AC Fan Control and Fan Xpert 2 are being very, very naughty

[RevGAM]

Since installing AC, I have come to regret it - specifically because of the motherboard fan control program that auto-starts at bootup whether I want it to or not, and Fan Xpert 2 over-riding all controls, including AC's normal fan controls permanently. BIOS settings are over-ridden, too. I use my computer to test fans so this is completely unacceptable. In addition, I've observed malware-like behavior by AC, especially the mobo fan control and related programs.

Clearly, Asus is aware of these issues because there have been numerous messages here and elsewhere about these and other programs within AC. Yet, they persist in distributing software that I am very tempted to report to antimalware companies for malicious behavior.

1) During testing, I went into Fan Xpert 2 so that the auto-tune function could make my fans do a better job. Not only did it botch that simple job (probably because I have some fans on splitters, some on my case repeater, and they aren't all the same RPM, AF and SP) but, when I went back to the regular, manual fan controls in AC, Fan Xpert 2 would not allow them to be used, even after I turned it off. I had to uninstall and reinstall AAC to get rid of the problem. When I tried again, it happened again.

2) At a later date, without Fan Xpert 2 having been used, my fans started to behave contrary to the BIOS fans curves I'd set for them although I hadn't used AAC to alter them IIRC. I had to go into startups and disable AAC so it wouldn't run at startup. Sometimes, even in BIOS itself, my fans were not behaving correctly, so it seems there was a remnant lingering in RAM after a restart.

3) The problems returned, and there was nothing in startups to disable. I did a registry edit that stopped it from starting up entirely...

4) Until something overrode it and it started again. Still no startup, no interference from Fan Xpert 2, but the Asus motherboard fan control program was asserting control over my fans. It wasn't in startups so I did a different registry edit that prevented that particular program from running. Every time I booted, I got a warning message that that program couldn't run, which made me smile...:)

5) Until it, again, was overridden. I had my BIOS curves for all but my cooler set to the absolute minimums, but all of my fans, except the ones plugged into the pump header, were constantly running at around 60% no matter what, or the computer would start with fans and lights off. Additionally, every second or so, the hourglass appeared next to my mouse cursor. Using Task Manager, I was able to identify and end task on the offending program, at least until I restarted.

6) Since I no longer had control of my fans via BIOS, I tried Rem0o's Fan Control, but it couldn't see all my fans and couldn't usurp control from motherboard fan control. Finally, I just delete a clean uninistall of AI Suite 3, but that didn't help. So, then, I used task manager again to end all of the Asus tasks I didn't actually need (most), and then I did a clean uninstall of AAC. After restarting, my fan speeds were back to my fan curves.

I tried a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head.

I don't care if I can't use my ARGB lights anymore, or have the convenience of one place to update everything. I can't have software on my system that acts like malware. Asus, between your poor customer and tech support, and your malware-ish software, I'm disgusted!

i7-12700k, Asus TG H670 Pro Wifi D4
Patriot Viper Steel 2x32 GB RAM 3600 Mt/s (MHz is wrong!)
A total of 12 fans from Corsair, Phanteks and Noctua
4 SSDs for a total of 4TB of storage

Backup Seagate Expansion 6TB.

Asus, as long as you insist on writing your software this way - and it has been YEARS that consumers have complained, I will no longer buy from you. If you continue to offer poor support and produce malware, I will actively tell people not to buy your products.