TrojanHunter Goes Subscription

I did a search and I don't think anyone's posted about this yet :http://forum.misec.net/board/Announcements/1138629799. Apparently, current TH licence holders will still be able to update manually, but no more free upgrades. Good. I'm glad. I've had TH for almost two years and I've never had any respect for it. I stopped using TH Guard because it wasn't detecting stuff that it should have done, stuff that I had to remove using other ATs. In nearly two years the scanner, which I've used regularly BTW, has detected one "Trojan": an FP from Grypen's Proxo filter set. I'm glad its gone subscription. Now it has to compete against other subs based ATs, and guess what, its gonna lose. Bye Bye TrojanHunter, hello Ewido.

 

I wouldn't count TrojanHunter down just yet. It costs a lot of money to keep these programs up to snuff. They have added staffing and are adding signatures at a break neck pace. Also they are readying TrojanHunter 5. A $20 license fee isn't all that frightening now is it?...

 

Well I totally disagree. Magnus has made some clever moves of late. Firstly he’s taken on Gavin as a Trojan analyst who’s been adding nearly 1000 Trojans each week. Secondly going to subscription makes it both affordable for new users and sustainable for Magnus. Ewido is a fine program as is BoClean (I’ve used all 3) and I can assure you that both Ewido and BoClean have missed things that TH has detected and visa versa. No such thing as that godly security program that detects everything – no matter what people may say. But as far as TH goes Magnus is laying very solid foundations from which in my opinion, TH can only grow.

 

Agree with ReGen wholeheartedly, no scanner {not even KAV} detects everything, there is just too much malware+variants out there and it is growing by the minute. I hesitate to say it but I also don't care for threads which startoff on such a negative and "bashing" note; not in good taste IMHO; but that is just my sentiments, you are entitled to free speech even if negative speech.

 

As ReGen, I too disagree.

OK, it's nice if there is no subscription fee.
But all the folks who work at a company need also money to live from !
I'm really glad to see all the huge definition-updates in the last month !

Regards,
Jan (still at the moment at his old machine)

 

An expected move - for fairly new TH customers that is. A very bad move as for all those loyal old timers using TH. they have been promised quite otherwise, feeling betrayed by this move. And rightly so.

loyalty is a two way street. TH turned it into a dead end street for sure. Thanks on behalf of all those first time paying users.

 

Ouch !!

 

I take it as an incentive for not using TrojanHunter 4.0. I'll be uninstalling it when it goes subscription. That said, I also understand why they opted that.

I have use it for about a year and it hasn't found anything. I have NOD32 and Prevx1 and Look'N'Stop. I think this should be more than adequate.

 

I'm not using it anymore either (been registered user for two years) because of the infrequencies of updates ... since gavin has been contracted, they are doing good but before it wasn't that good imho .... that's my only reason and it's a good one.

but I do understand this all and I wish Magnus the very best!

 

You have to be joking, right?

 

As indicated here (see post by Lurkers inc), there was no "promise". Quoting that post and the stated policy of the vendor....

I can understand being unhappy with the development, but the vendor has been consistent in their position for some time and I don't see where they've betrayed anyone. Note: I am neither a customer nor associated with the vendor.

Blue

 

It states on the WebSite announcement that users who purchased TH before a certain date will get a discount on subscription renewals. I guess you people want something for nothing, nevermind that TH Staff has to be paid. TDS-3 went belly-up, y'all complain about that; TH starts charging a modest subscription, y'all complain; there is no way to please some people!

 

Blue is indeed a BOClean user but thank god some people are fairminded and not constant critics and whiners, and expectinig something for nothng ..

 

Randy, I'm not joking tbh, there were a couple of times where it took 1 week for a sig. update, and a lot of times where it took 3-4-5 days between the next update...

I just like daily updates to be honest.

Didn't mean to take TH down or whatever, it's just my opinion that maintaining an antitrojan/antivirus/antispyware program, it's necessary to have an updated program.

 

I wanted to take this opportunity to explain the reasoning behind this decision. While a one-time fee was viable for a long time, the recent explosion of trojans and malware requires more and more resources for analysis and collection of malware.

The subscription service will allow us to add more resources and manpower to analyzing malware and in the end this will benefit you, the user. I'm sure no one would want a product with sub-standard detection rates because of a lack of resources. In my opinion, stubbornly clinging to a one-time fee when developments in the malware world require more and more resources would not be something users would appreciate in the long run.

In addition to allowing more resources towards malware analysis, this will also allow us to offer premium support and file analysis services to licensed users. Currently there is unfortunately a large support load from users who in some cases are also using pirated versions of the program. I would much rather offer top-notch support for licensed users than offer mediocre support for all, so in the end this will also be a positive improvement for you as the user.

Last, but not least, there will be a significant discount for existing customers on subscriptions for some time after the introduction of the new subscription plan.

 

I think that Magnus is being more than fair. The amount he's asking is
not unreasonable and the reasoning is understandable. Trojan Hunter
is an excellent program, probably the best on the market, and is worth
supporting. In the end we'll all only benefit from his decision.

