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CyberDefender: Outperforms Costly Security Software?

CyberDefender offers a free software suite to combat spyware, viruses, and spam. In a recent press release, they say that according to a recent test, “CyberDefenderFREE Outperforms Costly Security Software Products at Removing and Blocking Spyware” and that “it has received high marks for removing and blocking spyware in a new review released this month from PC Magazine.”

It goes on to say “In the study, CyberDefenderFREE(TM) 2.0 scored higher at removing spyware than companies such as McAfee, Grisoft (AVG), and Trend-Micro PC-cillin and scored the same as Windows Live OneCare.”  It also provided this comparison chart:

Cyberdefender chart

The casual reader may come away with the impression that CyberDefender was the top scoring software product in the category. Only when clicking the provided link to the full PC Magazine test results are the actual rankings revealed:

*MOUSE PRINT:

PC Mag spy2 cyberdefender

Translation: 10 other products scored higher than CyberDefender for spyware removal, and 16 products were superior at spyware blocking.

While CyberDefender never said their program was the “best,” and most of what they did say was literally true (except the part about them receiving “high marks”), the clever spin they used in their press release can easily create an impression of superiority which is not borne out by all the facts.

Subsequent to the publication of the above commentary, CyberDefender’s SVP of Corporate Communications contacted Mouse Print*. Below is a portion of a longer email:

This press release and its posting on the newswire was directed to media – not consumers.   We offer this product for Free or without supported advertisements for $11.99. We felt our messaging was understandable to members of the press. That was our audience for a press release. I apologize for any confusion.

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Woot: Got a Problem? It’s Your Fault!

Woot.com was likely the first site to only sell a single item per day at rockbottom prices. Every night at midnight, they discontinue offering that day’s product and introduce a new one.

How do they survive only selling one product per day?  For one, they can sell a lot of them. On a recent day, they sold 2500 Logitech mice. Even Amazon does not sell that many a day. Another way they save money is through customer service (or lack there of). The following is not an April Fool’s joke:

*MOUSE PRINT:

woot

At least they have a sense of humor about their (almost) all sales final policy.Whether customers find it funny may be a different story.

Woot will try to make good on defective goods if all else fails.

[For many stories about Woot from happy customers, please read the comments section below.] 

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Quicken Loans: Cut Your Mortgage Payment by 50%*

quicken loansHave you seen the commercials on TV for mortgage loans where you can get a $150,000 loan for only $450 a month (rather than the usual $1000)? [Watch commercial]

The ad is for Quicken Loans’ “Secure Advantage” loan. Among the other claims being made are, “Choose a low payment month after month,” and “Cut your payment by over 50%.”

Who wouldn’t want to pay $450 a month for a loan that others charge $1000 a month for?  That is some bargain, right? And the offer is coming from the namesake of the popular and respected financial software product, Quicken. How can you go wrong?

*MOUSE PRINT:  

Like the credit card companies, Quicken Loans is quoting only the minimum payment you can make on this loan each month. What is the downside of making only the minimum payment?

“When you choose to pay the minimum payment, you’re paying less than the full interest that is due for that month. By deferring your interest, the unpaid interest is added each month to your outstanding principal loan balance.

If you defer payment of interest, your outstanding loan amount could exceed the value of your home. This may affect your ability to refinance your loan or sell your home since you will owe more than what your home is worth. A higher loan amount may also result in larger payments down the road.”  [Quicken Loans website]

In dollars and cents, the website’s example says that a $150,000 loan would only cost $438 a month because it uses an artificially low 3.5% interest rate during the first five years of the adjustable rate loan. If you only paid the minimum, by month 53 of the loan, your payment would jump to $934, then to $1078 after five years, and finally to $1389 after 10 years when you finally start to pay off some of the principal (the amount of which at this point is not stated, but higher than the original $150,000).

Negative amortization loans (where the loan principal increases rather than decreases) is a dangerous type of loan to enter into for the financially unsophisticated. It is shortsighted financial thinking to make financial decisions  based only on affordable monthly payments, whether it be for a mortgage, car purchase, or credit card payment.

For more information about adjustable rate mortgages, here is a consumer handbook from the Federal Reserve Bank. [.pdf format]