Responsible Journalism?[Locked]

http://www.emailbattles.com/archive/battles/security_aadgdfdddh_ah/

How is LaunchPad adware? - adware is something that displays popups advertising stuff (LunchPad never opens unless I open it). Launchpad is an excellent way for users to see what other (great) products Comodo has.

Mike

One thing I don’t like about launchpad…from what I can see, there is no way to know for sure your firewall is running just by looking at the icon. The icon should be changed to reflect which program(s) you are running or we should be able to choose a firewall icon over launchpad icon.

I am not so sure the person who reviewed the software even knew HOW to fully set it up. Since the LaunchPad in the tray is more or less out of sight right from bootup and you don’t see ANYTHING about other programs with it there.
Lee

BUT…

I like the “National Comodo Day” idea :slight_smile:

Melih

My claim was not that LaunchPad is adware. LaunchPad is an advertising vehicle – a method of carrying advertising material from one place to another. Comodo does not beat around the bush…it is no secret that LaunchPad advertises other Comodo products.

The word “informing” can be subsituted with technical correctness. However, advertising is generally seen as intrusive in some way. The intrusion can be seen as welcome or unwelcome.

Average consumers may not care. This is why Google’s G-Mail is popular. Most people won’t care that advertising appears around their e-mail after Google’s servers have scanned and parsed the messages for potential hit words. I would not allow business communication to travel and be stored by G-mail. Free, yes. Advertising, yes. Suitable for all users, no.

I am happy that the latest version of LaunchPad no longer pushes the installers. The information is rolled up by default, and less intrusive. But, still intrusive. If you leave LaunchPad running for a while, areas of it will start flashing with alternative graphics. Yes, we’re still awake, Comodo. Thank you for the info…please disappear into a tray somewhere.

I cannot say bad things about i-Vault. It has features not found in SSO and password management software. And, it’s free. Google sells it ads for cash. Comodo’s advertising is only self-serving. No money, no exchanging or aggregating of data for further mining.

Also, I cannot say bad things about Comodo’s publicized reasons for advertising their free software. Every computer user should have access to basic security software at a price they can reasonably afford. For home users, students, first-timers, and SOHO users, “free” definitely falls into that magic price range. But, there aren’t many free lunches. Too many hooks or disclaimers or bundles or adware. Nice to see that a company with Comodo’s position in the SSL market (trust is everything), is willing to spend time and effort to help the everyman.

I’m in it for the long haul…let’s see how Comodo’s products mature. Based on the first 3 iterations of 1.0, version 2 should turn some heads in the security market.

Regards,
Alan Leghart

I’ve used i-Vault from its first release. Fully setting it up involved double-clicking on the installer and waiting for the license key via e-mail. Launch Pad didn’t exist.

i-Vault does not require anything from the LaunchPad application. As a matter of fact, it will run by itself off an USB keyfob, no registry entries required. The current installer for i-Vault silently installs Launch Pad without documentation. There is no mention in the help files or online. There is uninstaller.

The first version of Launch Pad was garish. It was a pimp of an app…looky here, look what I got. Click here and I’ll install your free software. Admins hate that.

Not classy. Not appropriate for a business environment. Borderline rude.

The second version (currently bundled with i-Vault) is still undocumented. It still installs behind the scenes. It still has no un-installer. I cannot disable it without disabling i-Vault.

No pimping. Closer to the “informing” that Comodo claims.

But, the question is still begged: why disable the normally-functioning i-Vault application, and permanently bundle it with an advertising vehicle? OK, I get that it’s free. I’m not sold on the altruism when marketing takes over engineering. Function first.

If you want to stick in the advertising in exchange for the free product, that’s your choice. You’ve paid for the development and distribution. Look at Adobe’s Acrobat Reader. You get the Yahoo search icon by default. And, you can turn it off.

Comodo, let us turn off the advertising. You’ve already got my e-mail address and a license that needs updated in 12-months. I can figure out where the ‘About’ menu is. If I am savvy enough, let me run the application as designed. Don’t cripple it.

I’ll keep monitoring the forums on this topic. I believe the software has a future. Bad marketing decisions may forever limit its value to a throwaway application.

