Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews

My rating:

Product:

Surfstats Log Analyzer

Version: 8.0.0.3

Malware in its best form.

Pros: Very slowly takes an entire day to scan your log files and then tells you there is an error. Run it several times, and suddenly your log files are fine, and it generates a report. Unfortunately, it runs a bunch of background programs, namely surfsched.exe, which inexplicably takes up all your RAM so you can't use any other program on your XP SP2. This is the best example of malware I have ever encountered.

Cons: Runs a program in the background of your computer that you can't stop called surfsched.exe. It will take over all the RAM in your computer and you will not be able to do anything else while the spyware takes over every bit of RAM you have. This is pure garbage. Don't even bother to download it. It is slow, doesn't really give the detail it purports to give, and is very hard to use. The spyware it installs seems to work just fine though, but I really don't want to give over my hardware investment to some company who is trying to use my gear to do anything but help me. Pure Garbage. Try it and see. It's just plain awful. Sorry, but that's the deal. This company needs to start thinking about helping its customers, not spend all its time implementing ways to surreptitiously take advantage of customers' precious resources.

Posted: 04-Nov-2005 10:54:52 PM

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My rating:

Product:

True Sword

Version: 2.6

Fakeware Scam to scare you into sending money.

Pros: Would you really trust a computer program that tells you it is doing a great job when you have no way to verify whether or not this is true?

Cons: True Sword is a scam.

True Sword, pretends to scan your computer. It then creates faked reports about how your computer is 'infested'.

True Sword tells you it 'fixes' the first 10 problems but then it finds 130 more problems.

You are told to send more money to 'finish the job'.

I did some due dilligence/

I found that the problems True Sword said it was 'correcting' never existed on my computer. If you look closely at the results the program generates, you can even see they make up goofy names for the 'problems' they find.

They count on you not to look too closely.

True Sword is a scam program, and any google search will show you the complaints.

Hopefully the FBI or FTC will put these clowns in jail.

Don't waste your time with this scam.

Frankly, I'm disappointed CNet has made this scamware program available. I will hesitate the next time I use CNET's services, since clearly tCNET is not checking what they put up.

Posted: 11-Mar-2008 03:36:07 PM

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My rating:

Product:

Sawmill

Version: 7.1.7

Strangely horrible

Pros: It had the standard analysis tools you would expect

Cons: Took way too much time to operate on my high end, high bandwidth system. The software compromises many key operating system components and this software is far too unstable to receive a good rating. Seems to piggy back off key XP operating system and dot.net components that risk deletion when the program is removed. Removing the program seemed to delete critical DLLS.For example, upon removing the program, my computer alerted me that that my configuration had changed. Other programs, which rely on specific configurations for licensing, ceased to operate upon removal of sawmill. The final evaluation is that the program sawmill is very well named. It seemed to put my very expensive system and software licenses through a sawmill. This company needs to reevaluate not only how well its program operates, it needs to evaluate how its program compromises other software and licensing rights a user may retain. Until the company reevaluates its programming, and fundamentally, its operating ethics, it should recall this product.

Posted: 10-Apr-2006 11:27:49 PM

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My rating:

Product:

Surfstats eSurvey

Version: 1.1

Ram Hogging Spy Ware: Beware

Pros: The pros are that it slowly takes an entire day to analyze your data even though you run a fast computer

Cons: Runs a program in the background of your computer that you can't stop called surfsched.exe. It will take over all the RAM in your computer and you will not be able to do anything else while the spyware takes over every bit of RAM you have. This is pure garbage. Don't even bother to download it. It is slow, doesn't really give the detail it purports to give, and is very hard to use. The spyware it installs seems to work just fine though, but I really don't want to give over my hardware investment to some company who is trying to use my gear to do anything but help me. Pure Garbage. Try it and see. It's just plain awful. Sorry, but that's the deal. This company needs to start thinking about helping its customers, not spend all its time implementing ways to surreptitiously take advantage of customers' precious resources.

Posted: 04-Nov-2005 10:48:40 PM

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My rating:

Product:

Dungeon Siege demo

Version: 1.02

What a Tease

Pros: Brilliant graphics. Makes you feel like you are really there.

Cons: The end of the demo was a bit of a shaggy dog story. You spend all this time and then... sorry, demo over, pal. Fork over the dough to see the rest. But it kind of left me feeling like the end of the full version would be the same. Age of Empires, another game from Microsoft, had the same drawback, no big ending when you accomplish all the objectives. All you get is: "Game over" and that's it. Same with this game. You complete the big objectives and you get a one second 'ta-da' sound and then that's it. I love these games, but maybe they could work on creating grander "we are the champions" endings or splashier conclusions. Kind of a downer to just get a quick two second trumpet blast and a "game over" message. I mean... come on! Maybe an emotional replay of all the big moments or a big crowning ceremony would be nice... like the end of Star Wars episode IV or somethin.Anyway, all build up and a huge let down at the end. Why bother?

Posted: 26-Apr-2005 06:55:32 PM

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Ratings submitted:	8
Reviews written:	8
"Helpful" votes received:	4
"Not helpful" votes received:	1

My Profile: Boondoggle129

Surfstats Log Analyzer

Malware in its best form.

True Sword

Fakeware Scam to scare you into sending money.

Sawmill

Strangely horrible

Surfstats eSurvey

Ram Hogging Spy Ware: Beware

Dungeon Siege demo

What a Tease

About me: Boondoggle129