What to do….what to do? You’ve gone ahead and completed a clean install of Windows Vista Ultimate; then installed PC Doc Pro to scan your new installation only to have it advise you that you have 572 problems! Worse, 31 of these problems, according to PC Doc Pro, are severe.
So was this result fantasy, or reality? Oh, it’s reality alright. It’s the reality of a rogue application that generates false positives.
Regular readers of this Blog are aware that I have focused recently on rogue security software. Rogue computer applications unfortunately come in all flavors; not just in the security field.
Simply put, rogue applications have been developed to mislead uninformed computer users’ into downloading and paying for the “full” version of bogus software, based on the false positives generated by the application.
Without question, PC Doc Pro is a rogue application extraordinaire. The product fixes 50 problems (false positives that it generates), for free, but to “fix” the rest of these false positives, you need to buy a 30-day license that costs $29.95.
Deborah Salmi, Marketing Executive at Web of Trust, a socially conscious company that takes its protective responsibilities to the greater Internet community very seriously, recently advised me that the company had encountered this exact situation, as described above, while testing the effectiveness of PC Doc Pro.
Curious, I did my own testing and investigation of this application, and essentially duplicated the results obtained by WOT. While I found the results disturbing, (I obviously don’t like to be lied to or have my money stolen), equally as disturbing was the realization that this crap program is available for download on Download.com, a site that I have never hesitated to recommend as a safe and ethical download site.
The developers and distributors of this bogus software are, using any definition, cyber-crooks. So the question is; how do these bas**rds get away with it?
One of the regular commentators on this Blog summed it up eloquently when he said, “The Internet has equalized the playing field internationally for the bad guys, but it has not equalized the playing field for law enforcement”. It would be difficult to disagree with this observation.
WOT as part of their corporate commitment to assist Internet users in safely surfing the jungle the Internet has now become, has just begun to develop a series of videos depicting what can happen to your computer if you visit a risky website, such as PcDocPro.com or download and install rogue software.
It’s important for your system security and frankly, your wallet, that you be aware of the dangers that applications like PC Doc Pro present, so be sure to check out the first of WOT’s videos at http://www.mywot.com/en/online-threats/fraudulentsite.
For a complete review of WOT’s Internet browser add-on, take a look at “Safer Surfing With WOT – Find Out How!” on this site.
hi-i made the mistake of allowing pcdocpro.to scan my computer,and now when i startup,i get a host of error messages.these must have been planted by pcdocpro,and now i don’t know how to get rid of them?could you advise a genuine program that will help me fix these errors and maybe provide ongoing main tenance.your help would be apreciated.
It just goes to show you unless you really know the application, don’t use it. Scanning a new install isn’t really necessary is it? I have heard of people running Spin Right on their new hard drives prior to installation to check their viability. I use something called vlite to customize my Vista installs and cut down on the size.
good Thank you
Your job is commendable.I think this is the right time to form a Universal Autonomus body to get validation or some sort of certification (like ISO) to all softwares before it hits the market , Which is the need of the hour for internet users. Only then,these sort of rouge softwares can be eliminated.
i got this PCDOC software on my PC and its good. It fixed by BSOD error.. thanks bill
i had this program briefly, and although most said that it found and fixed like 600 problems for them….when i used it the first time it said it found like 8000.
now my luck with computers is terrible so i would believe that that many errors is possible. yet i think this is the last negative review i can read, even if my computer hasn’t had any adverse reactions from using this program. i am currently uninstalling this program.
i just wish that some one would say that one of these types of programs was trustworthy since not everyone knows how to edit their registry and such by hand.
i also have advanced system care3 prof, so i will just stick with that. unless i hear something like regcure, or registry mechanic is good…etc.
i was one of the ones that bought pcdocpro. i was brand new to computers and had never used one before. so i did not know any better. well needless to say the p.c. i used it on is no longer in service. since buying pc doc pro for 79.95 it messed up my p. c. to the point of beyond repair. so people beware, do not use this at all.
the other program i had problems with was webroot spysweeper. sometimes it worked and sometimes i did not. i do not know if this is a safe ione or not, but i sure would like to know.
How the f*&^%() Hell do I get rid of it off my Computor tried deleting keeps telling me I don’t have access or my disc is full. Can’t down load a good Security system coz it won’t let me even if I turn my MSoft Fire wall off. Keeps popping up even if I close it. Somebody HELP!!!!
Thanks
I bought this program and regretted it. When I got my license, it found over 2000 errors. I assumed that it would actually fix a registry error I had (the reason I bought it). It did NOT fix it. I spent THREE hours with tech support, and he finally figured a way to help me fix my problem. What I did not suspect would be all the problems I would have accessing my programs on my computer. Nearly every program I started had an error message except the browsers. When I could not access my Ipod folder or burn DVDs, I decided to roll back the install. I had reinstalled a number of programs (maybe five) and the Itunes corruption was the final straw. I simply rolled back the “registry fix” and had my old computer back. This is the worst program I have ever purchased since the days of the old MS Dos software. DO NOT buy or waste your time downloading the “free” program. It is a waste of money and time.
Hi Don,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Bill