SiteAdvisor -- strange

I just found the same crap regarding one of the biggest technologies blogs around here. SiteAdvisor rates it red, but doesn't explain where exactly is the adware, viruses, etc.

 

UPDATE: They now restored ONE of the green ratings. The green rating from the past was from a 9/9 ranked reviewer (a real person) who was apologizing for the false positive that happened years ago. I dunno... Maybe this is their way of calling a truce, and so long as my site as a whole stays green, I'm not going to complain more about that bot that made the unfounded accusation that persists to this day, or of the 16 other positive reviews that were removed.

 

And it is nice to know I'm not alone!! I would really still like to know who/what these bots are, who runs them, and why they are allowed to flagrantly operate on the network (thus operating on the database)... BUT.. like I said, frankly I'm not gonna stir the hornets up if they leave me alone.

 

They did respond to an email through the 'standard' channel (though I may have hit the wrong selection, I don't know). Anyway, they are in touch now through a different channel. I do not know how this affects things. I do not know if the niche I was in contact with earlier (if I was in contact, they never replied after NO on the sale) this will have any impact on.

The support seemed polite and willing to hopefully remove this defamatory remark by a bot. Simply put, bots make mistakes, and this is a mistake.. so let's remove it. The removal of comments, and restoration of them adds some crazy twist that I don't know WTF to be honest.

All I know, is at this point.. please, just do the right thing. Scan me a million times a day. If you think there is malware, show me where and I'll show you its not. There is no such thing on my site, period. There is no even adware. Well, anyway.. who does like vague, non-specific, highly defamatory, remarks from an anonymous bot with a 9/9 ranking? Not me.

I hope SiteAdvisor finds a good way to work around this. If any members of their staff are reading.. I have no intention of taking this further, I simply want to continue to be rated appropriately GREEN (as there should be *NO* question) and you've got no problems from me.

To SiteAdvisor's credit, they have kept bitsum.com properly GREEN for years now. This has never changed throughout this whole ordeal. Let me make that clear.

 

They did refuse to remove the bot's comment. I made it clear it was a bot, and bots make mistakes -- and therefore their mistakes should be cleaned up... but they still do not feel it is appropriate to remove. At least as of their last response. I do not understand why they removed all those green user ratings, then are so hesitant to remove an invalid bot rating.. but whatever..

I do give them full credit for keeping my site appropriately rated GREEN.

 

Just when things started to die down, they rated my domain ProcessLasso.com as RED without EVEN as explanation. There are NO bad scans of files, NO bad user reviews, NO bad links. WTF?!?!?! I mean, do they realize the criminal and civil penalties were to intentionally do this to me? I say intentional hesitantly, as who could imagine such.. but where is the explanation? I have requested the site rating be changed.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/processlasso.com

Maybe coincidence, but for the first time in a long time I had NO orders today. This might very well explain it. I mean, what would you do? There is no threat.. they confirmed that themselves. They can go willy-nilly rating sites RED without even an excuse.. while companies with D and F ratings at the BBB go right on operating GREEN? Hello!?? Am I in the twlight zone?

 

What are you and your site involved in?


"McAfee TrustedSource web reputation analysis found potential security risks with this site. Use with extreme caution.


What is TrustedSource™?
Web reputation McAfee tests websites for web reputation using the TrustedSource™ system. This system collects security data from tens of millions of sensors located in more than 120 countries. McAfee's proprietary technology analyzes traffic and linking patterns, website behavior, content analysis, site registration and hosting, to develop an overall reputation rating for the website."

 

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/processlasso.com/downloads/startat40/

"Many green downloads

In our tests, we found a small fraction of downloads on this site that some people consider adware or other potentially unwanted programs."

 

You know, if it didn't sound so freaking crazy, I'd say a hell-bent extortionist(s) inside SiteAdvisor who is intent on being caught. I mean, that's messed up. No reason at all even given for that RED rating. Other than me criticizing what could be, and more and more seems to be, a targeted extortion attempt.

 

You should consider yourself lucky, I’ve been Red zoned for years, they saying crap about two of my old projects. The entire time, no evidence giving that merits the red flagging or even a notch on their nuisance score.

 

What programs would those be? Note that ALL the files scanned were GREEN in the link provided. They ALL show '0' or '1' (the lowest level) as the 'nuisance rating'. So, what files?? I have now removed even the GREEN files, though they are still there for you to evaluate all you want - http://www.processlasso.com/other.php (power user utils, compression algo, misc stuff I have..).

This is referring as if I were responding to SiteAdvisor, and defending myself. I mean, WTF are you talking about?!? I DO NOT HAVE ADWARE. PERIOD. I don't have anything harmful to anybody. You know what is harmful? A bad rating.

 

For clarification (to those who receive automated replies via email), since I did some edits, even my advanced utilities and projects (compression algorithms, power user utils), all that was reported GREEN in their own scans. So, there was no question, ever, of anything. There isn't a RED spot on the page, or any link, anywhere.. at all.. period. All lowest on nuisance factor. Yet, RED. Do they not care if consumers trust them or not?

