SUPERAntiSpyware Questions

Questions for SAS Nick

First, thank you Nick for participating in this forum. You’ve already developed a reputation for responsiveness here as well as with your product.

Many here are considering purchasing a lifetime license from you. Based on this, I’d like to ask you a few questions.

Many in the industry speculate that products such as yours will go away – that they will be swallowed into Anti-malware solutions – as the McAfee AS was incorporated into the general McAfee AV product. Or like TDS-3 melted away into oblivion for the stated reason that it costs too much to maintain such a product and that the writing “is on the wall that this type of solution is not a long term way to address the issue of exponentially increasing malware threats.” Do you see SAS being a long term product?

Products such as SAS are often purchased by bigger guys. The Giant subscribers were extended until the end of their contract. The Ewido guys (to their great credit) got AVG to extend lifetime subscriptions to the Ewido lifetime subscribers. If you were purchased by a bigger fish, would you make it a point in the purchase contract that all current SAS lifetime subscribers would transfer the benefit to the new company?

Do you think offering lifetime subscriptions could impede revenue flow long-term and cause the company to discontinue the product?

Do you see SAS expanding to heuristic and other areas to maintain/increase effectiveness of purpose?

If you substantially improve the product with heuristic or other capabilities, will you rename it and toss the lifetime subscribers overboard?

What are your favorite brands of beer?


Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Frank the Perv

 

I hope lifetime will continue no matter what, as SAS is one good product! And uhh if it matters...cough...Corona....

 

Thanks for the compliments, I try and help where I can. It's impossible to tell what is going to "happen" in the industry - our plan is to continue to develop and maintain SUPERAntiSpyware as long as there is a need for it in the industry.

If we were to be purchased, of course I would work hard to make sure that any lifetime licenses remained that way - I don't see where that would be a problem upon a purchase.

Regarding the lifetime licenses, there is a balance between renewals and the fact that many people switch products year after year - so many that purchase the lifetime license, may switch to another product for whatever reason (free from ISP, etc.) - and many will renew to continue the service with SUPERAntiSpyware.

We already have a huge heuristic engine and smart definitions that work on characteristics - we always are expanding our technology to take on new threats and potential threats.

SUPERAntiSpyware will stay SUPERAntiSpyware - as for "offshoot" products, or products that don't quite fit the "scanner" label - we may have future products that would not be part of SUPERAntiSpyware - I won't have SUPERAntiSpyware become one of the "suites" that bring systems down to their knees with performance issues.

As for beer, I like the microbrewed beers

 

Hi, folks: Nick likes microbrewed beers----special kind of beers for special kind of people--- I think I can count on him and SAS for a good number years to come.

 

Yes, being one of the best now, i think they'll improve and also prove that there's room for specialized tools/ programs. As is now, they seem more effective in their own field, as reported by a local bot killer .

More serious now: CORONA? You kidding? That ain't beer

 

Thank you for your answers.

A couple of follow-up questions:

Are there offshoot products planned at this time?

You stated that you already have a "huge heuristic engine and smart definitions that work on characteristics." Is there presently real-time heuristic detection in SAS? If so, why is that not talked about on the web page?

Which specific microbrewed beers do you like?

FWIW for others out there -- real microbrew drinkers are typically out-of-the-box thinkers. And what some label microbrews is telling too. So there is a basis for the ever important beer question.

Thanks again.

-FTP

 

I can't really say specifically what our future plans are due to the "watchful eyes" of the competition Other tools likely won't be "scanning" tools.

For me, the heuristic aspect is just part of the general product and our smart definitions so I really don't separate it as a sub-system. Part of any anti-spyware product has be be heuristics and/or smart systems or else it becomes difficult to catch new variants of existing infections. If it makes people feel better about our product, I can certainly add reference to the heuristics on the site - it sounds like that would let people know that we are not just a "one trick pony"

Ok, on to beer - many of the microbrewed beers in Oregon are seasonal, so there are some great fruit (raspberry, blueberry) and jalapeño ales. I also am a fan of the Terminator Stout (dark) or what they call Rubinator (which is Raspberry mixed with Terminator Stout) - most of these are from the McMenamins brewery. There are also some great Amber Ales. Being 1/2 Italian I also prefer red wines, typically the Barberra's.

