WinPatrol First to Create BirthdayWare

When WinPatrol was first released it was created mainly for friends and family.  At the time, I stayed pretty busy working on unique programs for Microsoft, Gateway, Epson and was working for Capital Cities/ABC when Disney took over the company. WinPatrol was just a hobby while I worked on other fun popular programs.

                                                    

           

    

Working for a variety of companies was fun. My Windows programming experience meant I was in high demand and I was able to play with new secret equipment. While it was never published I created one of the first DVD players as a project for Gateway. It kept me busy enough that WinPatrol didn’t seem as important as it turned out.

I never expected how much crap would start appearing in the Startup programs list and how popular WinPatrol would become. If I had known at the time I would have patented the concepts used by WinPatrol and could have retired by now.  Ironically, a lot of the work I did for other companies would be considered disposable startup programs like my Epson Ink Monitor and my Gateway Warranty reminder. At least when possible my startup junk would exit once performing its function.

WinPatrol was just a program I created on the side for my own use. Instead of just giving WinPatrol away for free I came up with something called “BirthdayWare”.  Once a year on my birthday WinPatrol would display a example of a programmers ego.

 

It was a lot of fun to receive Email from WinPatrol fans but soon the volume of the Email was overwhelming.  I was pleasantly surprised and confused when birthday Emails started to come in on the day before my actual birthday.  I finally noticed the first greetings were from locations like Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and other sites where the date had already changed. WinPatrol has always been very popular in Vietnam. ( btw, The Email listed above is no longer valid.)

In addition to the large amounts of Email, I discovered WinPatrol users were making a serious error. Many fans took the time and effort to create animated greeting cards to wish me a happy birthday.

 

Unfortunately, back in those days the sending of a greeting cards was a popular method to distribute adware and spyware.  Essentially, in the process of thanking me they were infecting themselves with adware. If I opened their well intended greeting card I would also get infected.

After a few years of fun, I was forced to disable the birthdayware feature and did without the personal celebration.  Some long time users still continued to wish me a Happy Birthday even without the reminder and to this day I still receive birthdayware greetings.

Next month on November 19th we’re going to celebrate, not my birthday, but the 14th anniversary of WinPatrol or Scotty’s Birthday. There will be prizes and all the special treats I can think of between now and then. Stay turned for all the fun.

Read More

Greed Creates Common Deceptive Practices

It continues to amaze me that companies build an entire business plan based on tricking consumers. Companies like the one listed below know they’re being deceptive yet have continued to run a company based on fooling consumers into thinking they’re already doing business with their company.

In this case, the company Domain Registry of America gets a list of domain names that that are due for renewal. They send a letter to the customer “implying” that they currently handle the domain name and include threats their domain name could be lost unless they send in a renewal fee. Instead unless you pay attention they’ll steal business away from your current domain holder. The threats in this letter work well and Domain Registry of America has made an entire business based solely on this deceptive practice. They do acknowledge renewing is a switch but they send their letter so far ahead of time they hope you’ll get theirs before a notice from the company who already serves you,

 

Obviously, from the prices below Domain Registry of America is not providing me with any special discount. Their rates are over triple what I would normally be charged by the company who handles my domains. They charge me $10.95 a year. This is blatant case of deception which has been going on for years. It’s not illegal, just an example of greed.

. 

They’re not alone in their tricky malicious practice. Chance are great you’ll also find a letters in your mail warning you that your vehicle warranty has expired. While you may never have done business with their company they’ll still want you to renew a warranty with them.

Another examples of this kind of greed are companies who want to include you in a “Who’s Who’s” book of some kind. Naturally, along with including you in their Who’s Who book, they’ll want to sell you a copy.  Even if it’s not required most people will still buy the book. If you’re a small business you may also receive an official looking state document that claims you must post a copy of your employee rights. Their version will naturally comes on beautifully laminated paper which isn’t required in most states but not illegal to lie to you.

Another company trolls the patent office and when it sees you have a new patent they will send you a nice copy of your patent with an offer for some beautiful patent plagues. They’ll use an official sounding name to imply it’s a service of the patent office. Their version will set you back a little but look nice on your desk or wall. I was actually pleased when they tried to trick me because I had a few Gateway patents with my name on them. I had forgotten all about it.

My all time favorite is the Better Business Bureau who will call encouraging you to be a member for over $300 depending on the size of your business. They call me at least once a year and tell me they had a report from one of my customers praising our work.  While I am confident our users love us I don’t believe for second that once a year a customer goes out of their way to report positive comments.
According to a number of state Attorney Generals office the grading system used by BBB favored members over non-members.

So, read your mail carefully and be sure what you’re signing up for is legitimate and come from the actual company and not someone using deceptive practices. Ultimately, this form of greed only helps one company and that’s the United States Post Office.

