I totally agree. This is one of the things that makes Windows feel like a second-tier OS to me compared with Linux and Mac. If I have to do something "tech-y", on Linux or Mac, I look for it in the package registry. I trust that action would probably have been taken by the community if it were doing something malicious, and usually I can find the project on github and peruse the source if I really want.

By contrast on Windows, it usually means finding some GUI-based utility on some sketchy website filled with ads, and maybe a fake download button. Probably it's freemium, so during the task maybe I have to dodge several calls to action to upgrade to the paid version. And then a week later, maybe I check the task manager, and find out it's gone and set itself to run in the background at startup, doing god knows what, without asking.

It's just one of the ways that Windows feels less like it's my computer.