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Anti-Malware Maker Files Lawsuit Over Bad Review (csoonline.com)
itwbennett writes: In a lawsuit filed January 8, 2016, Enigma Software, maker of anti-malware software SpyHunter, accuses self-help portal Bleeping Computer of making 'false, disparaging, and defamatory statements.' At issue: a bad review posted by a user in September, 2014. The lawsuit also accuses Bleeping Computer of profiting from driving traffic to competitor Malwarebytes via affiliate links: 'Bleeping has a direct financial interest in driving traffic and sales to Malwarebytes and driving traffic and sales away from ESG.' Perhaps not helping matters, one of the first donations to a fund set up by Bleeping Computer to help with legal costs came from Malwarebytes.
I get the feeling Enigma are gonna regret this - looking at the article they're suspected of several "sharp" practices already. Publicity is unlikely to be their friend.
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
I did a quick search and found this entry on the Bleeping Computer forum.
If everything in that post is true, I fully understand why SpyHunter gets a bad review.
I do not represent Bleeping, but I have used their forums and site many times. They are a reputable source for tools and procedures that actually work, as opposed to many supposed software solutions and 'help' sites that just serve to infect you further with their tripe.
So, as far as I am concerned you can fuck right off with your shitty product and attitude. You have now insured that no matter how good your product -may- become (and I doubt it really will), I will never recommend it to any clients and will actively promote against it. Good job. Now sue me.
Silence is a state of mime.
We Europeans are fine with this. There are thoughts that society is frankly better off without. Orthodoxy and conformity is safety.
You don't see this attitude as at all sinister in its implications? It's positively Orwellian.
I downloaded Any Video Converter and wound up with a copy of SpyHunter. A program I did not want. Downloaded on my computer without my consent. What does SpyHunter (supposedly) do? It supposedly stops people from downloading unwanted applications onto your computer. They suck.
I live in Europe and I'm aware that there such things as "right opinions" and "wrong opinions". Expressing the latter may have life-altering consequences and some of those are actually illegal. We Europeans are fine with this. There are thoughts that society is frankly better off without. Orthodoxy and conformity is safety.
I really hope you're being sarcastic, but I can't be certain and therefore I am replying. There are certain types of speech that are banned because they are truly harmful. Violent threats, making false claims to incite panic, libel, and slander are illegal either through criminal or civil law. There are good reasons for such speech to not be legally protected.
However, the only speech that needs to be protected is that which someone finds offensive. Speech that isn't offensive doesn't need protection because nobody will want to ban it. Calling into question societal norms, government actions, the activity of the wealthy and powerful, and the beliefs and practices of religions are all offensive to some people. While plenty of that speech is baseless or foolish, it deserves to be protected. The ability to restrict speech that someone finds offensive inevitably gets abused. Orthodoxy and conformity are the tools of dictatorships, not free societies.
With respect to the article at hand, Enigma finds statements by Bleeping Computer offensive. In the US, in order for the speech to be libelous, it must include false information. Simply offering an opinion that Enigma's software sucks is not libelous. Providing truthful evidence to support that opinion isn't libelous, either. It's only libelous if false statements are made. And damages can only be awarded if libel occurred and the plaintiff actually suffered demonstrable harm as a result. Opinions are not illegal, even when someone finds them offensive. It's also notoriously difficult to be awarded damages by courts for slander and libel. I think it's very unlikely that Enigma is successful in their lawsuit. It's far more likely that they go the way of SCO, cease to exist, and very quickly so.
I hate all anonymous shitbags. Log in, you filthy bastards.
I haven't had Spy Hunter on a computer since my Commodore 64 days.
Thanks to your anti-free speech actions, I will NEVER use your software and will recommend others avoid your products and services as well.
Read the complaint. It's not about a "bad review by a user," but a repeated near-accusation that the product in question is suspect itself (not by using it and reviewing it, but by repeating things found elsewhere on the internet), by a BC moderator. Further, the moderator recommends people remove it and install another product instead, one that BC gets affiliate payments from.
Not saying its actionable, but the summary is quite misleading. It's worse than a bad review, and it'swritten by someone appointed to a position of authority by BC.
So in other words you can't have any freedom to express your opinion. That is exactly the opposite of freedom of expression.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Didn't Windows Defender kill off the "anti-malware" market? Does anyone really still run things like "Symantec" or "McAfee"?
It's amazing how many people either don't or refuse to see the slippery slope this leads to....
Spyhunter is terrible. Malwarebytes is the only Anti-malware program I use or recommend.
Have you ever fallen asleep at the keybhanusdiog?
Speak for yourself. I am an European and I am not fine with my speech liberties being curtailed in the name of mercantilism or "racism". You are an idiot.
