Active Virus Shield: What's In It For AOL?

you know... little OT here,

but i was an AOL customer 18 months ago, i had been on it years with no problems what-so-ever and no dial up issues, some people bash it wayyyy too much.

btw: i switched to another ISP because a greater speed was offered, not because of service, as i said... was with aol for years, infact i still use that email sign in for programs such as msn still. lol

i think its great they are offering free software, they have done all the time, but now more than ever, the problem with big companys, is there are alot of customers so they get more complaints, i.e. norton because people only hear of the complaints as people dont see to post anything or go on about good service, they just sit back and be happy.

 

Checked my AOL email account I used to order up my AVS. Had not checked it since ordering AVS using that account. No messages. Zero Spam. AVS is good I just decided not to use it after a month or so. Just me.

 

Hi, all.

This reminds me of when EW.com became EW subscriber & AOL member only site just after AOL bought Time Warner.

So, why do they keep doing things like sneaking a new DRM file onto our PC while we are just watching free video clips at video.aol.com?

What does OT mean? Off Topic?

How did it go when you canceled AOL? Just curious...

I agree. If I need free anti-virus, my choice is also AntiVir .

 

one phone call is all it took to cancel, no problems.
and yes OT = off topic.

 

No way! You were really lucky!
It took me three months to cancel my AOL account (I had to close my bank account after all).
Plus, they sold me another service when I tried it the first time. I know I am a toatl pushover.
Thanks for ur reply, C.S.J!

 

i think its cos id been there a few years with them and had no contract or outstanding bills with them.

 

The easiest way to cancel now is just to use the online button (yes, a single button) to switch the account to a free one.

 

Heh?
I tried their free trial at first just for fun.
At the end of the free trial period, I called to cancel, but they hooked me up and hard-sold me on their firewall service. (, even though I had McAfee's firewall bundled with my Dell. How pathetic! )
So, I thought I was their favorite customer, too. That's not fair. (... I'm just joking! ).

Anyway, AOL is (was?) notorious for their predatory marketing.
They also own a record company, which seems to like to spy on our PC as Sony's example suggests.
(BTW, I don't understand why everyone seems to ignore my question why AOL sneaks a DRM file into our PC. To me, it seems AOL's version of Sony's DRM rootkit.)
So, how can you deny that ASV is not AOL's another marketing ploy? How can you depend for the security of your PC on a company like that?
On the other hand, Avira is a total security company and their AV engine has KAV quality.

Bottom Line: Don't use ASV. If you want a freebie AV, use AntiVir, instead. Period!

 

Oops!

ASV --> AVS.

Sorry - My Bad :-(.

 

I think you're referring to AVS. Kaspersky doesn't seem to think it's a "ploy" or mention any hidden agendas.

Kaspersky: What is Active Virus Shield?

Both AOL AVS and Antivir PEC are excellent freeware AV's, but in the end they are lacking in a few areas. However you get what you pay for.

 

Wow! My post seemed just a micro mili second faster than yours.

But, this thing smells too fishy.
I don't understand why a company like F-secure or Check Point has kept silent and let it pass.
Kaspersky has allowed a bigger company like AOL to give away the same OEM products for free!

Couldn't agree more!

 

the aol things are the toolbar only.
the AVS is just a rebranded kav6.0 with only mail av and file av and a aol interface and icon.
if you dont install the aol toolbar theres no problems.
lodore

 

So, w/o it, ASV is the same as the AV engine of F-secure IS or ZA ISS, isn't it?

Also, can anyone explain to me why no one seems concerned that AOL sneaks a DRM file into our PC?

 

its the same gui and engine as kaspersky antivirus 6 but only got file av and mail av. from kav6.0 its missing proactive defence and web av.
so its just kaspersky antivirus 6.0 with less features and a aol skin and icon.
aol probaly just gave kaspersky the skin and icon and kaspersky impumented them. the aol toolbar is the only thing that is really aol.
the program itself is just rebranded kav6.0 spo theres no danger of them sneaking anything in. aol have the option of installing there toolbar during the install the aol toolbar does the dodgy stuff lol but you just untick the box and you have kav 6 with an ugly skin and less features.
aol made it for home users that dont care about security and surf any site and could be spam bots.
this way peopole get a good av for free and it means less spams bots in the world since they have great protection.
and they use it cos its free.
lodore

 

It might have something to do with the fact that it does not sneak a DRM file/rootkit on your PC thats just silly and it would be nice with a little bit of facts and not just FUD.

