Software Wank?
Hi everyone, I'm new here. I'm not sure if this technically counts as a wank since the people complaining aren't actually being unreasonable, but it all seemed pretty wanky to me. Please tell me if this isn't the place to post this.

I was searching for an IP tracker to download when I found a supposedly free program called Primedius Total Privacy & Security. It promises to deliver "fast, clean anonymous surfing; blocks pop-ups, URL referrers, and ads. Hides your Internet address. Features anti-spam/virus private e-mail, secure storage, cookie manager, panic button to close all Internet Explorer instances, settings to delete Internet temp and hidden DAT files, cookies, and all address bar entries. Clears URL history, recent document, start/run lists, and Microsoft Media Player files. Totally free Anonymous Surfing and firewall/anti-spyware intrusion detection." I took one look at this and figured it was far too good to be true. Otherwise, wouldn't people be raving about it all over the net? But it did have a user opinion poll of 68% positive...

So I clicked on the user opinions. The first thing that caught my eye was that the positive user opinions all sounded like something off the back of a box. Things like, "Great combo of features and performance," and ""WebTunnel is a gem." Another interesting thing was that a number of people (all with very un-internet type names like "Jeff," and "Jake," and "KL") all said "Highly recommend." Not "highly recommended, but recommend. Over 10 different people all made the same grammar error in their review? I smell a fish.

Next, I clicked over to the negative user opinions, and people- real people, this time- were none too happy. Not only were they annoyed at the obviously false positive votes, all of which were cast by one person (one of the software designers, most likely) just minutes after one another, but they were pissed about the software, too. The software apparently has a tendency to crash people's computers, and it isn't freeware as it advertises, but adware. Quite a few people were upset to see ad banners on their new program. On top of that, it slowed down their computers, and "promises things will speed up once [they buy] a year subscription." Unfortunately, anyone who was foolish enough to fall for that quickly lost their money and nothing got any faster. Calls to support services got no response, save for one person who had the following experience:

"After a few days I asked for my money back. I emailed, called, etc. No reply for days. Then finally I get someone on the phone. They called me names, told me I didn't know what I was doing, then hung up on me. Wow...I'm still in shock from such treatment."

I wouldn't be too shocked, but then, I wouldn't be foolish enough to spend $30-$100 on wonky adware that slows down my computer, either. I'm just waiting for this to get ugly and end in a lawsuit.