Read More

Greed Creates Common Deceptive Practices

It continues to amaze me that companies build an entire business plan based on tricking consumers. Companies like the one listed below know they’re being deceptive yet have continued to run a company based on fooling consumers into thinking they’re already doing business with their company.

In this case, the company Domain Registry of America gets a list of domain names that that are due for renewal. They send a letter to the customer “implying” that they currently handle the domain name and include threats their domain name could be lost unless they send in a renewal fee. Instead unless you pay attention they’ll steal business away from your current domain holder. The threats in this letter work well and Domain Registry of America has made an entire business based solely on this deceptive practice. They do acknowledge renewing is a switch but they send their letter so far ahead of time they hope you’ll get theirs before an notice from the company who already serves you,

 

Obviously, from the prices below Domain Registry of America is not providing me with any special discount. Their rates are over triple what I would normally be charged by the company who handles my domains. They charge me $10.95 a year. This is blatant case of deception which has been going on for years. It’s not illegal, just an example of greed.

. 

They’re not alone in their tricky malicious practice. Chance are great you’ll also find a letters in your mail warning you that your vehicle warranty has expired. While you may never have done business with their company they’ll still want you to renew a warranty with them.

Another examples of this kind of greed are companies who want to include you in a “Who’s Who’s” book of some kind, Naturally, along with including you in their Who’s Who book, they’ll want to sell you a copy.  Even if it’s not required most people will still buy the book. If you’re a small business you may also receive an official looking state document that claims you must post a copy of your employee rights. Their version will naturally comes on beautifully laminated paper which isn’t required in most states but not illegal to lie to you.

Another company trolls the patent office and when it sees you have a new patent they will send you a nice copy of your patent with an offer for some beautiful patent plagues. They’ll use an official sounding name to imply it’s a service of the patent office. Their version will set you back a little but look nice on your desk or wall. I was actually pleased when they tried to trick on me because I had a few Gateway patents with my name on them. I had forgotten all about it.

My all time favorite is the Better Business Bureau who will call encouraging you to be a member for over $300 depending on the size of your business. They call me at least once a year and tell me they had a report from one of my customers praising our work.  While I am confident our users love us I don’t believe for second that once a year a customer goes out of their way to report positive comments.
According to a number of state Attorney Generals office the grading system used by BBB favored members over non-members.

So, read your mail carefully and be sure what you’re signing up for is legitimate and come from the actual company and not someone using deceptive practices. Ultimately, this form of greed only helps one company and that’s the United States Post Office.

Read More

Verizon uses your Physical Address for Advertising

Verizon has announced a new service update it admits will benefit advertisers more than customers.  Obviously it’s meant to increase Verizon’s revenue.  It used to be you could get free services in return for targeted advertising. Now Verizon considers it a bonus feature to use my physical addresses for ads.

“…Verizon will soon participate in a program that will improve the ability of advertisers to reach our Verizon Online customers based on your physical address. The goal is to provide online ads that may be more relevant to you.

This program uses your address to determine whether you reside in a local area an advertiser is trying to reach.”

 

“This advertising program uses your physical address to help advertisers deliver ads to websites you visit while using Verizon Online. This program allows national brands and local businesses to tailor offers, coupons and incentives to your local area. Because the ads can be geographically directed, they may be more relevant to you.”

In addition to adds on Verizon websites, the following can be found in their Privacy Policy…

“…cookies may be placed and used by advertising companies to collect information about your visit to our websites and may be combined with similarinformation obtained from other websites.”

If you’re a Verizon customer I recommend reviewing their privacy policy and follow tips that allow you to opt-out of this new feature
http://www22.verizon.com/about/privacy/policy/#cpni

Click below to Opt-Out
 

Read More

WinPatrol.com Removes Links to Facebook

 

 
We are no longer encouraging anyone to use Facebook and have removed all links to "Fans of WinPatrol" group from WinPatrol.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not a protest to UI changes. We have found that Facebook changes are frequently made without proper testing often exposing Friend only posts to the public.

For instance, new interface changes has created the new “Old Posts” feature. Some people have reported many of their Old Posts are now available to the public even when their wall was set to Friends Only.

To change the settings for the new "Old Posts" feature, go to your privacy settings at http://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy and change the new feature "Limit the Audience for Past Posts". Click on Manage Past Post Visibility.  The menu for privacy settings is also available as a down arrow in the upper right corner of your Facebook page.

We're not closing the group yet but will stop providing links that may encourage folks to join Facebook to get WinPatrol information updates. There’s also unofficial WinPatrol discussions and help available at http://www.landzdown.com/winpatrol-help-information/

Read More

Dangerous Downloads on Legitimate Websites & Search Engines

There are a large number of websites that provide useful reviews and what seems like easy ways to download free software. Unfortunately, these websites also sell ads and allow advertisers to use well known software as keywords in their ads. The result is users often end up with software they can’t remove from their computer instead of what they were looking for.

Here’s an example of the page you’ll get if you search the popular download site, cnet’s Download.com for WinPatrol. 
Click image to enlarge.

 

Click any image to enlarge

You can see WinPatrol at the bottom of the page but if you’re not paying attention you might easily click on “Start Download”.  The resulting download is not something you want on your system.  My laptop is currently using the add-on Web of Trust which immediately warned me something was wrong.

Btw… if you’re interested, don’t search Google for “Web of Trust”.  Instead of WOT, you’ll find a dangerous download using its keyword which I’ll talk more about below. Go to http://www.mywot.com/ if you’d like check out WOT.

Not all but some of the other downloads advertising on the Download.com page are also dangerous. For instance, the link that says “Spybot – Free Download” will not take you to the real Spybot - Search & Destroy program.

Beware of Search Engine Results

Even search engines like Google and Bing are selling search ads to bogus programs using the keywords of popular legitimate programs.  If you search Google for “WinPatrol” you may be tricked into clicking on a dangerous deceptive link.

While it’s marked as an “Ad” the resulting page is not what you’ll want. It has no connection to WinPatrol. The criminals behind this site “bid” Googles Adwords for the keyword “WinPatrol” when purchasing this ad.  It’s also impossible for small companies like BillP Studios to purchase advertisements. When advertising space is based on bidding, it’s impossible for me to compete with companies who behave in a deceptive manner.

Again, Web of Trust warns me not to continue.

The resulting page appears to be a review of WinPatrol.  Don’t be fooled!

Click image to enlarge

When you scroll down you'll find a bogus software report that claims to compare various anti-virus program.  The problem is all of these programs come from the same company and most programs can not be removed until you pay an extortion fee.  Even then you’ll need a real Anti-Malware program to remove them.   The following is one of many programs that follow the WinPatrol review.

I didn’t dare click Free Scan but I did check Tucows and they never heard of this program.  The chances that this company has a positive rating with the Better Business Bureau is, well…  that’s a topic for another blog post.

So, always read the screen and know what you’re doing anytime you see a download or scan link. If you want to download a program make sure you’re on the actual company website.  That way you’ll also be sure to download the most current release.

Use your voice and let search engines and download sites know you’re not happy. Forward this post to your friends or share it on Facebook.  They’re making a lot of money so they can certainly afford to screen who advertises on their sites and watch for deceptive links.

Bing actually removed an ad after I contacted them about but they still need to clean up their act for other ads. I’ve written to a friend I trust at Google so perhaps I’ll see a change soon but the misuse of our WinPatrol keyword is one of many.

If you’re not sure about a filename you can always use WinPatrol to look it up.  Your lifetime $29.95 purchase of WinPatrol PLUS means we don’t have to sell advertisements on the pages used to search file names.  Droid users can also download our new DroidPatrol program to search for legitimate filenames.

Update 9/7/2011
I’m pleased to report that Google no longer allows WinPatrol to be used to allow deceptive advertisers steal users. Thank you Google.

Read More

WinPatrol PLUS available for $9.99 while CNET Annoys Users

Over the years I’ve provided special upgrades to veterans, unemployed and even did a one day experiment selling WinPatrol PLUS at 99 cents. Ultimately, I’ve tried to come up with a fair price that would allow the most upgrades as possible. I’ve tried various prices but the experts tell me WinPatrol PLUS is worth far more than its $29.95 regular price.

This week we’re offering another exceptional sale so nobody has a good reason not to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS.  In some respect it’s another experiment to see what folks are willing to spend. If you have an illegal version of WinPatrol PLUS now is the time to upgrade for life. Stats show we have a lot of free users so here is your chance.

Results of our economy

One of the truths is that this special is also meant to prevent layoffs.  The economy is hurting everyone and BillP Studios isn’t alone. Resisting the temptation to include a free security toolbar and other 3rd party “enhancements” could have made a difference but is still something we’ll never do.

I was sad to see even our friends at cnet have added a Download Manager that you must download if you want WinPatrol from downloads.com.  While the download manager is suppose to add a new layer of security, it’s obviously meant to add a new layer of revenue for cnet

I am impressed that at least they’ve made what is sure to be unwanted changes an "Opt-In” check box. This is a rare move and I’m glad at least someone at CNET spoke up loud enough to save some reputation. If a user checks this box they won’t be happy.

CNET has always been a friend to WinPatrol and I hope that relationship can continue.  When new versions of WinPatrol become available the folks at CNET will often have it available within 24 hours.  Meanwhile, you can always download the newest version of WinPatrol directly from http://www.winpatrol.com/download.html with no download manager or other added programs.

As I started to say if you haven’t downloaded WinPatrol do it now and click here to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS for less than ten dollars.

Read More