The facts that remain despite a few very persistant folks from the tinfoil crowd are: It's Kaspersky free for a year, you won't get the web-av, proactive defense & exclusions and you will have to live with the AOL GUI, not a bad offer & i have installed it on friends pc's without any incidents, sudden spam floods or whatever you and others try to push out there to make users shy away from it.

 

i like the idea of it because aol want it to help protect there customers to help stop spam bots and malware spreading from peoples pc's that dont know/dont care about secuirty install it because its free and good.
kaspersky likes it because people use it and might want the exclusions proactive defence and web av so they buy kav 6.0 making kaspersky money so works for both companys.

 

I doubt it. AOL used to be (still is?) the world's largest spammer.
Also, if AVS is such a good product, w/o any hidden agenda, Check Point & those who buy ZA ISS 2007 must be stupid. Don't u think?

Thanks for ur reply, lodore.

I don't think that you've never played free video clips at AOL VIDEO after deleting your DRM file.
I've already provided a lot of facts about AOL here.
If u think that AOL is such a generous company, just PROVE IT! I need the facts, too.

 

absolute BS!

i was on AOL for years, and the amount of spam i recieved was probably 2nd to none, ive also been on their website and the AOL shield for kaspersky and get ZERO spam from it.

again, i have played these and dont understand your comments about AOL at all. AOL is generous in offering a kaspersky antivirus FREE, not just for AOL customers (Which i still think it should be) but to EVERYONE!.

plus AOL offer free support lines, not many ISPs do and waiting time is also minimal, but in the FEW YEARS i was with AOL, i only phoned that number once.

and before you ask, i didnt leave AOL because of the service recieved, their top speed was not as good as cables, and i was desperate for the speed , simple as.

 

I told you that you were lucky, C.S.J.
Google something like "AOL cancel". There are thousands of AOL victims like me.

Did you delete your DRM before you played them? Then, what happened to the deleted file?

Also, I've already told the reasons why I don't agree with what you believe about AOL here.
Please read my earlier posts carefully, before you bash me.
(I don't think you bashed me, C.S.J, but someone else did.)

 

No, they are not stupid, they just bought the rights to use the engine and include it in their product instead of trying to beat someone they can't beat for a very longtime and wasting a lot of resources on it and that makes perfect business sense.

AOL AVS is quite different.....in that it's a rebranded (with less features) version of Kaspersky 6.0, it's simply a different skin, thats all.

No, you were the one claiming that AOL AVS included this and you seem to have trouble differenciating between AOL the company and AOL AVS the free rebranded Kaspersky 6.0 which is not made by AOL. and has nothing to do with their video's they apparantly offer via their ISP branch.............again you're mixing two things which have nothing to do with eachother to try and create as much FUD as possible so other users will not download it.........................which is a shame because many would be very well protected with this free AV.

 

i dont like aol's business practices but as Don said avs doesnt really have anything to do with aol.
i have had problems when i tryed to watch aol trailers since it tryed to download some aol rubbish so now i use apple trailers even thou i dont like apple i like them more than i like aol
lodore

 

Don Pelotas,
I am really tired of repeat myself again and again.
My point is, "How can we depend for the security of our PCs on a company like AOL?"
I told my story to tell how they could use free stuff to hard-sell their other products.
BTW, I want to buy ZA ISS 2007. But, if AVS is such a good AV, without anything behind, I will buy just ZA Pro and use AVS for my AV to save $10. Or I will buy NOD32, instead, because I consider that Kaspersky is insulting Check Points and ZA ISS users.
You've never listen to me. You've never tried what I said. You've never provided anything to convince me that I am wrong.
Nevertheless, you've repeated yourself saying that what I'm saying is FUD. S#### you!
I don't want any more arguments with you. I don't think that they are going anywhere.

 

Don has explained that avs is just a rebranded kav6.0 with less features and an aol skin.
so the aol hidden agenda stuff just dont happen.
so instead aol put a tickbox in the installer that asks you if you want to install the aol toolbar. the aol toolbar is the hidden agenda but you just untick that box and have a free versions of kav6.0 so whats the problem?
i wasnt sure at first but now i understand that the aol toolbar is the hidden agenda is you want to call it. seems aol just want there customers be protected by a very good av which in this case is kaspersky and by offering them it they have less spam bots in the world due to avs blocking the installions of them or deleteing them if already infected.
im the first to wonder the hidden agenda butr now ive got the facts im fine with it.
now you have got the facts you should be fine with it as well but your not.
lodore

 

I loved TMZ but when I watched video clips over there, a new DRM flie was created.

 

whats tmz?
i watch trailers from the companys that download the least about of rubbish.
i didnt relise the trailer i was trying to watch was gonna redirect me to aol trailers and now i just watch apple trailers since i have quicktime anyway.
lodore