Immunet - To Be Taken Seriously??

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by gregd, Jan 28, 2011.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    What I'm about to say should only be taken as constructive criticism (to Immunet employees) and to everyone else, I'm interested in your take on this.

    An antivirus company, in my mind, is in the business of protecting your computer from having bad stuff happen to it. Regardless of their motives (money, altruism, etc.), that's their charge. Why then would a company like Immunet allow their blog to be overrun with spam where so many questionable links originate?

    For instance, here is a new blog post:

    http://prntscr.com/1hep7

    and here is a blog post from almost a year ago:

    http://prntscr.com/1hepo

    As a consumer of AV products, this speaks *volumes* to me about your product(s). In all honesty, reviews of Immunet products are great and I was about to add it to my arsenal of protection, but not after visiting your blog.

    Update #1:
    As iTrendsNET indicates below
    This is exactly what I'm talking about. Users, who may not know any better, may click these links or accept help from someone claiming to be an Immunet employee on their forums or blog. Can this happen anywhere? Well hell yes. Immunet, because they're an "antivirus" company, should be held to a higher standard with regard to end-user security. I don't believe they're doing that. Not even close.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Jan 29, 2011
  2. Cudni

    Cudni Global Moderator

    Joined:
    May 24, 2009
    Posts:
    6,963
    Location:
    Somethingshire
    did you flag it with them?
     
  3. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    There isn't an obvious way of flagging blog comments. Immunet has a presence here in this forum. Also when I select "Give Us Feedback" from their Contact Us page, the form doesn't show up to fill out.

    In a bigger picture, shouldn't they police their own blog? All of those links could, and probably are, malware infested. Seems pretty irresponsible for an antivirus company to propagate that.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2011
  4. Saraceno

    Saraceno Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2008
    Posts:
    2,405
    I agree their links should be moderated, but given it's a smaller company, they might have other more pressing issues.

    About the spam in the blog feedback posts, not many would click on a user post.

    What I mean is, a user, for example If I were commenting, I'm not immunet and no way connected to the company.

    I could say, 'hi guys, try malware destroyer, it's a awesome program', a reader then googles my recommendation, gets stung with malware. Or could say, 'try install avast and avira together, they work well', and user has a stuffed PC.

    Bottom line, every forum where people participate, you'll see bad advice and good. I see your point though, they take the time to post, they should take the time to review the site. Good find. :thumb:
     
  5. m0unds

    m0unds Guest

    yeah...i reported that same issue on their forums in october and it's still broken. the "contact us" stuff for malware submission and for site feedback is broken. you can get it to come up, but you won't get anything but an automated response from any of the form submissions. it'd be really easy to either disable commenting on blog posts or use facebook connect or something that would just leave commenting on their facebook page.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2011
  6. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    Unless they fix some of these concerns, they'll continue to get a "not recommended" from me to my clients. It's too bad really.
     
  7. iTrendsNET

    iTrendsNET Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2008
    Posts:
    93
    I noticed this morning that some foreign dating service sent me a private message via email through my Immunet forum account. :eek:
     
  8. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Posts:
    6,429
    LOL is all I feel to say about that :D
     
  9. m0unds

    m0unds Guest

    they're continually having problems with their forum & spammers.
     
  10. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    I've subsequently asked Cnet to reconsider their 4.5 star rating of Immunet.
     
  11. 1000db

    1000db Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2009
    Posts:
    718
    Location:
    Missouri
    Since they've recently bee acquired perhaps a user that has experienced this should notify the parent company. I'm sure during these transitions things like forums or blogs may be ignored til things settle.

    Disclaimer: I am in no way connected to Immunet. I'm just giving them the benefit of the doubt. I agree that security companies need to be held to a high degree of accountability since their product users must trust that they are really protecting them and their data.
     
  12. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75

    I would agree with you except I've found evidence that at least since last November, they've been aware of the spamming issues. It could have been further back, I just don't have the time to go back further and search right now.
     
  13. bellgamin

    bellgamin Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2002
    Posts:
    8,102
    Location:
    Hawaii
    Either they are (1) indifferent to maintaining their site in a professional status, or (2) they are clueless as to how to protect their site's integrity. In either case, they are promulgating negative advertising of the worst kind -- especially for a security outfit.
     
  14. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2011
  15. Ibrad

    Ibrad Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2009
    Posts:
    1,972
    Blog post comments are now off.
     
  16. m0unds

    m0unds Guest

    while i think they need to better manage their site, i also think it's a little over-the-top to suggest that cnet lower the rating they've given immunet over spam on their forum and spam on their site. they've got a free community where users can report issues and interact directly with immunet staff, most of whom are in a position to make positive changes to their product based on feedback. they just need to manage it better.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2011
  17. gregd

    gregd Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2009
    Posts:
    75
    Over the top? Perhaps.

    But I stand by my decision to do that (contacting CNET) based on a number of things.

    Comments by you and others, indicated it's an ongoing problem that hasn't been resolved.

    Their "official" method of contact via web form, doesn't work, so I could have addressed my concerns to them in private.

    Stating what they're going to do from this point forward to help prevent it from happening in the future, would go a long way to convince me that they're taking the spam/potential malware link problem seriously.

    I would gladly write CNET and ask them not to review their (CNETs) ranking of Immunet and would then give Immunet a fair shake with regard to testing it for possible recommendation to my clients. I didn't ask CNET to downgrade it, nor did I ask them to change the ranking that CNET users give the product. I asked the author of the review to review CNET's ranking of the product at 4.5 stars.

    Does Immunet owe me a response? Hell no. Does Immunet owe me anything? Certainly not. But I have current and potential clients who may be drawn into the promise of a free antivirus product that may well be a very good alternative to "for pay" products. I would be remiss if I wasn't looking out for them by pointing out potential for abuse (i.e.: spam and potential malware links riddling a security vendors website).

    I also don't just spew this. I was an active beta tester for Symantec (specifically Norton products) under NDA for a few years, Avira and to a certain degree, ESET and Kaspersky as well. I very rarely recommend products to my clients or customers without first vetting them personally or through someone I trust.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2011
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.