PCA Forums

Update: Anti-malware group says the software deceives users and interferes with computer use.

No kidding... tell me something I didn't know already...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,12692 ... ticle.html

LOL, these guys just now figured that out about AOL?

An AOL spokesman said that it is "clearly ridiculous" to categorize his company's software as badware. "No company has done more to fight malware than AOL, and millions of users are protected by our software every day," said AOL's Andrew Weinstein

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

it took them awhile, and i would like to see that statement directed at a tech person.



now if anyone can tell me how to get a touchpad in linux to act like a windows touchpad it would be appreciated.

I have been saying this since version 8.

"No company has done more to fight malware than AOL, and millions of users are protected by our software every day"

Man I FANTASIZE about getting a screenshot of AOL's SpyZapper reporting that it just checked the computer for spyware and found no problems while I also have a report from Pest Patrol on the screen showing a massive spyware infection. This actually happened once while I was showing a client the Pest Patrol report.

Moments... Kodak moments.

I've gotta figure out how to trigger a SpyZapper scan manually....

TechNews had a fuuny quote that wasn't reported by pcworld:

"Clearly, AOL does not belong in the same category as the malicious badware providers we have previously identified, but the free version of AOL 9.0 that we tested, in our view, does not live up to the company's rich legacy"

Obviously, they forgot about version 5.

Hey AOL 5 was probably the best version they had. Until they made 5 unusable a year ago, it was the only version I would install on a client's system. If they wanted something newer they had to install it themselves and then pay me to come fix it if it broke their PC.

I still carry around a jealously guarded plain-Jane AOL 9 disc (non-security, non-accelerated, no extas at all) for the occasions when I need to install the crap on someone's PC. Then I lecture them HARSHLY to avoid downloading ANY free offers from AOL.

I only install AOL 7.0 on a PC for somebody that uses AOL. But you're right FP, until it was unusable, 5.0 was the best.. 7.0 would have to be the next best in my opinion..

eGo

7 wasn't bad after it matured. It was pretty buggy in it's initial release, but yeah eventually it was pretty stable, but I loved the light-weight of 5.0. That was before AOL decided to start taking over your whole operating system.

6.0 was a disaster I don't even want to talk about. I burned every 6.0 disc I ever saw sitting in a client's office.

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
Hey AOL 5 was probably the best version they had.

Except that AOL 5 had a default setting during install that would turn over all TCP/IP ownership over to AOL 5...meaning, if you had other dial-up services, they were all effectively rendered non-existent. You used AOL, or you gave up the Internet.

Most people clicked Next->Next->Next like they do with all software installs. And all they had at the end was AOL.

I think there was even a class-action lawsuit, if I remember correctly

Slug: Must have fixed that because that's not the case in any version of AOL 5 I ever installed. Most of my clients running AOL wouldn't have a secondary dialup anyway, but I often would test a system with AOL dialup problems by temporarily setting up a dialup to some other ISP.

HOWEVER, it's a fact that AOL totally takes over the TCP/IP stack, and thus I always warn people NOT to uninstall AOL because more often than I care to think about it screws up your networking when it uninstalls itself (particularly versions before 8).

They must have fixed it in AOL version 5.1 or later: link

Lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against America Online on behalf of 8 million customers, claiming that the latest version of its software cripples existing Internet accounts with rival companies.

All I remember is building a computer for my neighbor, and repeatedly insisting that he never install AOL...he called me three weeks later asking me to fix his computer, cuz he did exactly the opposite of what I told him, and lost all Internet access, except for AOL. "But my kids insisted, cuz they wanted to use AIM". Morons...the non-subscriber version of AIM was superior to the subscriber version.

I use "superior" in a joking way, since even the "better" version paled in comparison to other IM clients.

I formatted his machine....just like everybody else had to do. Nobody knew how to repair the damage. AOL repeatedly sent their customers to Microsoft PSS, insisting they were at fault, and all MS could tell them was that they were not at fault, and there was nothing they could do to help them...and sent them right back to AOL PSS.

"Even for some of the real networking pros, this thing can be a beast to fix," said Doug Barney, a columnist for Network World magazine.

Thus, the class-action lawsuit. Which I believe AOL lost.