Thus arise software installations which become, shall we say, difficult to remove. In essence, they argue, that whatever we need to do to install the software is consented to by the user. That consent amounts to authorisation, they say, and so, no offence is committed. I have heard this said on many occasions. It will not wash.
Many software house go well beyond what is necessary.
They consent or authority obtained is at best uninformed, and at worst it is obtained by misrepresentation. I have tried. I have rung Freeserve, and they were, shall we say in a state of denial. A software house seeking genuinely to look after their customers should inter alia Inform the customer, by means of a list, of what files are to be destroyed Provide opportunities to create backups of any files affected, and Provide a full and secure uninstall routine. The failure to do this will not be determinative of whether an offence has been committed.