 

Magnus, thanks for the info as to the reason for the change to subscription. Personally I appreciate the concern for your customers in that you want to be able to keep up with the malware without compromising the quality of your product.

bigc

 

Blue,

You are absolutely correct. When I wrote that page it was because a lot of people had asked what the upgrades and updates policy was and I wanted a written policy so there would be no confusion. It ended up saying "currently there are free updates and upgrades but we can't promise it will always be this way". Perhaps I should have been ever more clear in the policy in saying that we may likely have to introduct a subscription fee in the future. In any case, if the policy was unclear, I apologize for this.

 

To tell the truth, I'm not a TH user.. but with some small enhancement, such as a greater database, including other kinds of malware, and a better UI with some good tools, I actually would/will. This decision only lends to that, I think it's a good move These things cost money to maintain, some of us actually do understand that While some of your older users might feel a little slighted, hopefully they will come to realize the benefits that a subscription model brings. Times have changed, but what you're doing is the opposite of abandoning your users. I would think that after the demise of TDS-3, more people would be appreciative.

 

I believe that Gavin is hard at work adding to the current database. It appears that sigs have be put out almost daily..

http://forum.misec.net/board/RulesetUpdates

 

Actually, a major reason why TH heretofore was not on my *consider for use list* was that I felt they lacked an economically sound model for survival, muchless for prosperity. I am uninterested in any antimalware program that has a dim future.

Now that TH is moving to being a subscription program, I am adding it to my *consider for use list* -- & will give it a test run in the near future inasmuch as my present program in TH's genre comes up for renewal in April 2006. By the way, I am very satisfied with my present program -- but I'm not married to it, doncha know? So I'll have a look.

@Magnus- may you live long & prosper.

Whining about whiners IS whining, doncha know? Ergo, thou art hoisted by thine own petard.

 

$20 for access to technical experts work can hardly be described as expensive when weighed against the potential cost of infection.

 

That's true and, as an example, I also recently renewed my Spyware Doctor subscription {by PCTools} for one year; it was the same amount as being proposed for TH {except I will be getting the discounted subscription rate with TH, being a longstanding customer}. All the "for-pay" anti-spyware vendors charge a yearly subscription renewal, and I'm pretty sure all the commercial AntiVirus vendors usually charge more than $19.95 a year for renewal. @Bellgamin: I apologize for public overreaction, just wanted to point out that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and as another poster commented, what Magnus/TH has proposed to do {which has drawn some criticism} is much better than not being able to provide good services to customers or even ceasing to remain viable. Some folks seem to want that free lunch {everything for free}, I guess there will still be some absolutely free alternatives for those who don't want to join a subscription model. @Infinity: Since Gavin has come onboard as trojan analyst, the updates have been so huge and frequent, we can barely keep up with them! Sorry if I overreacted to your statement, I just thought you were commenting on a long-past situation, not the current reality of TH updates. Thanks and Warmly, My Apologies ..

 

I am also not a TH user. I trialed it, and liked it. However, for whatever reason I went with Ewido.

I fully understood the policy of TH, and it was very clear that although it was not subscription at that time, there were no promises that it would not go subscription at some future date.

It has never been clear to me how a first class program, such as TH, can continue to improve and support without charging an annual fee. If I had TH, I would be thankful for the time I did not have to pay beyond the initial cost, and would also appreciate that the new fee is more than reasonable for a first class product. I certainly would not ditch it over the new policy if I liked it otherwise.

In my view Magnus has been upfront and ethical in his practices.

Jerry

 

Disclaimer:
I am not yet a TH owner/user.

I considered purchasing TH a couple of years ago after reading some reviews and concluding that the two best anti-trojan softwares on the market were TDS-3 and TH. My conclusion was consistant with many others. TDS-3 was the best on the market, with TH being the second best. TH was more user-friendly than TDS-3 and was a better choice for novice users, with TDS-3 being geared more towards advanced users. I chose TDS-3.

In retrospect, it's easy to see that I made the wrong choice. Consequently, I've been eyeing TH. However, knowing what I now know, I'm skeptical.

My first question is regarding the industry as a whole. Is there a future for highly specialized softwares like TH, or is Wayne's prediction regarding the future of the industry accurate? (I may not agree with Wayne on a lot of things; however, I respect his knowledge and experience and I must say that I'm leaning towards concluding that he's right on this issue)

My second question relates to specific industry leaders. Who is considered the leader of this market? (I presume that it is ewido and TH) If so, what are the advantages of each relative to the other? (I understand that I may be asking a biased sample)

Finally, regarding the change to a subscription model, I do not feel that a debate over the issue accomplishes anything. What it comes down to is a difference of expectations. Some customers expect that TH honor their original purchase agreements, which did not include a subscription charge. Others expect that TH give them the best protection and if that includes changing their business model to adapt to the changing market, then that's fine with them. In any case, I feel that if developers did a better job of strategic planning and communication, a lot of customer frustrations could be avoided. That being said, you can never make everyone happy. The desire to remain a going concern often leads developers to conclude that it is necessary for their existing customer base to finance either their continuing support, future developments, or both. Niche softwares like this seem to forget that expanding their customer base can allow for them to honor their prior committments while simultaneously derive their much needed financing by implementing new business models. Just my thoughts.

One last question. I did not know that Gavin was picked up in the free agent market. Is it safe to assume that the old TDS-3 database has been incorporated into TH with this off-season acquisition of Gavin?