As an outsider who doesn't use Windows, it really does look like a ghetto. Recently I installed some software in a Windows vm using an un-configured browser (i.e. no adblock), and I was genuinely amazed at how challenging it was, even when I wanted to download things that I knew were reputable.
It does seem notable that the providers of online ads have little incentive to remove fake download ads and the like due to having their own platforms that compete with Windows. Reducing trust and making it more difficult to download native software pushes people towards competing platforms like ChromeOS. I'm not saying it's a deliberate plot, just that there is little organisational will to stop the abuse because the harm largely affects others.
I created this tool because I am sick of the state of Windows world that we got into. These days its almost impossible to download free software from the internet and not being offered toolbars and other products. Whenever I visit my family, I have to constantly clean up junk from their PCs as they are not careful when installing stuff on Windows. Hopefully Toolbar Blocker will help users keep the computers cleaner - it effortlessly prevents installation of toolbars (kind of like antivirus for toolbars). I am not sure about business model for this yet. Obviously I don't want to bundle anything, and I don't think people will want to pay for such a software.
http://i.imgur.com/0vPdDYU.png this is what trying to download software on windows is like if you don't use adblock.
It does seem notable that the providers of online ads have little incentive to remove fake download ads and the like due to having their own platforms that compete with Windows. Reducing trust and making it more difficult to download native software pushes people towards competing platforms like ChromeOS. I'm not saying it's a deliberate plot, just that there is little organisational will to stop the abuse because the harm largely affects others.