Buy security software

Just some observations on downloadcrew that raise some red flags for me.

1) 'About' is missing any information.
No address, contact number or even email address available.

-downloadcrew.co.uk/?act=user.feedback#about

2) More importantly, so is the 'Privacy policy'. No sign of it.

-downloadcrew.co.uk/#privacy

3) The domain registration info for this site is also cloaked, which is against UK WHOIS rules as this is a revenue generating domain.

Would I give these people my money?

Not a chance. I've invited the person said to control this domain to reply to my observations here.

 

They have good reputation and are trustworthy.
Otherwise, you would already heard negative experiences and they would be put out of the business.

 

Thanks siketa. Some users will always try and find the negative in everything. Hell, even our free full software giveaway site (http://giveaway.downloadcrew.com) attracts negative (!) comments. People just like to be negative, sadly.

Our primary business isn't the software stores, it's our relationship with various publishing companies around the world, where we provide them with software news, downloads and reviews. The stores are simply an add-on to enable each partner to promote software and earn a revenue stream from their downloads.

If in doubt, simply buy from a reputable brand such as Computeractive's Software Store, the biggest UK PC magazine from Incisive Media: http://store.computeractive.co.uk. We've been working with Incisive Media and other publishers since 2003. They trust us to provide software reviews and to manage their store, a store which first went live in 2009.

Finally, it's also worth noting that nothing is stored our side. When buying software, everything is handled by Cleverbridge (www.cleverbridge.com), through the cart process, so "privacy issues" are handled by Cleverbridge.

 

It's really not that hard to find out any details; but how much do you really need? The guy in charge (Chris Wiles) is easily approachable; leading magazines are using his company's platform and so far there hasn't been a single case where the codes sold were not legitimate.

Given it's one of the few stores that doesn't require you to create an account to buy something; that actually puts some good marks on their privacy (and convenience) score. They also don't subscribe you to autorenewal by default; unlike some stores.

 

I'm not judging the person who owns the store personally- I'm saying from my point of view when I am shopping it is important for me to know the identity of the company I am doing business with (past an URL or contact us form), how they handle my personal data, and where they are based. If I cannot get basic information like this, how can I trust the company to process my information securely, deliver a product and provide support afterwards? (and I shouldn't have to resort to contacting them on wilders to verify they are who they say they are)

It is simply sloppy and unprofessional. I'm not being 'negative' for the sake of it, I am being negative because such behaviour should set off red flags when making an online purchase. Whether or not the site owner takes on board what I have said or not is his business.

The UK government provides basic safety tips for shopping online, which you can access here: https://www.getsafeonline.org/shopping-banking/shopping1/

One of their points:

In this case, I see no contact details and cloaked WHOIS data.

Another:

As I stated, no privacy policy.

 

I did find this; honestly it's not that difficult:

http://whois.domaintools.com/downloadcrew.net

From what I can see they work in a kind-of SOHO environment; so that might explain why not everything is where it should be.

Also from FAQ at the store:

Now that's not a whole privacy policy per se; but I guess they're taking it "hands off" and allowing Cleverbridge to handle that. So, Cleverbridge's policy is their policy basically....

 

I'm not sure what you are asking for us to store? We have no access to the actual orders, these are handled by Cleverbridge. They handle the order, the card processing and storage of personal data.

You need a policy if you're keeping customer's data, which we're not. That's all handled by Cleverbridge.

Our role is nothing more than front-end store management. We provide the front-end for our brand partners, who are all very contactable (Computeractive has an address on their store and contact info) and you can call Cleverbridge customer services on their freephone number, from the US, UK, most of Europe and Australia.