I wonder if they were snubbed for ad space? They seem to be hung up on the fact that Bleeping Computer is Ad supported, and less so on the bad user review.
That is why this isn't a slander or libelous suit per se. They seem to be using the fair advertising and unfair competition laws. You can tell from the wording 'false, disparaging, and defamatory statements' and the accusation that bleeping computers is involved in marketing a competing product.
In this there is a little more room to criticize truthful or truthful like statements. Papa John's was sued over their slogan fresher or better ingredients back in the late 90s because they showed a pizza hut pizza next to theirs. They lost even though better is an opinion. The case was eventually overturned based on pizza hut not showing damages not because of the opinions.
Its sad that you can't have a opinion any more if it hurts someone's feelings. I see nothing wrong with Bleeping computer endorsing one anti virus over another.
I agree that dealing with any event that could hurt other's feeling situation seems to be out of hand. However, I don't see the cause of this situation as feeling hurt by others. I am seeing that the company is abusing the laws, and this kind of law suite is very popular right now.
The reason this type of company suing small companies or individuals is a win-win situation for the company in a sense of short-sight solution. A law suit is not cheap, so small companies or individuals would likely to take the review down, or they would have to spend money on a legal that gives them nothing but pride.
I hope the defendant win this case. Also, I hope that any judge seeing this type of law suite would immediately throw the case away real quick.
I think in the Papa John's case, they argued that "better" is an objective claim as opposed to "best" which is subjective. At least when you're giving an example of what they are better than (Pizza Hut).
I decided to look it up. The ruling was overturned in an appeal. And that's why Papa Johns continues to use the slogan.
Yeah, it was overturned but only because pizza hut couldn't show that the claim cost them business.
Either way, it showcases how commercial speech can be treated differently when your competing with one another.
People are entitled to have an opinion and share that opinion even if a party suffers loss due to that opinion. For example, I do not like Smith and Wesson pistols. They do not feel right in my hand and they almost feel like junk to me. I prefer Taurus or Colt pistols. If I just happen to own stock in Colt does that make me liable? Heck, I also dislike the republican party. Crimes by the republican party define it as an ongoing criminal enterprise in my opinion. So can they sue me?
Oh. I guess you threaten to do that, but never follow through: http://www.thorschrock.com/200...
Omnichad you'd say every ac = me & it's a good reply on correlation!
No, you literally linked to it and said it was you.
Meaning that if Bleeping Computer wins the lawsuit, the Streisand Effect means Enigma loses a lot more business than if they had just ignored the review. I, for one, have never heard of Bleeping Computer and would never have read the review in the first place. Of course, I've never heard of Enigma and would never have bought their software in the first place; most antimalware software seems like a scam to me anyway. Microsoft provides Windows Defender for free; why would I want to PAY for anitvirus?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The Streisand Effect means suing over bad reviews just brings more attention to the bad reviews... better to keep your mouth shut!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Are you posting from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by any chance?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
No, I'm not going to call your software malware. The only thing acting like malware is the way you treat Slashdot commenters.
The funny thing about the CA story is that you escalated it for no reason when they were willing to work with you on amicable terms. And in fact, they didn't lower the rating after you threatened to sue, they lowered the rating because you did what they would have asked you nicely to do in the first place:
lowered my ware to ZERO THREAT LEVELS/no threat after I passed all 21 of the removal questions they do after a false accusation & false positive
False positives are not malicious. You can't be surprised that a program that modifies the HOSTS file would be flagged.
You haven't denied it was you, either. Because it is. The reason you post as AC is that you've been banned from every forum you've ever signed up for for being a troll:
https://forums.techguy.org/thr...
http://arstechnica.com/civis/v...
I'm honestly don't feel like finding more right now, but you know they're out there.
I really have no problem with software that helps automate hosts file generation. What I and everyone in the world has a problem with is a person spamming forums with off-topic posts and attacking people who disagree with your methods.
This is the face of a troll:
https://web.archive.org/web/20...
Please. It's you, APK. Do you want me to run your posts through linguistic analysis software? Because I won't. I don't care that much.
IF they did not, he told me I had a 250k lawsuit SURE WIN!
Lawyer's love to tell you that. It makes them money.
my ware is CLEAN & YOU NOW ADMIT IT loser!)
When did I say it was dirty? You keep trying to make this about your HOSTS file engine but I wasn't talking about it.
Nir is a nice guy who doesn't spam and doesn't troll. I even use his tools.
illogical ad hominem attacks on ME, but not disproving my points on hosts superiority on nearly every grounds conceivable! apk
That's because there's nothing wrong with your software. There's something wrong with you as a person. It's not ad hominem if you're the actual subject. It doesn't have to be that way. Just stop trolling.
