Are Identity Theft Protection products legitimate?

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

I have as you may guess - AVG9 Free. I have used AVG ever since Comodo CIS v-4 Firewall kept failing on installation when it was first released a few months ago.

The Identity Theft option is subject to a 30 day trial, then you pay for it or lose it.

Question :- May sound silly, but it digs me. How do you have a trial for Identity Theft ? Does AVG arrange a dummy "steal" to prove it works ?

John B

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Lol, you come up with some doozies for questions. No, AVG doesn't do that, nor would anyone else if they wanted to keep their business. It's like any other trial, you use it for a period to see how it acts on your system, and, if anything SHOULD happen (you can also purposely test this if you know what you're doing and have a backup), see how the product works. Most of the time, nothing ever happens, even after you've purchased the product. It just sits there, doing nothing, waiting for something to happen, which, for the ones who pay attention to what they are doing, is going to take a long time, if ever.

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

dw, I love ya.
The purpose of my "Doozie" question and I roll over at your response, is that it is a covert question inflicted on the innocent to provoke a response.

You see, any facility offered to us is subject to factual evaluation and proof of purpose. I ask you - how on Earth can any provider offer an Identity Theft facility ? The answer is they cannot, simply because they cannot prove it works. It is a total waste of time and money even playing their game. Nothing but a con-trick.

In any security product, it is essential that the product works and that can only be assured by testing against realistic attacks. All security systems are tested thoroughly before the vendor`s engineers leave the premises.

It is no use buying a shotgun, assuming it works OK, then when the occasion arises to use it, find that it just goes CLICK and nothing happens.

Computer Identity Theft gimmicks ? Forget it as a waste of time and money.

Invest your money in a good insurance policy to protect you against this pox on humanity. That way, you are protected and compensated in full. Some piffling inert computer software aimed at this threat to society is nothing but a big joke and quite honestly an insult to the intelligence of PC users.

Are AVG going into the insurance game ? NO ! If their little bit of software lets you down - guess what ? You are on your own trying to recover that $5,000 that was spent in your name in China together with proving you never did it and AVG does`nt want to know that their piddling, stupid ID theft protection system failed.

John B

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

@John Bull: I didn't want to have to quote all that. You have a point, a bunch of these security suites have this identity protection in them now. I would love to know just how they would respond if an attack happened and damage was done while using their software. My guess would be the same one banks used to give their customers when these kinds of online attacks first started gaining steam.

I hate to derail this, but, if anyone here does make use of such services with their security app of choice, what's the vendors' general policy in the event of damage?

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Oh "dw" where do you get all this wisdom from ? I ain`t joking, you are fast becoming a Guru of infinite knowledge and me a "Cult" follower. To achieve that distinction with the infamous John Bull, takes a bit of doing.

John B

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

I appreciate that, but Guru I'm not, hehe. I learn from others here like you do, and I still have a LOT to learn. As far as security goes, I know what I know and don't know what I don't. I try to use the common sense approach and when I pop up with something to say, I've at least TRIED to do my homework first. I'll never get into technical arguments here because with a few of these members here, I would quickly, shamefully lose. A lot of people don't like my opinions, but that's alright, I don't like a lot of their opinions either, hehe. I've been here long enough to tell the experts apart from the hot winded, and I don't feel I'm at either extreme, but somewhere chugging along in the middle. Perhaps in time I'll edge more towards the expert side, but that time is not now.

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Now where did I hear THAT expression ? Sounds awfully like myself in rehearsal.
Stick in there chum - ya doing fine. Just learn from our exceptional family of willing helpers and be really nice and lovable like me.

John Bull

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Also thanks Mike, you are so right and very observant. Gee, I sure would`nt like to play you at Poker.

Somewhere in this thread the subject of ID theft came up and it all spiralled from there. I simply took up the baton, I never purposely went off topic.

John

 

A small apology to any posters to this thread.

My posts as shown were entered on thread "Silent death of a behaviour blockers!" as comments on ID Theft protection, but were moved to this more appropriate thread for being "off topic". Whilst being well dispersed on the original thread, they unfortunately appear to dominate this one due to topic extraction.

John B

 

Let's steer this in the right direction so as not to confuse people. Those of you out there using security suites with Identity Protection, what is your take on it? How does your particular vendor approach responsibility in the event data is stolen while using such protection?

 

Actually JB highlighted a common flaw with most trials of security products.The only way to evaluate the efficacy of an identity Theft Protection would be if someone tried to steal from you during the 30 day trial period,otherwise you just get to look at a pretty toolbar for a month.

Experienced users can throw malware at it to see how it performs but that's beyond the remit of the average user.

 

Some identity theft companies will put a flag/hold on your file with the big 3 credit reporting agencies, wherein you are contacted anytime someone attempts to open a new loan or line of credit with your identity. I suppose that could be tested. And if I am not mistaken, the same sort of notification can be put in place for large credit card purchases. Again, can be tested.

 

Page42 you're in the USA yes? I'm not sure if those services are available here in the UK,I've not heard of them anyway Mind you I don't have any money to steal so it's not uppermost on my radar

 

USA, correct.
But it isn't your money they are after... it's your identity.
Read this:

 

The problem here is simply one of value for money, legality and trust.

If a service or product is FREE, then there is no problem. We use it and normally it works fine - most suppliers are reputable, so we enjoy the benefits as long as we wish. FREE services and products are usually backed by a moral responsibility, but NOT a legal one - we use them at our own risk. Rather similar to FREE parking - Park at your own risk.

