56 replies to this topic

[FranM]

This product was highly suggested to me so I dl it and was pleasantly surprised at what it picked up and how my computer performed after the full scan. I have recommended it to people, and provided them with the malwaybytes.org link. But I get the same complaint. The host sites for malware bytes are misleading. People tend to typically press on the "download now" link which is NOT for malwarebytes and end up d/l some second rate trojan infested program that has nothing to do with malwarebytes. It is YOUR link that directs people to these shady host sites. There has to be a better way. I find it disgusting and no longer recommend mbytes to people because of the complaints I receive for recommending it in the first place.

I think its time you take a look at whose links you direct people to from your website.

[ShyWriter]

FranM, on 13 February 2011 - 12:12 PM, said:

This product was highly suggested to me so I dl it and was pleasantly surprised at what it picked up and how my computer performed after the full scan. I have recommended it to people, and provided them with the malwaybytes.org link. But I get the same complaint. The host sites for malware bytes are misleading. People tend to typically press on the "download now" link which is NOT for malwarebytes and end up d/l some second rate trojan infested program that has nothing to do with malwarebytes. It is YOUR link that directs people to these shady host sites. There has to be a better way. I find it disgusting and no longer recommend mbytes to people because of the complaints I receive for recommending it in the first place.

I think its time you take a look at whose links you direct people to from your website.

It would be helpful to post the web link(s) for the site(s) you are directing people to. OFFICIAL Malwarebytes host sites DO NOT act in this manner.

Thank you,
Steve..
Not Employed by, nor affiliated with, Malwarebytes, in any manner except as a satisfied, lifetime license holder to MBAMPro..

The following links are truncated as shown but LEFT clicking on it WILL take you to the site: RIGHT clicking on it will allow you to "copy link" from drop down menu for a UNtruncated link to send to friends, etc, et al..
This Major Geeks link goes directly to download of FREE version: http://majorgeeks.co...fd909666f809b26
This Major Geeks link goes directly to purchase of Pro version: https://store.malwar...9945&scope=cart
Neither of these links has any pop-ups or misdirection or interference with the users desired action - Thank you for your patience.

Edited by ShyWriter, 13 February 2011 - 01:23 PM.

[Conor55]

I'm pretty sure the Majorgeeks one has Registry cleaner pop up on it, I still have traces of it on my computer when I was a newbie and didn't know better.

[LDTate]

cnet might also have one.

[ShyWriter]

LDTate, on 13 February 2011 - 12:58 PM, said:

cnet might also have one.

LD (and @Conor55) - The problem is like Conor said, "Newbies don't know or understand" if sites have those kinds of links. Not-so-newbies don't have that problem..

IMHO, Malwarebytes should only have ONE corporate download site for the free version; and Cleverbridge for the purchase of one and not use mirrors. Partner and Distributor should link (with an affiliate ID for proper credit) DIRECTLY TO Malwarebytes corporate, or Cleverbridge.. ONLY.. NO MIRROR SITES

Then again, what do I know? I'm not a businessman..

Shy

[FranM]

Shy I can see you are an advanced user so dumb yourself down for just a moment. One thing I feel very strongly about is how anti-intuative and misleading it is to navigate these marketing sites for the Novice to Average user. If the internet is to be used as the purchase medium for this fine product. There is a very strong probability some people will be lost on these host sites and click on the wrong product. Typically have navigation bars pre-invoked for browsers not wanted. I know some of these links imbed legitimate products that are not wanted and serve as spam warez at best and are very hard to remove without using HJT. For example go to:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Click on "download free version" and you will get a run of different sites, depending on what's available possibly due to bandwidth and traffic. You could get this:

http://majorgeeks.co...ad.php?det=5756

or CNET which is worse. The Download button for other products are much more prominent that the requested program.

Also where is the little footnote to tell people that flashing security bar at the top of their screen must be pressed to allow permission to download from this 3rd party site? Sites like major geeks and CNET thrive by people pressing wrong links. The more downloads more profit. So one can hardly fault them for trying.

All I am saying is I have no problem navigating these host sites. But I know many do and its just time somebody put their 2 cents in for what its worth.

[RubbeR DuckY]

Thank you for your feedback. Over the next few weeks we'll be working with these websites to optimize the user experience.

[gp85]

FranM, on 13 February 2011 - 01:35 PM, said:

The more downloads more profit. So one can hardly fault them for trying.

What? So it's okay to be deliberately deceptive as long as there's profit involved? Not a chance. I can most certainly fault them and by extension Malwarebytes as well.

I'm a long-time user of the free version and decided today to go with the paid version. I came here to see what sort of issues and bugs were present before pulling the trigger and found this post. The type of sites mentioned here are indeed disgusting and it's inconceivable that a software company whose mission is providing consumers with secure computing and browsing would even think about peddling their wares on such garbage sites. It doesn't matter if it's legal - it's deceptive and just plain scummy.

So I wait to purchase the full version until Malwarebytes pulls out from these sites. Yeah, I know... It'll be a looooooong wait, which is fine by me. Hopefully others will see the principle involved here and follow suit.

Cheers.

[LDTate]

With the number of downloads for MBAM each day you have to have a hosting site with a very large bandwidth.
My guess is that if MBAM was hosted here, this free help site would be very slow.

CNET and Majorgeeks are the two major hosting sites for downloads of free programs such as MBAM. It would be very hard to tell them how to run their sites. I don't beleive they charge MalwareBytes to host MBAM and you're not charged anything to download it.

[gp85]

LDTate, on 02 March 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

With the number of downloads for MBAM each day you have to have a hosting site with a very large bandwidth.
My guess is that if MBAM was hosted here, this free help site would be very slow.

