TDS software line discontinued

When Wayne shows up, is there a chance he can recommend a substitute now that TDS is gone? Or is he the type to not want to offend anyone?

Are there any reputable anti-trojan comparisons out there?

 

See Link.

 

jonnypop,

Scan through the discussion in the other anti-trojan software forum. Your answer lies there.

In my estimation with the word reputable more appropriately replaced with useful, I would say frankly, no.

Blue

 

Is this the inkjet guy that Kevin was talking about? Oops, I guess that post was deleted now that I am looking for it.

I guess something more like av-comparative since it seems to be well regarded here.

 

Since I'm new to this forum, but a long time TDS fan, it pains me to see that alot of us are imploding and striking out at each other with "What's in it for me?" atitudes. What I'd like to ask all of the "elightened ones" is Reghance Privacy Suite a good replacement for TDS? It certainly got a 5 star write up, but does anyone have any experience with it?
After a long long time in the military, the word of the day was "Adapt or die." and although I'm not as saavy as many of you are, being angry or butting ego's is akin to trying to get a dead friend up and fighting again. It doesn't work.
I've used Boclean in the past, but I must plead ignorance to how it worked, but I believed it did what it said. TDS was great to have for the time we had it, but the threat still exists. SO, any word on Reghance? Thank you in advance.






'

 

Yes. One and the same.

 

Something more up to date maybe? This is at least two years old.

 

It was very recently updated, actually.. only the TDS-3 and a2 entries are out of date at this point.

 

Good to hear. Wish you well.

 

No way Kevin. This Home user is going to stick with you. Set it forget it. Simple UI, no eye candy, and no heavy load on the system. The whole thing still can be saved on a floppie disk too for those HD failures like the one that finally hit me. All just the way I like it.

Also I first learned of BoClean from a James Madison University IT department "paper" at their website. Wow check this out Do not know if that is one that helps care the load as they wanted all their students to load up with BO... Glad I did not go with PestPatrol almost pulled the trigger on that before seeing the JMU site paper.

Oh, also thank Nancy for the heads up on ZA 6.

 

I had been a BoClean and TDS customer since at least 2001 and I can say that BoClean has NEVER EVER LET ME DOWN. I have it running on my home PCs and my test bed (I just love BoClean Licenease policy it's meant for families and for every day life, something that others don't consider). Over those years BoClean was 98% accurate and I do go through a large amount of crap (not recently do to my Ph.D Thesis work). The 2% that was missed I have sent to Nancy or Kevin and to my suprise the turn around in analysis and signature update was between 2 hours-24 hours which is amazeing. The same goes for TDS software.
I have tried trojan hunter 2 and 3 in the past and it did miss a lot of things on my test bed. It has missed soo much that I have abandoned hope for 2 and then for 3, frankly I used it for only 5 hours just to see how accurate it gets and what happens when you throw things at it and boy it was crap! (sorry can't speak for 4 since I got fooled twice into thinking that maybe 3 got some improvement over 2).
So I personally take offense when a crappy company tries to undermine such great products as BoClean and TDS.

My Plea goes to Nancy and Kevin, Please DO NOT STOP UPDATEDING YOUR PRODUCT. IF YOU DO THEN THE MALWARE COMUNITY HAS WON!
I know your have now suffered a serious blow to malware shareing, but I hope that you will try to stay on top of definition updates.

Thank You
DCS and NSCLEAN for GREAT PRODUCTS, AND BELIEVE US THAT THE TRUE CUSTOMERS KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREAT PRODUCTS AND SCAMDUCTS.

p.s.
I will still try to send you updates as always "Operation Ivy Mike".

P.S.S
I know I will get a lot of flame for this but hey as the saying goes "truth hurts and no one likes to hear the truth".

 

BOClean review is for version 4.11. 4.12 has been out for approx 7 months. I liked the reviews there though and hope the reviews are updated.

 

One of the reasons I purchased Ewido, and continue to feel comfortable with the product and company, is that they have a very reasonable purchase/subscription model that can produce a healthy revenue stream.

I question the need for Ewido to have a "free product". From a business point of view and a licensed customer perspective, a believe 30 day free trials are preferable. As we have all learned from the TDS-3 situation, it is important to licensed customers whether or not a company has a good revenue model and is not simply giving away the product. If I am to depend upon any product, I like the assurance that the company has a good business model. At this time, my best guess is that Ewido's model is adequate.

