Web Designer just showed up on my Desktop and is filling up my Recycle Bin?

[overn...@gmail.com]

Hey there,

Like some people reported earlier, GWD somehow showed up on my Desktop 2 days ago. I just now noticed that it did. I've been installing some prototyping software recently, but... I have 0 memories of anything by Google, because I'd remember it. Google is the first company I usually go to when looking for new software. This one though, first time I hear of it is when I read the icon on my Desktop.

Oh well. I started it up, curious to what it does. Loaded some Templates. They don't work. Nothing happens when I click it, just loading... until I realized I just have to wait a while. And while I wait my Recycle Bin fills up with new folders. Folders I presume GWD is caching directly inside my Bin. After about a minute the caching was done and I could safely empty the Bin and check the software out.

I guess it's alright? I'm trying to be both a designer and web developer and to be completely honest the software isn't immediately intuitive for any of those. But that's not important. It's the previous two paragraphs that bother me.

I would absolutely, 100% remember if I installed any software by Google on my own personal desktop, home. I didn't.

Filling my Recycle Bin with cache is just the most interesting decision I've seen in software development.

Why? Why and how?

[San Khong]

I can explain the Recycle Bin part. Google Web Designer was installed and launched on your machine some time before May of this year. 

Google Web Designer does not install the templates when the installer is run. The templates are downloaded when the application is launched. When it launches, it checks to see which templates requires an update. Some time before May, Google Web Designer was launched on your machine and the templates were downloaded in your local system. We released an update in May which contains a drastic change to the template files that require an update to all files. When you launch Google Web Designer after the May, the old templates on the local system will be deleted and new ones will be downloaded because we do not want to leave unused files on the user system. So the files in the Recycle Bin are the old template files that are no longer used in the latest version of Google Web Designer.

San

Google Web Designer team

[si...@spqretail.com]

I've just had the Google Web Designer Icon appear on my desktop but have not touched anything even remotely related to it.

The only thing I used yesterday (when it appeared) was Google Drive (web version).

How does Google have the right to write a shortcut to my desktop?

[San Khong]

Simon, have you ever installed Google Web Designer at any point? Our product has been around for over 4 years. If you have installed it at some point, deleted the shortcut from the desktop but never uninstall it, the auto-update mechanism is still there to update it to the latest build and put the shortcut back after the update is successful. 

We don't have the ability to automatically install Google Web Designer on a user's machine. Google Web Designer can only be installed by an administrator on your machine. We do not bundle it with any other Google software program either.

Hope it helps.

[donmue...@gmail.com]

I have the same, just see the Google Webdesigner icon on my desktop.
I did not install this , nor even any related product to this.

I just checked the information; and it was created 15pm on 16th of november.
Installed in the C:\Program Files\Google\Google Web Designer\ folder and there's a subfolder called 1.7.0.0
Folder size is 147MB.
I am not starting this application, I quarantined it by renaming the exe file to another extension and start looking on the web about this event.

Facts;
* I did not download and install this.
* It's installed in the Program Files directory and not the (x86) directory where Google applications normally are (earth and update)
* It's appeared after 16th of november
* The application are created (all files including the locales) on 1st of november. (The executables on 3.05am and the other files on 1.51am)

[San Khong]

The timestamp reflects when the application was updated. It's in the Program Files directory because it's a 64-bit application. Other applications you saw in x86 directory are 32-bit applications. If you uninstall it now, you will never see it again on your machine.

[si...@spqretail.com]

Just had Google Web Designer reinstall itself AGAIN (see post dated 11/15/17 above for the last time).

Both times it has been uninstalled in "Programs and Features".

Both times it has reappeared and reinstalled itself like a virus.

Found this...

C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\Download\{811767F4-C586-4673-A41F-E9D767497222}\1.7.1.0\googlewebdesigner_win_x64_1.7.1.0.exe

File dated 14th Feb 2018 in a folder dated 16th Feb 2018.

!!! I DID NOT INSTALL THIS AND DO NOT WANT IT !!!

Please advise.

[mgonza...@gmail.com]

I too, have found Google Web Designer installed on my Windows 10 machine this morning, I absolutely did not install this.

I'd sure like to know how this app got around Windows UAC. Please stop installing programs that I don't request.

[San Khong]

We do not have the ability to install Google Web Designer on your system. This software is not bundle with any other Google software. It also requires an administrator to install it. Google Web Designer has been around since 2013. If you or an administrator on your machine installed it at some point, when there is an update available, the new update will be pushed to your machine and therefore you would see the new timestamp.

Please uninstall it from your machine using the Uninstaller to properly remove it from your system. Once it's uninstalled, you should not see it again when there is an update to it.

Thanks,

[si...@spqretail.com]

Hi San,

But that is what you said 15th Nov 2017 (see previous response you gave me).

It simply isn't true.

Last year I installed GWD and then uninstalled it using Windows Programs & Features because it wasn't what I wanted. It then reappeared November last year. So I unstalled it using Windows Programs & Features again and posted the above message on this group.

I then had it turn up AGAIN... and removed it with Windows Programs & Features... and posted yet another message on this group.

Are you sure it is not Google Update that still "thinks" I should have it installed?

Where are the registry keys for the components Google Update thinks it should be updating?

[San Khong]

Hi Simon,

I'm sorry you are running into this issue. 

Please remove the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\Clients\{811767F4-C586-4673-A41F-E9D767497222}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\ClientState\{811767F4-C586-4673-A41F-E9D767497222}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\ClientStateMedium\{811767F4-C586-4673-A41F-E9D767497222}

After you remove them, please also search for 811767F4-C586-4673-A41F-E9D767497222 in the registry to see if this id also exists in other keys as our app used to be a 32 bit app before 64 bit version was supported.

Please let us know if you see Google Web Designer pops up on your machine later on. We plan to have another update in June.

Thank you.

[si...@spqretail.com]

Thanks San,

Key found under ClientStateMedium which I have now removed.

I'll see what happens in June.

Best regards,

Simon