Is ShadowDefender dead?

Seems that the trend of scareware/fake security programs expands to virtualizers too.

But I'm really surprised that GAOTD offered this crap. The next thing would be a rootkit as a free gift for the day...

ps. Shadowdefender still rules even if it hasn't updated for 8-9 months.

Panagiotis

 

well... back to topic it looks like SD has suffered from brain dead and now it's just connected to an artificial breather waiting to be disconnected (on april 2011)...

 

So finish the story. What's the significance of April 2011?

 

I can only think of domain name expires...?

 

yup... according to the mod @ SD's forum a sad ending for a masterpiece...

 

I would imagine the software would still function on my PC though right?

 

yeah don't worry. the only thing I guess there will be no place to get support. until now the 2 mods @ their forum still give support/advice...

 

Whether the company goes or not, SD will be good for a long time. And, combined with something like DefenseWall or similar program SD ought to be good for years.

 

Unless we get another spurt of malware that can get through these types of programs again, and that's always a possibility even though these kinds of apps aren't exactly in widespread use.

 

Maybe he suffered a similar fate to Liu Xiaobo who got an 11 year sentence for being a promoter of democracy. If so then at least ten years for SD's return.

Would it be advisable to purchase a license at this point?
Will the programmer or family benefeit from the sale?
Are there any issues with the latest release?

 

Yeah, 'good for years' is certainly an exaggeration. Good for quite a while might be better, in the case of ShadowDefender. What a great program. It's a shame it could be gone.

I'll keep using it, with DefenseWall or something similar for the foreseeable future though.

 

The way it's looking, no one is going to care about it in one year, let alone 10. These types of apps may not even be around 10 years from now, the Internet may be an entirely different beast. There are a ton of things that could have happened with this guy, he could have just walked away from his current life completely to start over, he could be in a regular or special prison, he could be 6 feet under. But, customers will only go without updates, bug fixes (of which there are evidently plenty judging by that forum post) and official support, for so long before they move on.

I see absolutely no point in purchasing a license of any kind. For one, why buy something that is basically abandoned? For another, there is no telling to where or who that money is going. The government may have control over his financial account, a rogue mod may be stealing it, you just don't know.

 

There is a suggestion that was offered on the shadow forums, whereby if Tony remiains MIA after the domain expires, maybe a dedciated and talented coder could RE the program and turn it into an open source project. This sounds like a great idea, but would be morally correct and justifiable if no family members of Tony are benefitting from the sale of this dicontinued gem...

 

I can assure you that that is not the case, the mods on the Shadow Defender forum are simply keeping the board as clean as possible from porn, spam, including (weirdly) many shoe/trainer sales bombardments in the hope that Tony might return.

 

No accusations meant, I was just tossing out possibilities.

 

It serves quite a purpose for those thinking of handing their money over to a company that is, essentially, dead. I don't think it's really "pointless speculation" to say that, for instance, if the guy was sick, ONE of those mods or SOMEBODY with the company would know about it. We're not talking a few weeks here, we're talking almost a full year. And, though I may have the wrong company when I say this, somehow I keep thinking this isn't the first disappearing act. Even if it is, it's completely obvious something is wrong. So, no, it isn't "pointless" to add on a caveat emptor here. Just my opinion on the matter, I'll say no more.

*Edit* I DO wish the guy well and hope nothing has happened.

 

Yes, sure. But on the other hand we should not forget that the buying of (a licence for) Shadow Defender seems to continue to work without problems. At least I have not heard about a single complaint that someone paid for a licence and did not receive the key. (I cannot speak for myself because I already bought my licence when Tony was still active.)

And concerning the product itself, I think that it is still worth its money - even in case that there should be no further development and no support from the developer.

 

That's very true. Obviously if people are still getting keys, then someone must be doing something. I just personally believe it is logical to have hesitations about buying something when a company seems to be "frozen", if you will. No matter what, I hope Tony makes a comeback and the product continues on. If not, well, I think we're all used to "one man shows" and small vendors becoming extinct by now.

 

I'm interested as to which policy is being violated by people discussing the question of whether or not a software's proponent will continue to support a given program?

There have been many other such discussions herein (such as the one concerning Frederic in the LnS forum). So I can't help but wonder why this particular discussion relative to ShaDef's proponent is verboten?

I think this present discussion has been warranted by the fact that the program in question (although quite good) DOES have some bugs that need looking into by program's proponent.

 

bellgamin


I think you're dead on! I was afraid I was the only one left scratching my head.

 

I'm guessing the issue is with discussing the whereabouts of Tony himself, otherwise there is no "policy violation".

 

I forget as it's been so long since I did a reformat but if Shadow Defender does go down but we still have our keys does it need to go through activation process?

TIA,

TH

 

NO

Just keep your key in a safe place,you'll be fine. I've got shadow defender saved onto a disk for whenever I decide to use it

 

Thanks got them safe!

TH