If we PAY for a product or service, that is different. You have paid money and the supplier is legally bound to compensate for failure of that product or service.

If this is not so by the small print, then dump it quick and find an alternative.
Nobody can take money and then shun responsibility for failure. That is usually the exclusive prerogative of the doorstep salesman.

So, by all means install an ID Theft protection program providing IT IS FREE !

But never PAY for such a program unless the supplier is legally bound to abide by the same terms as an insurance company. I think you can consider this prospect as being in Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Bottom line :- Take it if it is FREE, there is nothing to lose, but NEVER PAY for it - spend your money and trust in a good insurance policy.

John B

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Forget it because you don't know how it works?

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

You are wrong mate, don`t under-estimate the intelligence of others by making irrational allegations - I DO know how it works and have already told you explicitly ! And I have explained precisely how it works to the point of over-kill. What more do you need ?

Please just read the logic, I do not wish to keep re-iterating the logic and common sense of everyday survival. DON`T PAY FOR A GIMMICK ! When you find that a bank account has been raised in Beijing in your name with a $10,000 loan, try getting your money back from that marvelous ID Theft program vendor you payed - and good luck, I have a feeling you`ll need it.

If you have a personal Death-Wish to cough up your hard earned bucks for some con trick aimed at making money out of gullible people, then have a nice day and be happy. I don`t play that game.

I would put my faith and money in an insurance policy and my friend - THAT IS IT - endgame, over and out. I have no more to say on this subject, matter closed. I am unsubscribing from this thread as the conclusive pattern of choice is absolutely irrefutable.

John B

 

There are insurances and insurances... and the same applies here. ITP for some brands is perfectly legit, secure and free... if you pay for the yearly fees to the producer licensing the insurance! Others may be not, but you need to present a more in-depth assessment based on factual evidence to be credible. Otherwise this seems not more not less then the usual trolling (no offense intended).

 

The same goes for any AV - there will be situations where they can't protect you even if you paid for them

Bottom line :- NEVER PAY FOR ANYTHING

 

Page42, Fax, thanks for your insights. I appreciate you both answering thoroughly and without the idiotic and insulting remarks. I think we've got our answer now as to the effectiveness of such protections. Me personally, I'd rather not put that kind of trust in a security vendor, but, as said, a reputable insurance company (and not the "LifeLocks" of the world).

 

I don't want to go on and on about this topic, but there are some opinions being voiced that indicate to me that not enough people know enough of the facts about some of these identity theft services being offered.

Best thing I can do is provide a couple of links, for those among you who wish to learn a bit more. Cases in point... Identity Guard has a $1 million loss reimbursement insurance policy. They offer email alerts (or text messages) to "promptly notify you of changes in your credit files recorded every business day at the credit bureaus". They offer lost wallet protection, wherein with one phone call, they'll "help cancel your credit card accounts plus give you access for up to $2,000 emergency cash from your account." Identity Guard also offers ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, free for the life of your plan enrollment. It looks like it starts out that IDGuard is free for ZA customers, then it turns around and ZA is free for IDGuard customers.

These strike me as practical perks, designed to address the growing ID theft problem while catering to our computer-based lifestyles.

Do I subscribe to IdentityGuard? No.
But I subscribe to another anti-ID theft service.
I have no trouble trusting them with my personal info... simply because my so-called personal info is so widely disseminated today, it almost demands that one central clearinghouse-type service have it all in hand in order to monitor every possible breach.

Here are those links I mentioned...
ZA offers IDGuard
IDGuard offers free ZA

 

Re: Silent death of a behaviour blockers!

Your doubt regarding AVG is about what? AVG Identity Protection? I'm assuming it is since you started this on the other thread, which was about behavior blockers.

I truly believe you don't fully understand what AVG Identity Protection is all about. Perhaps, the biggest problem, is in fact the chosen name for this security product.
AVG clearly failed naming it.

If we take the name seriously (as it is named by AVG), then it is sort of a misleading application. How so? The user/costumer will believe that it will protect his/her identity (bank account code, ID, etc).
While, in a certain way it does do that and you'll understand why I say that and how it does it, what it does, is to protect the system against new and unknown malware by checking the behaviors of the processes in your system against known malicious patterns/behaviors.

So, while it WON'T protect your identity (bank account code, etc) directly (You can do it using other means, and free, and one of them is not to store any sensitive information on your system!), it will do it indirectly by helping to protect your system against new and unknown malware.

Don't forget that I mentioned that it will check processes against a list of known malicious behaviors/patterns. That means that if a new malware arrives and if the behavior is a known malicious behavior, then AVG Identity Protection will protect the system. If, despite the fact that it is a new malware, such behavior has never been spoted before, then it won't do anything to protect your system.

So, resuming and to clear things out, I believe you've made some sort of confusion with AVG Identity Protection. It's not a service aiming to protect your identity nor a security application aiming to do that. It's a security application that will protect you if any new malware that may try to infect your system works the same way as many other existing malware, which you may freely test it for the trial period.

Now, if Identity Theft services are or not of trust, well, why would you want others to have access to all your sensitive information? It provokes me headaches just to think that people do it. Why don't they keep their sensitive information simply safe? That includes keeping their systems safe and how to protect themselves. Most don't, and perhaps if someone mentions them such services, they'll go for it, I guess.

Why would anyone giveaway their IDs, bank account code, etc to strangers, even if some sort of insurance is given to the costumers? Couldn't there be some wako working on those companies? Of course not, it's all great people!