 

I guess a lawsuit is the only way to settle the matter. If they insist. I have the backing of someone with the resources to pull it off, so let's have at it. You tell me why my site is RED, and should be RED. Tell me that. Tell us all that.

 

Remember that McAfee is now owned by Intel so the money flow will never stop

 

Haha.. That's funny. Maybe it means they can pay the damages. Now my completely legitimate, in every way, ethical practices have backfired on me. I could have been 'that slimeball' and paid off McAfee like everyone else. Instead, I chose to stand up and do the right thing. I paid the price for doing so. That is our society I guess, apparently.

It is funny unless it was your family depending on income from your legitimate software and site. And that is without question legitimate, ok? I know people want to 'trust' the man -- but look at their own scan links, ALL green. Or go by Web Of Trust, or Norton SafeSite, or anywhere else that didn't previously possibly try to extort me for their certification here recently.

 

Relax, i'm on your side of course, and I fully understand your feelings

All i'm saying is that I really don't think that you would like to go down that road and face McAfee. Do you REALLY?
I wouldn't anyway since I got a feeling that it would cost more than it would be worth.

Though, I don't think you are the only small developer that are having this sort of issue with an security vendor.

 

I'm sorry, I'm just frustrated and worried about next month's rent. Maybe coincidence, maybe not, no orders today.. for the first time in a long while. Since ProcessLasso.com is on the same server as Bitsum.com (it is a subset site), then I have to assume they intend to, without any cause ever mentioned, escalate this further. It isn't my choice. I want to be left the alone. I thought I was, but then ... Well, to heck with it. Another business destroyed, if only I'd been a slimeball, then I could have 'paid to play' as a previous poster suggested.

 

Don't need to be sorry we understand

Tell your story to Gizmodo or some similar site so you will get some exposure so more people and perhaps even McAfee them selfs can see how they are treating you.

Or send an email to an executive over at Intel HQ and tell them that McAfee don't listen to me, and therefore my business are going very bad etc...
And it's all due to the damn RED rating they have given me!

I would have tried knocking on the Intel HQ first to give them a chance.

 

Yea, I had plans to make money, but I have to try every approach imaginable. Those who are afflicting this pain, who I imagine are laughing, won't be for much longer.

 

There must be some sort of manual intervention on SiteAdvisor or how else can Nirsoft.net be green? http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/nirsoft.net Practically any AV scanner will flag whatever of his stuff, literally whatever! Almost as good an AV test as eicar.org Comments shows why humans can't be trusted either btw., amazing ignorance. "Experienced Reviewer" label changes nothing.

This is about Mcafee but I hope those who feel WOT and others, including dns blocking services, are absolutely essentials take notice as well. All you have to do is close eyes and imagine you have a shop/business and stuff to sell - and some knowledge about how majority have no clue of of FPs. This should be addressed before they go on air. Not just white list option for the techies but ways for site admins to communicate/complain, must be fast and easy. Also it should be mandatory that they send an email to site admin explaining why site has been indexed and how to deal with it.

 

What is wrong with the Nirsoft net?

Gerard

 

Nothing but his tools are typically seen as "virus" of some sort by just about any AV. Can be a few or many but almost guarantee for hits. He has written about his struggle with security services on his blog. Good Nirsoft.net is green but I find it hard to believe same bot dealing with Bitsum is also checking Nirsoft. Would freak out.

If X person don't know much about computers and technical system tools that person might think content is a bit questionable. That person should not evaluate things he/she have no clue about. Not a message easily sent and bots are even more impossible to communicate with.

 

I found a lawyer in their locality to take the case... others who have had their LIVES DESTROYED and Families go HUNGRY because of SiteAdvisor, or your refusal to pay their certification fees in particular, please contact me at jeremy@bitsum.com . Thank you.

I don't care how much money they have. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. The lawyers can twist this however they want, but every day damages are compounding. Since (as usual) I get no response from them.. well, maybe I will in a week or two, and they'll tell me to F off again without looking into it.

I am also making a criminal complaint of extortion against McAfee and SiteAdvisor.

 

There IS manual interevention. That is a fact. Else how can an ALL GREEN site like PROCESSLASSO.COM go RED? (reverse with Nirsoft). Do they ever use YELLOW? ;p. This manual intervention is further in their Certification program. You pay, you get green. You don't pay, you apparently get rated red by their top posting anonymous bot. Hmm...

Anyway, they are going to be in for a rude awakening, as of all the people on the internet, there is NO attacking my integrity. Of course, lawyers come up with crazy stuff, but there is NO DOUBT of my integrity.

 

I hope you're successful. The ordeal you describe is one of the reasons why I am totally opposed to SiteAdvisor, WOT, etc. WOT isn't any better, in spite of what some may say. Maybe they don't try to extort money for a green rating, but they do have false positives. These false positives, as you have experienced, have consequences beyond being just a PITA. I wish you good luck!