You didn't answer anything with this post. But you are getting a lot more unstable. It typically takes you 3-5 more rants to get to this point, but this is the point where your babble becomes completely incomprehensible for the duration of the conversation.
I don't post as AC unless I've already used mod points on a thread, but if you think that I'm the only one who uses the word "untrustworthy" you are no more crazy than I already think you are.
So you say you only argue with facts. Is that why you have no argument against me saying it's you posting as your own faux supporters?
I wonder what your software development customers in Syracuse would think if they saw your Slashdot history.
Funny they saw it like my attorney did & I passed their removal test for their BLATANT FALSE POSITIVE TOO, eh?
Funny, that sounds like you did what they would have asked you to in the first place with no lawyers involved. It has nothing to do with your threats.
You literally followed their false positive removal process as a normal person would and still claim that you won because you paid a lawyer to tell you to do it.
All of your name calling and chest puffing is really unnecessary. You say you argue with facts, and yet you spend most of your post ranting like a lunatic in all caps and bold and not staying on topic at all. Keep your posts to the facts, and they'll be shorter and people will read them. Be nice to people in the process, and people won't call you a troll.
No tune change. You haven't said anything new. What do you think they do with other false positives? Not have them fill out a 21 question questionnaire? Or did they write that just for you? I think Occam's Razor says they already had a 21 question test in place for ALL false positives - even the ones who don't bring in a lawyer.
Why not spend time doing a program LIKE MINE
Why don't you spend more time doing that and less time trolling? There are better marketing plans, I assure you.
APK, the fact still stands that you did so by following the normal false positive removal plan. The one that anyone can do without lawyers. You know, the 21 question test they just happened to have ready for you. Not a coincidence.
Call me or every anon coward posting in apk's defense him but we're telling the truth that you messed up and you'd have to prove we're him.
I don't have to prove you're you. Your alter ego just posts slightly more coherently. Maybe you should have that alter ego do all your posting. At least there's no bold or all caps.
But it sure was funny when you accused an AC of being me. "You'd have to prove" it's me. "You can't." But that's because it really wasn't me. I really haven't posted AC except when I've moderated. I don't have any reason to.
BOGUS DOWNMODS
Are you aware that the downmod was flagged as troll? Are you aware of what a troll is?
In Internet slang, a troll (/trol/, /trl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.
Which part of that definition are you saying was bogus on your downmod. Do you want me to break down the definition point by point with examples?
You brought up to flop on your face
Sounds messy. Still don't know what it is.
You fail on Computer Associates + Thor
You didn't follow through and sue. You didn't even settle out of court. You just followed the standard false positive removal procedure. Because false positives are a valid part of the malware detection process and there's already a reasonable way to handle it.
Listing ONLY “Peter Kowalski” not my full name, easily apparent in the program itself, as Alexander Peter Kowalski. Thus, I’d never find it online) & this would be part of the grunds I am suing on if need be for libelling me online since 2004. This is not an idle threat, it is a certainty. I am rather insulted & furious regarding this incident that has long been hidden from myself via what I feel are nefarious means.
This is libel, no questions asked.
False claims of libel are completely on-topic.
Why not just log in instead of cheating your way around Slashdot's abuse system? Because you're an abuser!
What's a "wrong opinion" here that can get you in trouble with the law? In the US, expressing an opinion may have life-altering consequences depending on what other people think of you. If you're in politics or the entertainment field, for example, your livelihood may depend on what other people think of you, and you may be out of a job if you offend too many people, but there's no legal enforcement.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
BTW, do you still use your hostfile manager when you download kiddie porn? Just askin'.
CA & Thor SCHMUCK (you I suspect omnichad)
Wait...I just now saw this. Now you think my account belongs to the Computer Associates guy? I could understand you thinking an AC or two, but to think that he would pick some random persona just to persecute you...
You know, I didn't realize that bipolar people could have persecutory/paranoid delusions. I thought that was just schizophrenia. I just read up on it: http://psycheducation.org/diag...
It might be worth seeing a psychiatrist about your bipolar disorder. It might make a huge positive difference for you.
With all due respect sir-or-ma'am, in my opinion you've torpedoed your own image, at least on this thread on Slashdot, by your continued postings over and over and over and over and over. I had no idea about any good name, or accusations, or anything until you kept posting hen over and over and over and over and over. In the words of Shakespeare, methinks he doth protest too much.
For which I take immense pride.
You see, I have a job. And a family. And I finished my degree in that time. And other things to occupy my time besides letting my mind rot on video games and Slashdot.
And I have curiosity, and a little free time now, so I thought I'd check out what was going on here. At least I'm willing to continue posting under my account.
TL;DR: I have a life; you don't.
Jealous much?
Here, try this. It may help.http://www.wgu.edu/
TL;DR: You're jealous; try getting off your butt and educating yourself.