CNET and Majorgeeks are the two major hosting sites for downloads of free programs such as MBAM. It would be very hard to tell them how to run their sites. I don't beleive they charge MalwareBytes to host MBAM and you're not charged anything to download it.

Right, which is why I'll wait until Malwarebytes invests in themselves in a very minor way by purchasing a dedicated server before I'll invest in their paid version.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

gp85, on 02 March 2011 - 04:22 PM, said:

What? So it's okay to be deliberately deceptive as long as there's profit involved? Not a chance. I can most certainly fault them and by extension Malwarebytes as well.

I'm a long-time user of the free version and decided today to go with the paid version. I came here to see what sort of issues and bugs were present before pulling the trigger and found this post. The type of sites mentioned here are indeed disgusting and it's inconceivable that a software company whose mission is providing consumers with secure computing and browsing would even think about peddling their wares on such garbage sites. It doesn't matter if it's legal - it's deceptive and just plain scummy.

So I wait to purchase the full version until Malwarebytes pulls out from these sites. Yeah, I know... It'll be a looooooong wait, which is fine by me. Hopefully others will see the principle involved here and follow suit.

Cheers.

I don't see anything wrong with the mirrors. CNET, Major Geeks etc are all well known sites and safe.

[mountaintree16]

Buttons sometimes Download.com has a huge Cyber Defender ad or something of the like next to the Malwarebytes download (or whatever you happen to be downloading) and sometimes people download that on accident unfortunately I think that is what the OP was trying to say or something along those lines.

Personally I've been using MajorGeeks as my Mbam Download source for over a year now and I am happy with it

[DarkSnakeKobra]

I do admit that. But it's not our fault when a user clicks on the ad accidentally. You have to pay attention to the content and not get carried away. We have no control over them and that's how some keep their site running.

[mountaintree16]

I totally agree that it is not Malwarebyte's fault - it isn't.

I was just pointing that out and also, some people who aren't very savvy in navigating some types of websites, which is a good number of people, are much more likely to click on the DOWNLOAD NOW button on the <insert random ad name here> instead of what they are trying to download, which unfortunately is the intent of whatever is advertising itself.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

True.

[noknojon]

Buttons, on 02 March 2011 - 07:11 PM, said:

I don't see anything wrong with the mirrors. CNET, Major Geeks etc are all well known sites and safe.

Compare these 2 shots - Which one seems to be More deceptive - I know the one I would trust ! ! ! !
EDIT - You may note that Both sites have the Pro version on special ---

[tedivm]

There seems to be a some confusion in this thread, so I want to be very clear about something- if you purchase our program you will be taken to a dedicated download site. When you run updates of any sort- whether it's on a free or pro version- you're also running it against our update infrastructure. If you're okay with using our free version but don't want to use our paid one because of our use of mirrors then please rest assured that we do not use those mirrors for the pro version.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that we are not the only company that does this- in fact, many antivirus companies also direct downloads for their free product to CNET and other mirrors. Many also redirect their users there for updates as well, which is something we do not do.

[gp85]

tedivm, on 02 March 2011 - 10:57 PM, said:

There seems to be a some confusion in this thread...

I thought the following was already explained... The ads in question are strategically placed for the unsuspecting visitor to inadvertently click on the advertisement rather than what the visitor had intended. We all know what they are, we all know what the purpose is, and we all know their strategic placement is intended as a trick.

The websites hosting these ads profit because it's another revenue-generating click. The vendors profit because it's a numbers game for them, a certain percentage of those inadvertent visits will result in a sale. And the unsuspecting visitor has just been duped.

It all has that shell game/slight-of-hand flavor to it. Apparently some of you are perfectly okay with this game because you're savvy enough to know the difference -- more likely, you fell for the trick at one time and are more careful now.

But here's the not so puzzling puzzle. Why would a software company whose business it is to help its customers guard against such kinds of trickery, locate their free version on websites that participate in similar trickery? You think you're downloading a particular program but in fact you're not. Sound familiar?

So tedivm, there is no confusion here. It's an ethical question that you and your colleagues have surprisingly missed. The fact that you provide paid users with a different set of conditions for downloading Malwarebytes than you do for users of the free version does not help your case. What's good for the goose ought to be good for the gander.

"But hey, we're no different than anyone else..." Perhaps that should be the tag line that separates the Malwarebytes download button from the others.

[Wide Glide]

Quote

The fact that you provide paid users with a different set of conditions for downloading Malwarebytes than you do for users of the free version does not help your case

Sorry, but again not true. Everyone must install the Free Version of Malwarebytes' first. The only thing to getting the Pro Version is a ID and Key to register the program.

Why not give it a few weeks and see what happens. RubbeR DuckY did say:

Quote

Thank you for your feedback. Over the next few weeks we'll be working with these websites to optimize the user experience.

HERE

[gp85]

Wide Glide, on 03 March 2011 - 09:40 AM, said:

Sorry, but again not true. Everyone must install the Free Version of Malwarebytes' first. The only thing to getting the Pro Version is a ID and Key to register the program.

Why not give it a few weeks and see what happens. RubbeR DuckY did say:

HERE

A few posts above:

tedivm, on 02 March 2011 - 10:57 PM, said:

...so I want to be very clear about something- if you purchase our program you will be taken to a dedicated download site. When you run updates of any sort- whether it's on a free or pro version- you're also running it against our update infrastructure. If you're okay with using our free version but don't want to use our paid one because of our use of mirrors then please rest assured that we do not use those mirrors for the pro version.