 

Well that does it for me.

I've purchased two lifetime subscriptions for security products - Ewido (which transferred to an AVG lifetime subscription) and WinPatrol. Both have only improved with age. Both have served me well.

It looks to me like a "lifetime subscription" to SAS is probably a good bet at this time.

Additionally, Nick gets an "outstanding" on the beer question. Creative people like creative beers and wines. Creative people make good security products. Conclusion: You must drink good beer to make good security products. The guys at Ad-Aware (Lavasoft) only drink Budweiser (American version). Does that explain it?

 

lol, that gave me a good laugh. excellent logic by the way

 

OK, I"m IN. I've purchased the lifetime subscription for SUPERAntiSpyware and hope to have many years of good protection.

The one cosmetic (and minor) thing I'd ask the SAS guys to do is to indicate on the SAS screen somewhere that it is the Professional Version and/or that we have a lifetime subscription. It's just a comfort and clarity thing. After I upgraded, I still was not 100% sure that SAS had my registration code as I was never asked to enter it (I'm assuming that since I downloaded from the SAS website, it entered the data automatically).

The AVG screen gives me the warm and fuzzy I like by putting it right out front that I have an "unlimited license."

Even after a few years of service, a lifetime SAS subscription will be cost effective. I'm confident that like Ewido and WinPatrol, I'll be happy with the decision.

 

Your registration number can be found in preferences and then the Help tab.
Showing your Lifetime subscription is on a "to do" list.

Gerard

 

We do have your suggestion on our list of items to be implemented in a future version - we have had this suggestion before and it will be implemented

 

Ahhhh yes. Thank you Gerard for the clarification. Even after cruising around in SAS, I somehow missed that. Now I'm registered.

And thank you SAS Nick. It makes such good business sense to listen to your customers and adapt and change when their suggestions make sense. And it's so nice as a consumer to have a company that listens and responds as SAS does.

I hope it's a LONG time before SAS is purchased by somebody else and SAS becomes part of a large bureaucratic unresponsive organization the way PestPatrol was when it was swallowed up by CA....

 

will it be able to be detected by vista security?

turned off the windows defender, and it reports the problem in the tray.

i guess using both at same time isnt a good idea?

 

SAS is not detected by the security center (yet) - we have it on our to-do list

 

k, one machine with vista so have to find something wokring.

hope it will be detected soon

 

Jeez Nick, I was mislead into thinking you drank budweiser from cans. I'm sorry, but I have to switch to spywarequake.

 

No problem, we detect and remove that rogue product

 

Ha ha ha:

as usual, a timely and on point reply.

 

Can anyone elaborate on the active protections in SuperAntiSpyware? I presently use the free version but have conisdered upgrading to get the active protections, scheduled scanning and autoupdates.

In the past I have used Spysweeper (got too bloated), Spyware Doctor (too many false positives and other issues too), CounterSpy (product was not polished when I tired it, many functions didn't work properly) and Ewido (active protections slowed down my PC).

Can anyone compare the active protections in SAS to the level of protection the above listed products provide?

 

Hi, folks: I am sure that you have initiated a new thread somewhere in this section regarding to this very question, and yet no response. Since you are using free version and very anxious to find out the truth of paid version's value, and SAS Pro DOES offer a 15 days' free trial. IMO, there is nothing more truthful and convinceable than to DIY. If you accept your own findings in positive fashion, then you can happily to remove that nagging screen. Just my loonie opinion. Have a nice try. BTW,DIY means do it yourself.

 

Yes, I would suggest the trial too. The realtime guard doesn´t slowdown the machine.

 

OK...I installed the pro version. I like that it will autoupdate and autoscan. Still, can anyone explain the active protections?

 

The active protection blocks threats from running and installing - we are not a behaviorial based blocker which means it won't alert everytime something touches the registry, etc.

 

How is SAS compaired to Spyware Terminator?

is there anything like a comparison chart?