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FinallyFast.com

When it came to titling this article I was stuck between, what’s up on top of this article and this, “Finally Fast.com – Computing for Dummies with Money!” Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of computing would have to laugh outright watching the commercial for Finally Fast.com and the Windows PC services they offer. (Click pic for larger) While it was not the first clue that something was wrong with this commercial, I had to LMAO when I saw the MacBook, in the commercial, showing a “blue screen of death”. An outrageous faux pas in my view – after all this is supposedly a Windows based PC service. It’s not the first commercial I’ve seen selling Windows based Pc services, (they seem to be popping up all over), but I must admit; it’s the first one I’ve seen where the actors are using iMacs and iBooks in place of a proper Windows based PC. I suppose I would have just passed on this commercial and not bothered writing an article on Finally Fast.com, except for the fact that the commercial made a major point of referring to coverage of the company, and products, in Newsweek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal. Based on this, I decided to check out their website. The first thing that occurred on arriving on the Finally Fast.com site was my Internet Browser protector WOT (Web of Trust), warning curtain was activated warning me that this was a dangerous site. Incidentally, if you’re not yet protected by WOT check out “Safer Surfing with WOT – Find out How!”, on this Blog. The second thing, I did, was to query the Newsweek, Forbes and Wall Street Journal websites, for any references to Finally Fast, or its parent company, Ascentive Software. Not surprisingly, I found no references to either despite the claim. It also struck me that no links are provided from the company’s site to this supposed coverage. You would think that coverage by such esteemed publications like Newsweek, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal would prompt a linkback. Finally, I ran a check on each software application touted by the company, and found that in most cases, the software was either rated as malware, no independent reviews existed, or the software had been roundly criticized by users. My conclusion: While I won’t go so far as to call this company and its software applications useless, or suggest that the company is run by scam artists at best, or thieves at the worst, I will say this – don’t waste your time, or your money. The following is a rundown of the products offered by this company. In addition you’ll find listed, free, well tested, and well known, alternative software application that will do the job with vastly improved functionality. (You can click on any pic to get a larger view) Their Product: ActiveSpeed (thumbs down by CNET user reviewers) Free Alternative: Ashampoo Internet Accelerator 2 – Ashampoo Internet Accelerator is a great little application that makes it easy to perform this simply task. Ashampoo Internet Accelerator 2 is an excellent free Internet connection optimizer. Their Product: SpeedScan Pro (described as malware/deceptive) Free Alternative: Regseeker – The longer you use Windows, the more cluttered your registry can become, especially if you regularly install and uninstall software. Many applications, on being uninstalled, leave behind “orphan” registry entries. They don’t remove all traces of themselves; causing problems such as sluggish performance, system lockups, or a bloated registry that takes longer to load on startup. With the click of a button, Regseeker will scan your registry for these fragmented files, and safely remove them. Their Product: PC Scan&Sweep (no independent reviews) Free Alternative: CCleaner – CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast; normally taking less than a second to run. Their Product: Spyware Striker Pro (described as malware)   Free Alternative: Spyware Terminator – Having tested virtually all of the major anti-spyware applications over the past year or more, I’ve settled, for now, on Spyware Terminator primarily due to its strong real-time protection against spyware, adware, Trojans, key-loggers, home page hijackers and other malware threats. Spyware Terminator excels in strong active protection against know and unknown threats. For additional information on SpeedScan Pro, including actual test results, read  TechPaul’s article FinallyFast Exposed (aka FastAtLast).

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Scammers Invade Twitter

Posted by admin | Posted in Scammers | Posted on 09-07-2009

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Yep, it had to happen. Twitter is fast becoming a hotbed for scammers and online villains.

The super-hot online communication tool that limits its users to short messages is the new home for people offering phony employment offers. If you see a message saying that you can earn hundreds of dollars a day just by tweeting from your computer, it’s probably best to ignore it.

The Better Business Bureau says it’s seeing an increase in the number of companies turning Twitter “into a virtual ATM with little effort and no risk,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

Here’s how it works: A scammer will advertise that people can build a large following on Twitter with paying customers, the Times reports. All you have to do is try out an instructional “Twitter home business kit” for a week.

The scammers will request your credit card information for the shipping costs for the kit. But the trial week starts immediately — before the kit is even shipped — and customers are charged $47 a month if they don’t cancel in that seven-day trial period.

The scammers are taking advantage of a down job market and people desperate for work. And vulnerable people can easily be duped — even in 140 characters or less.

Reported by MSN.

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