Microsoft MVP Award given to Adware Pusher?
You can bet your bacon rolls on it. It is very much true! And thanks to PaperGhost (a blogger here) for the heads up!
What is the Microsoft MVP Award I hear you ask? Well check the Overview out! We ourselfs have a few registerd members in our forum with this award. But non of them push adware.
Unlike new MVP, Patchou AKA Cyril Paciullo (look towards the bottom), creator of Messenger Plus. Which contains an add on you can use for MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger and the like. A sponsor feature it’s called! And that comes bundled with LOP. A very big annoyance with computer users. And mostly helpers!
Ok so there is an option to not install the bundled software. However it is still included! And in my eyes still classifieds as adware! He also blogged about him getting awarded.
Although I am not a MS MVP. This site certainly is an ASAP member and would never come bundled with adware in any shape or form. Or even pop-ups.
Whatever way you look at. The award has gone to someone who has a software bundled with adware! And Microsoft have messed up!
Even VirusTotal, used by Microsoft, detects the program in question as threat-c. Have a gander here.
Even though the MVP section is different. Many window security MVP’s have expressed their worry about this. And I don’t blame them.
/Rant over – before I go. You can always rant & rave about it in our forum.
More Coverage:- SunBeltblog – Digg.com – And there are many more who have covered this. However if you have a digg account. Help spread the word and digg it with the link above.
I was interested in Messenger Plus! when it first came out. I had used this program for a long time, upgrading each time MSN upgraded. ‘Patchou’ was/is a friendly guy, I certainly didn’t see anything ‘sinister’ in his using bundled Adware with his program, all he told us was he needed to support his skills buy getting a little revenue in.
Maybe there are better ways of doing this, maybe he should sell Messenger Plus! rather than bundle Adware. The warnings on the installation are fairly clear, they even remind you to uncheck the box in the Messenger Plus! forums and on other Messenger related sites, if you are going to install his software.
I can see why he has been named as a MS MVP, he is certainly clever in what he does. Maybe if people could persuade him to gather his revenue in another, less harmful, way, he would be truly deserving of the title, MVP.
Maybe it’s because I have always been aware of what he packages with Messenger Plus! and was always telling people to uncheck the box, that I think he does deserve this accolade in some ways. Of course, I cannot condone the installtion of any sort of Adware/Spyware, but at least he lets you opt out of ