View Full Version : What does Spybot Blcok the Spyhunter website?
I understand Engima software the makers of spyhunter have had issues in the past like 4 or 5 years ago but now Spybot has gone all out to prevent the use of the spyhunter product. Spybot used to just detect spyhunter as malware and I would just uncheck it.
As of about late August Spybot now changes your host file to prevent you from being able to get to the enigma software website and in conjunction with that it breaks the ability for you to update the spyhunter product.
I know this is the immunize option and I could unceck it but if I'm going to have to work around spybot just to keep it from breaking other software I will just uninstall spybot.
Spyhunter is a legit product that I paid for, it has worked well for me at it will at times detect and rmeove things that even Spybot does not catch.
I do not think it is a good thing that Spybot detects it's competitors is malware threats and then prevents you from updating another malware detection product.
Why is spybot doing this? I like the immunize feature of spybot but if it is going to break legit software I have paid for I will not use it anymore.
I don't think you will find many who are as forgiving of Enigma's past as yourself - or many who would recommend using Spyhunter. The best you could say of the company is that it uses confusing and over-enthusiastic advertising techniques to promoted the sale of a mediocre product.
Certainly Spyhunter has improved its reputation over the last few years and is no longer listed as a Rogue (ie fake) program - but the company still seems to be struggling to come across as a professional outfit. The company President Alvin Estevez has a strange habit of posting very aggressive responses on many security forums when his product is criticised. Not something many other companies feel is appropriate behaviour for a CEO.
For any who have not investigated Spyhunter try reading the following:
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-re-tested-spyhunter-see-references.html
http://mysteryfcm.co.uk/?mode=Articles&date=31-08-2008
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/enigma-software-spyhunter-c40878.html
http://www.securitycadets.com/category/enigma/
I don't think you will find many who are as forgiving of Enigma's past as yourself - or many who would recommend using Spyhunter. The best you could say of the company is that it uses confusing and over-enthusiastic advertising techniques to promoted the sale of a mediocre product.
Certainly Spyhunter has improved its reputation over the last few years and is no longer listed as a Rogue (ie fake) program - but the company still seems to be struggling to come across as a professional outfit. The company President Alvin Estevez has a strange habit of posting very aggressive responses on many security forums when his product is criticised. Not something many other companies feel is appropriate behaviour for a CEO.
For any who have not investigated Spyhunter try reading the following:
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-re-tested-spyhunter-see-references.html
http://mysteryfcm.co.uk/?mode=Articles&date=31-08-2008
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/enigma-software-spyhunter-c40878.html
http://www.securitycadets.com/category/enigma/
Ok but how is Spybot any better by blocking access to their website? I paid for the Spyhunter product and am satisfied with it been using it for a few years now, yet Spybot made the spyhunter product un useable until I figured out it was Spybot that was causing the problem.
I quickly came to realize no SINGLE malware product works for everything so I use a combination of a few products. In this case Spybot made my pc more vulnerable since it blocked me getting updates for the spyhunter product I paid for.
I understand enigma's past, but is enigma software and Spyhunter a threat to my computer right now? Are they malware?
The answer is no, spybot should not be blocking the use of the spyhunter product or the Enigma's website based off of having a weird CEO.
Spybot intentionally went out of its way to BREAK spyhunter and block me from being able to get support or trouble shoot the issue. Heck I thought the company went under as there website would not come up and spyhunter would not update.
I had to go to another pc to realize that the website was up and had to dig through my host file to see that spybot rerouted the enigma website to local host. And now on spybot I have to turn immunize OFF for host files as there does not appear to be a away for my to tell spybot NOT to block the Enigma related website.
To me that is over stepping the bounds for spybot, Spyhunter is not malware and not a threat to my pc spybot needs to leave the politics out of it and leave that program alone.
Well, if you paid for it because you seriously wanted it, you're a rare case ;)
The only people who paid for it that i know where all either victims of trademark frauds where they thought they would be buying a different product (through Enigma affiliates willingly tolerated by Enigma), or those of fake detections of non-existing malware to lure people into buying, or through deceptive sites.
Hint: the product description shown inside Spybot will tell you which one it is currently ;)
wyrmrider
2008-09-13, 20:45
You could try Stopzilla for a new adventure
You could try Stopzilla for a new adventure
haha :funny:
enigma? they manipulate search results in google, they pretend to have an office in Norway and some other countries and they hide their identity. this is one of the norwegian sites they have: http://no. pcthreat. com/ you will maybe be redirected to the english one when you visit, i dont know. they seems to use a translating system to translate from english (or another language) to norwegian and that is unprofessional by an company like this because i guess they are not norwegians but they pretend to be, there are spelling errors on their sites.
Well, if you paid for it because you seriously wanted it, you're a rare case ;)
The only people who paid for it that i know where all either victims of trademark frauds where they thought they would be buying a different product (through Enigma affiliates willingly tolerated by Enigma), or those of fake detections of non-existing malware to lure people into buying, or through deceptive sites.
Hint: the product description shown inside Spybot will tell you which one it is currently ;)
Umm yeah I think you guys are missing the point here. I'm not going to argue about how good a product spyhunter is, I honestly have not had a problem with it and voluntarily purchased it to use in cunjunction with about 3 other malware programs.
I fully purchased spyhunter and have had no issues with it.
Enigma software and spyhunter do not equal malware, they are not a threat to my computer
Why is Spybot preventing spyhunter from working and preventing me from going to the Enigma software website? Spybot made a product I PAID for stop working. This is pretty recent to, even though spybot usually detected spyhunter as malware it never blocked the enigma websites or my ability to get updates.
What changed? Can someone give me a real instance that Enigma software and spyhunter are actual Malware?
Fling all the crap you want at enigma for past issues but Spybot is doing something just as bad.
Spybot is actively blocking and breaking a product I paid for, with no reason.
Is Spyhunter a malware product? Will my computer get infected and have issues if I visit the Enigma website?
If the answers to both of these questions is NO then Spybot should not mess with this program or my ability to visit there website.
It does not look very good for spybot when they are injecting their OPINION about a competitor on my PC.
Spybot needs to stick with actively fighting MALWARE and NOT passing judgment on a competitor.
My pc is not going to be the battle ground for that type of crap,
Is Spyhunter a malware product? Will my computer get infected and have issues if I visit the Enigma website? i guess not but these people are very unprofessional and manipulative.
Spybot made a product I PAID for stop working. why not donate to spybot instead? the people that have made spybot is not manipulative like this company you are talking about and they do not try to push their products on people like crazy. donate to spybot instead of buying this crap if you want;)
i guess not but these people are very unprofessional and manipulative.
why not donate to spybot instead? the people that have made spybot is not manipulative like this company you are talking about and they do not try to push their products on people like crazy. donate to spybot instead of buying this crap if you want;)
I'm not scanning my computer for unprofessional software and manipulative companies when I use Spybot. I'm scanning my comptuer for Malware\virus, I don't need spybot to make a moral decision on the software I have installed and paid for on my pc.
Spybot is going to be lucky to stay on my pc after this crap, no way in hell I'm going to donate money to spybot so they can continue to pass moral judgment on software I HAVE PAID FOR. What if one day the makers of spybot determine the makers of other software I have bought are manipulative or unprofessional and break that product to?
If the programs and websites on my pc or I visit are not malware\virus and are NOT harmful to my pc Spybot should leave them the **** alone.
no way in hell I'm going to donate money to spybot so they can continue to pass moral judgment on software I HAVE PAID FOR. "paid for" doesnt always mean better. i have paid for programs too but will never do it again because it made my computer go crazy after i used an "paid for" antivirus, i will never use that antivirus again.
did you try it before you buyed it? was it really so good that you used money on it? i didnt try the one i buyed but that was my fault.
"paid for" doesnt always mean better. i have paid for programs too but will never do it again because it made my computer go crazy after i used an "paid for" antivirus, i will never use that antivirus again.
did you try it before you buyed it? was it really so good that you used money on it?
I never said PAID for meant better, it does not always mean better but the fact that Spybot broke a program I paid for has now pissed me off. Yes I tried it before I bought it and it is a decent piece of software that has never BROKE any other piece of software on my pc.
Ok am I talking to a brick wall? Am I completely crazy or does anyone else here see that spybot is doing something wrong?
Spyhunter could be a badly coded lazy piece of software, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT MALWARE!!!
Enigma software may have aggressive marketing and their CEO may be a complete fruitcake, THAT DOESN'T MAKE THERE WEBSITE MALICIOUS!!!
Can anyone can give me a REAL example of why Spyhunter should be classified as malware and WHY the Enigma Software site should be blocked?
Why is Spybot making judgment calls about it's competition on my pc?
Doesn't anyone else see this as a very BAD case of a conflict of interest? What if spybot released an AV scanner and then detected Nortan as a virus itself?
so can anyone answer this?
If Spyhunter is not malware why does Spybot detect it as malware?
If Enigma Software is not a threat to my pc why does spybot block it?
it seems that the enigmas pcthreat sites are removed from hphosts hostsfile and that enigma are cleaning up. it was me that reported the pcthreat sites to hphosts but i dont like that they are removed as some of their sites is misleading but i dont think spyhunter is malware. you should just wait for someone from the team to respond to you about this.
You guys really need to chill on this type of practice it does not make me think very highly of Spybot if it is making opinionated judgment calls on what it thinks is bad marekting.
I found a post on here from a mod about it as well,
http://forums.spybot.info/showpost.php?p=62702&postcount=11
"Hello,
Yes, and we detect SpyHunter also.
So you have decide which program you like to use.
The free Spybot Search & Destroy or the SpyHunter you need to pay for.
Best regards
Sandra
Team Spybot"
You have got to be kidding me? What kind of freaking attitude is this? Anyone should know that there is not a SINGLE piece of AV/malware software that will catch everything, thus it is wise to layer Malware\AV software to catch as much as possible.
This type of attitude as seen above I would call un professional. If spyhunter is NOT malware spybot should not detect it as such.
I find it ironic Spybot blocks spyhunter because of questionable marketing tactics but yet spybot detects spyhunter as MALWARE where it is not?
How can I trust spybot when it falsely labels software as malware? And how can people that work on spybot recommend using only 1 piece of software to keep there pc safe with a straight face?
not a SINGLE piece of AV/malware software that will catch everything, thus it is wise to layer Malware\AV software....
AV as in antivirus? You are only supposed to have one antivirus, but you can have multiple spyware programs. As for this program Spyhunter being detected as malware, I think that is a fair call. You yourself said they have weird practices, honestly why would you pay for software that is known or was known to be shaky? Also, I would not advise purchasing/installing any software that was once well known and considered rogue anti-malware. If its labeled once, no CEO or anything will change that unless the software was rewrote from the ground up. Which it was not.
I also do not understand why you are complaining here either, as if you do not like spybot's result, and do not consider it dangerous, right click and ignore the threat. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. No one had a gun to your head and said remove it. If that was the case, what would be the point in antispyware programs if you could not choose what to remove? You can choose to ignore or remove it. Its up to you. You are the user, and it's up to you.
I think this topic should be removed or moved to the tavern as this is not a place for discussion/arguing.
AV as in antivirus? You are only supposed to have one antivirus, but you can have multiple spyware programs. As for this program Spyhunter being detected as malware, I think that is a fair call. You yourself said they have weird practices, honestly why would you pay for software that is known or was known to be shaky? Also, I would not advise purchasing/installing any software that was once well known and considered rogue anti-malware. If its labeled once, no CEO or anything will change that unless the software was rewrote from the ground up. Which it was not.
I also do not understand why you are complaining here either, as if you do not like spybot's result, and do not consider it dangerous, right click and ignore the threat. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. No one had a gun to your head and said remove it. If that was the case, what would be the point in antispyware programs if you could not choose what to remove? You can choose to ignore or remove it. Its up to you. You are the user, and it's up to you.
I think this topic should be removed or moved to the tavern as this is not a place for discussion/arguing.
I think you fail to understand, Spybot added Enigma's websites to my hosts files as localhost when I immunized, this broke spyhunters ability to update it's software and my ability to access Enigma's website to trouble shoot the problems. When you immunize it does not warn you or give you the option to not immunize specific websites that it has in it's list.
I did and have been unchecking the box that detected spyhunter as malware but when it immunized spyhunter from my computer that was the last straw.
This was a very recent update that added engima's site to the immunize list
I would still like some REAL explanations to how the spyhunter program was ever actually malware and why enigma's websites are dangerous to my computer?.
I don't understand why more people aren't a little ticked at this, spybot is purposely falsely classifying a competitor as malware and then preventing people going to a competitors site. And then people are saying it's ok because that competitor in the past was shady. Aren't these tactics spybot is using a little shady to?
All I hear is over aggressive marketing and that people do not like the CEO's attitude. This still does not make the program malware.
Why is Spybot preventing spyhunter from working and preventing me from going to the Enigma software website? [...]
Fling all the crap you want at enigma for past issues but Spybot is doing something just as bad. [...]
It does not look very good for spybot when they are injecting their OPINION about a competitor on my PC.
Equally, I could say you are behaving the same way you acuse us of. You're still implying "past issues" and repeating your question, totally ignoring the answer about up to date issues.
If you would like the answer so much, why don't you read it?
That's a feature of Spybot-S&D: it tells you why it flags products!
And if you don't like THAT reason, feel free to discuss it.
But starting multiple discussions and not following it sounds more like you either just like to hear your voice or work for Enigma.
All I hear is over aggressive marketing and that people do not like the CEO's attitude. This still does not make the program malware.
1. You HAVE heard more. From me, the "official" side even.
2. So you are saying that software that intentionally misleads the user is just over aggressive marketing and not malicious? I wonder what ground you would then have to attack our detection... hey, if you don't care to read the reason, at least you could see it with the same eyes ;)
Equally, I could say you are behaving the same way you acuse us of. You're still implying "past issues" and repeating your question, totally ignoring the answer about up to date issues.
If you would like the answer so much, why don't you read it?
That's a feature of Spybot-S&D: it tells you why it flags products!
And if you don't like THAT reason, feel free to discuss it.
But starting multiple discussions and not following it sounds more like you either just like to hear your voice or work for Enigma.
1. You HAVE heard more. From me, the "official" side even.
2. So you are saying that software that intentionally misleads the user is just over aggressive marketing and not malicious? I wonder what ground you would then have to attack our detection... hey, if you don't care to read the reason, at least you could see it with the same eyes ;)
Spybot flagged Spyhunter as malware, is Spyhunter malware?
I've done my own research and the latest versions have been tested by a number of reviewers and none of them says that this program functions as malware. Spybot is incorrectly flagging this program as malware.
You guys are crossing the line, you are making personal judgment calls against your competition and not just classifying programs as malware. What is going to prevent your product from in the future classifying every anti malware product out there as malware?
Spyhunter does not act as malware on my pc never has and I have yet to find a review that actually says it is REAL MALWARE it does what it claims to do and is a direct competitor to spybot which makes spybots over zealous classifications of the product suspect at best.
I would consider spybot being over aggressive by blocking functions of it's competition and breaking the update ability of a product I bought and installed myself on my pc.
To me Spybot acted as malware when it added Enigma's websites to my local host file and broke Spyhunters ability to update. And of course you have to through out that you think I work for Enigma, i do not I use more than one program to clean malware from my pc and have been for several years and spybot is the ONLY one that doesn't play nice with other programs.
I've used spybot for 4 years and I am done with it, no more I will not allow a program to make judgment call like this on my pc and my pc is NOT going to be a battle ground for your product to wage war against it's competition.
You guys have stepped over the line, to me this would be like Internet Explorer blocking the use of Firefox because MS deemed that Firefox was a security threat.
But thankfully in this case my answer is clear spybot is now uninstalled from my pc and will not be used again.
I wanted a program that detected and got rid of malware I did not need a program to make moral decisions of what website and products I should use on my pc.
if someone is interested http://forum.hosts-file.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=719&start=40 according to hphosts enigmas spyhunter is not a rogue and the sites doesnt fit the inclusion policy in hphosts. i tried to submit some sites again that has been removed from hphosts but it wasnt accepted but i will look closer on the pcthreat sites and find out more.
here is more about enigma http://mysteryfcm.co.uk/?mode=Articles&date=31-08-2008
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-re-tested-spyhunter-see-references.html
http://hphosts.blogspot.com/2008/08/enigma-software-group-removed-from.html
swanlee: again, you've perfectly shown that you like listening to your own voice and how able to block other peoples arguments you are!
Yes, it is malware! I'll tell you a third, and last time: simply RTFM! Read what Spybot tells you why!
Quoting Spybot:
SpyHunter claims to be an antivirus solution. If it is installed on the computer it detects some spyware even if the computer is a totally clean machine. In order to fix these problems, the user needs to purchase a license.That is malicious behavior!
And blocking the domain helps unexperienced users to avoid this trap. And if you want to question our blocking of their domains, please argue how exactly that behavior is marketing only and not malicious!
http://www.enigmasoftware.com/support/antispyhunter-removal/
http://whois.domaintools.com/antispyhunter.com
Deleted And Available Again Good and bad news, it could return.
wyrmrider
2008-09-15, 02:25
Hi Tashi
I tried that link but it is blocked by my Hosts file and my script blocker
I would think that there must be a very good reason
Lets also not talk about/ rely on the Spywarewarrior list of Rogue Products- It is not being maintained
Did you see where that Spammer got out of Jail in Maryland?
Do you think we should take him off the bad guy list?
Generally when a link is not clickable, for whatever reason and there can be many, one is not being invited to 'try' it. ;)
1. Investigations of Spyhunter Version 3.9.25 of 18-03-2009 show,
that the software does not comply with the ASCs
(http://www.antispywarecoalition.org) definitions for
classification as malware or spyware.
2. Safer-Networking Ltd. will not give subsequent reviews of older
versions of Spyhunter.
3. Questions about data transfered to the web by Spyhunter should be
addressed to Enigma.
4. If you suspect Spyhunter (later than 3.9.25 of 18.03.2009) of
complying with ASCs definitons for classification as malware,
please send your information to detections@spybot.info