Firefox is valuable. NetStumbler is valuable. FileZilla is valuable. Acrobat Reader is valuable.Opera has graduated from throwaway to valuable. (I can’t get those years of licensing back, can I?)

I hope i-Vault can join their ranks. Free. Valuable. Clean(-ish) of advertising. And (as fast-food restaurants often say) extras are extra.

My McNuggets will still perform as designed if I throw away the paper placemat advertising another McProduct. (quote that, Melih!)

Thanks to all for keeping this discussion alive. I’m looking forward to more product improvements.

Regards,
Alan Leghart

Hello Alan,

I am very disapointed in what people are saying and trying to mess up Comodo’s reputation, Melih (the CEO of Comodo) is always on the forum looking for ways to improve products, helping people who are having problems. I defend Comodo Launch Pad because at first when Comodo bundled it with their Firewall back in 1.1.004 I monitored it and it only checked for updates, I did not find it connecting to Comodo servers except when checking for updates, as for it bringing up unwanted popups when you open the Launch Pad it displays your installed applications only it then has two sections in which you can view applications that are also available free of charge, and view services and offers from Comodo. These are both closed, they do not display their contents unless the user clicks on that section. This is a screenshot from when I first opened Comodo Launch Pad.

Now at that moment when I first opened the Launch Pad do you at all see any advertisments for Comodo Products? The only advertisments would be the part under news where it says visit the forums but I don’t consider that an advertisment. As you see the other two sections are closed so it is not advertising any other Comodo products, so there is not a problem with advertisments, now right now looking at my firewall I don’t see the Launch Pad communicating with any servers or anything at all, now when I click check for updates I see it communicates for a moment to make sure my products are up to date, and they are so in less then 1 second communications between Launch Pad and the update server close. I think it would take much longer then 1 second for it to send a lot of user data. So there goes the theory of it being adware/spyware. Did I miss anything? No advertising, no popups unless I open the Launch Pad, and no communications between the Launch Pad and a Comodo server. So what is the problem? So with that said we can assume the only user information the Launch Pad sends are the current Comodo Applications that you have installed, so if you want you can look at the Applications you may want that you don’t have.

Warm Regards,

Justin Leffert

Melih,

I am so sorry that you must put up with all of this nonsence I am incredibly angry at these people right now >:( and will give every positive review I can. Know that a lot of us appreciate what you and Comodo are doing.

Justin

I really really appreciate your kind and supporting words.

thank you very much.

Melih

Alan. I wonder what your qualifications are for reviewing software since you seem to be unaware of the comparable aspects of the major competitors to these products?

I recently evaluated Norton AntiVirus and McAfee AntiVirus among others. Both Norton and McAfee have control panel applets that show the installed applications of their respective security suites and those that are not installed. If you choose only to buy the Norton or McAfee anti-virus then every time you show this control panel you have great, glaring warnings that the firewall, anti-spam and so on are missing. If that isn’t advertising I don’t know what is. And these are paid-for applications. If I chose to buy one of those products I don’t wish to be constantly nagged that I didn’t buy the rest of them.

By contrast, Comodo’s LaunchPad is much more subtle, hiding the uninstalled components under “Available applications”. The “New services and offers” are also similarly hidden unless you care to look. I think this is a perfectly acceptable way to provide users with an easy way to find complementary products, unlike Norton and McAfee’s warnings that cannot be hidden.

Given that the whole Comodo security suite giveaway is an exercise funded by PR / marketing, Comodo is to be commended for taking such a low key approach. Some Internet users including, apparently, you, don’t seem to realise that everything has to be paid for somehow. Have you any comprehension of how much it costs to develop top-flight security products? Comodo is being incredibly generous in giving away these products to people many of whom are never going to have a need to buy one of the company’s commercial products. They do not deserve this carping from someone with a bee in his bonnet.

AntiVir also integrates advertising into their free av. Seems about every other virus defs. update you get a “nag screen” popup wanting you to upgrade to the paid version.

