PC Tools - interesting

We've just received an official document from the Symantec legal department stating that they are scrapping the PC Tools reseller portal.

What this means is that retailers won't be able to buy further serial codes from PC Tools.

With distributors stopping distribution of the boxed versions of PC Tools product, getting hold of them will be much more difficult.

I wonder if this means that PC Tools, as a brand will be discontinued soon? Was interesting that the cessation of the PC Tools reseller portal came from Symantec, not PC Tools.

 

This all sounds interesting but unfortunately very sadly...they stopped support first for standalone firewall and next for ThreatFire. Probably Symantec plans closing whole brand in next years

 

I agree, it's unfortunate. Their firewall was one of the best I've used as it was powerful and din't cause many conflicts. I liked CyberHawk prior to PCT taking it over and never really liked it much then. Remember the paid and free versions of CH? The quiet behavior monitor back when SSM, DSA and ProSecurity were the "in" programs to have alongside an AV. Man, they all seem to be finally gone.

 

They will probably keep the "PC Tools" name alive, but the products themselves will likely be just rebranded/feature-limited Symantec or Norton products. From the information I have so far, it sure seems to be heading that way.

 

We've been also asked to remove all branding and referencing to PC Tools, including the products themselves, so it's happening soon, whatever it is.

 

eh, they took longer than i thought, threatfire was very good but a long time ago, RIP PC Tools.

 

Spyware Doctor was also great... a long time ago.

 

you can still buy at their main site though

 

Good Afternoon! Must say I'm impressed with the P.C. Tools I.S. I just recently purchased...for a deeply discounted price. I must admit I was somewhat reluctant in my initial assessment of the App. I like a lot of users had a license to Spyware Doctor and Threatfire...and used the free version of their firewall...down through the years. The suite is basic...but Rock Solid...liked it's ease of use...and Gui...No Quantity...in Features...but Quality...in what it provides the user.A had a feeling Symantec would eventually phase P.C.Tools out of existence. Just my opinion...due to the economy...and as a result general price slashing across the board by major vendors...2013 might eventually see more downsizing...merging...and Chapter 11's. Hopefully none of this comes to pass. Sincerely...Securon

 

I used its FW in combo with an Avast or Avira or AVG. It was simple and effective. I still miss it.

 

Sygate was great also. They acquire & bury. Weird business model.

 

PC Tools on their Facebook page are claiming that this will have no impact on existing customers....

 

Deja vu

 

well I wonder if there will be regular product updates or not...I kinda have my doubts...although I'm sure signature updates will still occur..

 

Signature updates will occur for sure. Product updates, well, only to fix bugs maybe, not sure if there will be any major feature work. I guess the users will be transitioned to Symantec/Norton products in the next year or so (or a rebranded equivalent).

 

No, not weird at all. Most PC Tools users came to the brand from freebie giveaways they ran across various magazines and Symantec bought the company for this database of users, plus some of the technology.

Companies make purchases for the userbase and, sometimes, but not always, the technology on offer, not to run the brand as a going concern.

 

Symantec now includes Spyware Doctor definitions in their products since Norton now detects some tracking cookies during its on-demand scans too.

They also completely dumped their Norton SystemWorks product line and switched to Norton Utilities instead (which is basically a revamped PC Tools Performance Toolkit - you can tell by the similarity of their gui).

IMO Norton purchases PC Tools mostly for their performance enhancement products, not the security-related ones.

 

^Norton has been detecting tracking cookies for a while now. Norton does not use PC Tools' signatures. I know for sure as I do have some files which are detected by PC Tools but not by Norton (as Norton didn't get those signatures added).

As such PC Tools' internal database isn't very significant though. Symantec wished to utilize ThreatFire and ThreatExpert but ended up using in-house tools instead. Thus, the value from PC Tools was ultimately only in the performance products.

 

Well, I'm game if Norton wants me as a user, but I use PC Tools for it's simplicity and low price compared to what Norton offers. Unfortunately, now I may have to look somewhere else for the future. Let us see

 

I agree totally. I see it everyday, everywhere.

 

PC Tools used to have the best PR team in the business. I've never seen anything like it since. They used to have an Australian PR woman who would camp herself in a country for ages and single-handily go around to every magazine, blogger, journalist (including freelancers), asking what PC Tools could do better. Listening and learning.

This helped them go from a small startup in 2004 to one of the biggest (certainly in terms of a userbase) consumer security companies in 2008.

Other companies could learn a lot from PC Tools. We're still amazed how much effort the PC Tools staff made in such a short period of time.

 

I wonder why they decided to sell out so quickly to Symantec. To their credit they did manage to survive a bit even after the acquisition.

Symantec further states on its facebook page that it still plans to update and support the existing PC Tools product lineup.

 

What a shame all those good programs gone and yet IMO nothing even now comes close to them.

 

moxxey, the information I have suggests that the online reseller program is discontinued, not the offline reseller program. This means you can still buy boxed packages directly from Symantec, it's just their reseller portal that allowed you to buy only the codes that is gone.

However, would appreciate if someone else could comment on this. Chris Wiles, you there?

 

I don't think that's the case. Distributors stopped promoting the PC Tools products ages ago. You can't (easily) get them. They weren't selling.

Like I said above, all the PC Tools staff are migrating to other jobs. Their PR guy moved to the Symantec mobile security blog, their reseller manager moved to the Norton brand and so on.

Basically, the PC Tools website and brand will most likely continue, but as a maintenance "holding" brand for existing users only.

One thing it's NOT wise doing though is posting a link to this discussion on the damned PC Tools Facebook page! I mean, seriously? Some things on here should stay somewhat secluded and self-contained.