Rich

 

We'd just like to firstly thank everyone for their support, it has been amazingly overwhelming to say the least. We knew that people would react in different ways to this decision, but we didn't expect so many people to be so supportive and understanding, so thankyou to everyone who has sent us emails or posts over the last few days - it's also a pleasant surprise to hear from so many old friends coming out from the woodwork. The reason for this I suspect is that most of you understand the reasons involved in the decision, and realise that this decision is in everyones best interests. There has been a lot of talk about business models, but the fact is as long as we develop TDS - regardless of pricing - we'll still have to work on it on a daily basis to stay on top of new trojans, preventing us from developing other programs. Just think about how many other programs have been released by other scanner companies ... not too many at all. This decision opens the way for further development on a wide variety of software - not just one program, so we all benefit - you as the customer will soon experience our upcoming software releases (including a new release just around the corner which is still under secret development by myself along with a programmer here that none of you have met yet), and as we won't be tied down to TDS we'll be able to devote more time to our existing programs as well, and likewise we'll also benefit in the sense that we'll have resources free to develop more than one program ... I may even be able to sneak in a little weekend holiday which would be my first holiday since December 1997, something that the daily rigors of TDS has prevented me from doing, but seeing as it's waited so long already it can wait a little longer.

Anyway, exciting times ahead folks.

We'll keep this (record-breaking) thread open for now but we'll have no choice but to close it if things aren't kept ON TOPIC (that is: TDS), and I also ask that other anti-trojan developers respect the fact that this thread isn't the place for promoting their wares or arguing with other developers, so such future posts will be removed by myself or another administrator without notice, thankyou for your understanding and co-operation.

 

This sort of made me laugh. How to keep on topic of TDS when there is no such thing as TDS? That is a conundrum......LOL

What will you do with both the TDS forum (both public and private) Will you archive it at some point or will you still allow posts about non-existent software?

As for me, I fully expected the reaction you got so far. You got the "Cheerleaders" that will always pat you on the back no matter what decisions you make. I think just about everyone picks their favorite pied pipers that they will follow anywhere no matter what.

You got the undecideds because they are so full of question marks that they don't know what to think.


You got your complainers that are not give you any benefit of doubt because rightly or wrongly they think your decision to end TDS-3 is a egregious sin in face of all the past promises. The complainers are going to dog you with many elaborate conspiracy theories for many months or possibly years......

I know you might not come out and say it but you committed a few business errors in the way the whole situation was handled. Some are going to forgive rather quickly and others it is going to take quite awhile.

Right now, you have a public relations nightmare. I am glad I am not in your shoes. Even if you put out superior products, you will have work to do in repairing the reputation of the company. I don't know how long that will take. Don't know whether it will be a few months or a few years.

All that being said, in the past DCS has been a company that has innovated. If the company continues to innovate then DCS might possibly be around in the changing face of the security industry. You are going to have to innovate your way into survival.

In the past, I always thought that DCS tooted their own horn a bit too much about their own products. I don't think horn tooting is going to work as much for the company any more because of significant reputation damage at this point in time. What DCS is going to need to do at this time is to put out the highest quality products that they have ever put out. Possibly doing things that no one else is doing....not copy cat ideas....original ones.

This is the type of companies that I look for....Best of breed products....or products that create their own category for their probably is not going to be a AT category in a few years....may not even be a AV category either.



Starrob

 

A hard decision but congratulations on the preliminary announcement of even better things to come. Your software (your hard work) has served many of us well. Best wishes for your continuing hard work.

 

Starrob,
Thanks for sharing your opinions, and you're entitled to them and I agree with many of your points. Allow me to add my responses to some of them ...

Of course TDS still exists, and many people have already said they're still using it for its tools. The only thing that has essentially happened is that we'll no longer be releasing database or software updates for it, that's all.

Do we? Hard decisions are always controversial so there'll always be a lot of discussion, but a "public relations nightmare"? ...

Reputation is of course entirely in the eye of the beholder, but I don't believe our reputation has been damaged at all (of course I could be completely wrong), but we've shown that we're not afraid to make the hard decisions if it's in the best interests of our customers. Hard decisions are almost always controversial like I said and there's nothing wrong with discussing it, but our focus is on results for our customers, and that is software - software today, tomorrow, and for many decades to come - we're going nowhere so we need to plan ahead for the long run. TDS - just one program - was tying our resources down completely, preventing us from releasing other programs (some of which will be bigger and better than TDS) and even making the release of TDS4 itself difficult, so although many people are sad and even angry to see TDS go (nobody moreso than myself, as the creator), I'm sure that same passion that people have shown for our software will again shine through with our new releases, now that we're free to develop them. All I'll say is that if you liked TDS, ProcessGuard, Port Explorer or any of our other programs including our myriad of freeware, you'll love what we've got just around the corner.