Funny thing is… I just replaced McAfee Av, FW, and Privacy service with everything Comodo…

McAfee tries to SELL the products to me for money… and they tell me I am inscure if I am noy stupid enough to buy them all…

Comodo is simply letting me know I can get more freebies… Whether or not I need them is MY BUSINESS…

Of course, I am informed about TrustFax, but it isn’t pushed on me…

I think some folks take offense to the Launcher… You folks at Comodo may want to consider making parts of it, and ALL of it, optional…

At least Comodo is not telling me I am insecure… and don’t forget… For a free Lifetime usage, I really don’t mind…

I for one agree with you. Of course, I am biased, because I am trying to make a living from selling software. I can’t afford to give away something completely for nothing. Everything has a cost, it’s just a matter of who pays it. Comodo is entitled to use its products as adverts, and if people don’t like it, they can install them. No-one has the right to demand Comodo, or anyone else, gives them a free lunch with no strings attached.

Omg, people are really dumb. Comodo LaunchPad is nothing else than like for example McAfee’s Security Center. Just maybe less intrusive. It’s just a centralized interface from where you can download, control or view all the Comodo products. Maybe it’s not ideal but i don’t see anything wrong with it. People should also learn already what adware actually is instead screaming all around that Comodo includes adware.

Adware is legally included advertising/tracking component. Adware is for example SaveNow included in BSPlayer 2.0, or Yahoo Toolbar in NERO Burning package or for example inline banners in Download Accelerator Plus or Google toolbar in Firefox. But not something like LaunchPad. Spyware on the other side is grayware which is usually jumping between legal and illegal zone. So don’t mix these terms!

And for christs sake, Comodo products DON’T show ANY popups. They are just listed in LaunchPad as optional components available for download. Nothing more, nothing less.
■■■■ i hate bunch of self proclaimed review “experts” that don’t have a clue about programs.
First analyze program thoroughly, learn how to operate it, contact company which made it if you don’t understand something and then make conslusions based on facts, not your own inability to properly understand program or logic of company behind the product. I mean i’m not working for any review magazine, website or anything, but 5 years of advanced day by day software testing, analyzing and debugging gave me priceless knowledge about most software types, methods and designs there is, used for software products. But i achieved this by hard work for which i was never paid for. It’s a shame if i look back but i’m sure it will help me in the future.
Every idiot can write a review in these days, but only few can actually write a quality one.
Thats another undeniable fact.

Bravo RejZoR!

Well written, to the point and just plain right. Those who think they know what they’re talking about are really starting to annoy the ■■■■ out of those of us that do.

To all the “expert” reviewers out there :

It is much better to say nothing and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt.

:smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Ewen :slight_smile:
(WCF3)

RejZoR,

You are 110% correct. And it really upsets me when so called “expert” writes a review that has information that people who use the app know are not true but gives the app a bad name for people who don’t know about the company.

Well said RejZoR,

People really should research products and at least try them themselves or speak to users to get an accurate picture of what the software really is and how it performs.

Mike

Hi All,
quite, there is something new that works and those so-called established critics just won’t like that. There is a difference in advertising something you pay for and something that is offered free of charge. When it is free it is just information. You have choice. Comodo is much less intrusive than many I could mention. How long have we had to put up with false positives telling you that danger lurkes if you don’t install a particular program. Even some of the so-called Best programs have been guilty of this at some time or other.
My experience of Comodo is that it has a very good start and can only get better.I was amazed at the quality being offered for free. As for uninstalling it is no worse than some, CA wasn’t easy, nor was Fsecure. They all have little quirks somewhere. Just take a little think if something has gone awry. You can always delete with a clean-up tool if things have gone wrong.XP gives you System Restore. It’s there to use. The number of times I’ve heard of people grumbling after they shut System Restore off. Usually to make space for games and music etc.
That’s my 2 cents worth anyway.
Regards to All,
George.

How can you say launch pad is ‘intrusive’ when you have to click it to open it and then it only tells you what Comodo products you have installed?
To find out about other Comodo products you have to click the button ‘other free Comodo products’ to find out that information.

You should perhaps look up the dictionary definition of the word…

in‧tru‧sive
–adjective

  1. tending or apt to intrude; coming without invitation or welcome.

Now to see what other products Comodo have you have to deliberately make the choice and click on the button therefore your discription of it being ‘intrusive’ is completely erroneous.

Have you made similar claims about the big companies like McAfee and Norton who have pop ups (intrusive) which tell you what you have not purchased from them, obviously seeking sales?