported). Not very believable that they all do the same kind of scams.
 * Signatures and some of the advertised products distributed through Installcore originate from IronSource and related companies; BBirke (talk) 21:44, 1 February 2015 (UTC)

If not IronSource and their related companies, who else should be responsible for malicious features, like deceptive install screens (fake EULA with logo/headline for desired program, fine print for adware), not asking for permission at all or installing even after "decline".

Any answer, any reason not to revert these deletions as vandalism? ;-) BBirke (talk) 21:34, 24 January 2015 (UTC)
 * 1) Yes, I agree with you. It seems that someone is trying to remove the info about the adware/"PUP". Perhaps semi-protect? —gdfusion (talk&#124;contrib) 22:07, 24 January 2015 (UTC)
 * 2) I think it's best to semi-protect all articles related to IronSource and their products (caution, wrong link to another, unrelated "mediaCore" company!) like the main IronSource article already is. For now, they have only been deleting and not added any strong argument.BBirke (talk) 17:24, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

IronSource/InstallCore is not responsible for deceptive and malicious adware installs
In response to the above, the corrections do not appear arbitrary nor are they vandalism.

installCore originally provided an opensource SDK to help developers distribute their software. installCore is a platform - not a product or a PUP - and it is not adware. Following abuse of the platform, installCore closed the opensource SDK, and only made it available to developers following a compliance process managed by an in-house compliance team. installCore outlines its installation guidelines on the website. Thousands of developers use the installCore platform, and in cases of abuse, installCore can remotely switch "off" installers in breach of the written guidelines.

"Super targeting" is a marketing term and the practice does not breach user privacy or security.

"FlowAutomator" refers to an ad server showing software offers to potential users during the installation process on the installer itself. It is advertising, not adware.

Yes, a few bad apples have abused the platform despite precautions, and installCore takes immediate action when this happens. That said, the companies who use scare tactics to sell "protection" against adware and more, benefit financially from demonizing installation platforms.

This response was written by an ironSource executive.

Yes, IronSource absolutely was responsible
^--- Responding to the above: the whole point of installCore was to install arbitrary programs and plugins on an infected computer without any user interaction. If it was intended to "help developers distribute their software', why go to such great pains to avoid any kind of user confirmation process, or to advertise what is being installed and who it's from? In contrast, most legitimate installers go to great pains to ensure the user realizes they're getting a brand-new software component from Apple, Adobe, Microsoft, etc.  It's also highly suspicious that the first thing installCore does is to check for signs that it is being monitored by anti-virus or other security software, and if any are found it waves off from its next round of communications and system manipulation.  Why would a legitimate installer ever need to do that?  There are plenty of software installation frameworks out there, most of them free; the only value proposition installCore ever offered was that it (a) tried to make its installations invisible to the user, (b) offered the ability to sign software with illegitimate or stolen certificates, bypassing the intended software validation process, and (c) made it difficult for users to prevent or undo these installations via normal security tools. IronCore's responsibility for the malware is the only thing "responsible" about any of this, and everyone involved appears to be amoral. The Tom's Guide piece linked in the article references is a great next stop for anyone doubting the authenticity of my claims above. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.14.184.151 (talk) 05:53, 22 July 2022 (UTC)

IronSource Ownership / Info Removal Edits Dec 2020
There were some anon edits today to this page and the main article to remove references to IronSource developing and owning InstallCore. I have reverted as there was no evidence accompanying it and it contradicts easily found sources such as this malware bytes article and IronSource's own website Conflatuman (talk) 01:09, 7 December 2020 (UTC)