We pride ourselves on innovation, but innovation is wasted if it can't be developed.

Regards,
Wayne

 

It's somewhat strange that Wayne does not address the most important issue:

What will happen to the people who recently purchased TDS-3 and were promised a free upgrade to TDS-4?

Will they get a (partial) refund? Will they get one of the "new products" for free (if they are prepared to wait for such products)? Or will they only get ProcessGuard for free (regardless of whether they need it or not)?

I think this is the real important question. And DCS should make an acceptable proposal.

 

Hi "||||",
That's a very good question. Forgive me for not answering sooner but it's not possible for me to address every point or question that has been raised, this is quite a large thread

Even if you recently purchased TDS3 you're still entitled to a free license to your choice of Port Explorer or ProcessGuard (and still retain your TDS3 license which remains valid), however if you're not happy with that then simply email sales@diamondcs.com.au so we can discuss refund options. Also remember that TDS3 isn't just a scanner, it has a wide variety of tools onboard and is programmable, so effectively just one part of the program is changing (database updates), the rest of the program can still be used, including scanning with the existing database, which is why many people have already said that they'll continue using TDS.

Best regards,
Wayne

 

Read carefully:
Wayne said the technology developed for TDS-4 will be used in the new product(s).
So there is not any misleading or waste of time, we knew two or more products would be coming to follow up TDS-3 so we could expect not all of them to carry the name TDS-4.
I leave TDS-3 installed for the many functions, including the handy scripts.
Beta-testers team, sleeves up for the new goodies!

 

@Wayne

"[Even?] if you recently purchased TDS3 you're [still?] entitled to a free license to your choice of Port Explorer or ProcessGuard, however if you're not happy with that then simply email sales@diamondcs.com.au so we can discuss refund options."

Subject to the bracketed language this sounds acceptable and should calm down many people who have complained in this thread.

 

That's all? So it is not a problem that there are no database updates? Are you saying it is not affecting user security by not updating def files?

Did DCS not know that keeping up with updates would be hard hard to do even though you have been doing daily updates with TDS-3 for years? It seems you had some knowledge that it would not be worth it by now if that is what you are saying.

I guess this isn't going to happen? Or will there not be anymore PG updates now?

Promises, promises...

And how much was the bet worth? I wish I could have taken Wayne up on this one. I just hope that other companies don't follow this path. Sorry if this sounds harsh but just trying to shed light.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Hi Chris,
A lot of TDS4 technology will be released in our next program, although it won't of course have a database. We could of course keep working on TDS, but that would be the only program you'd be getting from us, and we wouldn't be able to grow much more due to the limited market. We're now free to develop a lot more programs, some of which will be bigger and better than TDS, as well as enhance our existing software. We have to think about the future, not just tomorrow as we plan to be releasing software for decades to come. The business is already in its 18th year, but TDS has been the single factor preventing growth - even the development of TDS4 itself, and we have so many programs we want to get out there for you guys. I know these things aren't always easy to understand as there are a lot of underlying issues, but we wouldn't be making hard decisions like this if it wasn't in the best interests of all of our customers. You must look at the big picture and realise that we have much more to offer than just one program. You like TDS, so I've no doubt you'll love what we've got coming up next.

Best regards,
Wayne

 

LOL.......I see that you do read some of my posts. I have made many "in the eye of the beholder posts"

Just as I recognize other readers that have read my posts when they talk about "Best of Breed" products.

Well, I am looking for "Best of Breed" products. Not just products that do their job well but products that most consider a security necessity because they protect against "real" threats and/or possible "real" future threats as opposed to threats that have much hype but not as dangerous as the hype.

Now that you have the time, DCS would be better served to increase the documentation of their programs. The documentation could include analysis of the actual threats that are out there and what the software protects against and most importantly what it does not protect against.



Starrob

 

Since you offered a free update to TDS-4 when it was to be released, and you freely admit that TDS-4 technology will be used in other products, how about revising your original offer for TDS-3 users who have had it for less than 12 months to include a free update to one of your new apps.

This seems logical to me and without an offer like this, your original promises of a free update to TDS-4 were plainly an untruth, no matter what way you look at it or try to explain it away.

Bear in mind that with an offer like this, most users who currently feel aggrieved will be placated and more than likely continue to support DCS by purchasing other new products, thus turning a bad situation into a good one.

Please reconsider your offer Wayne.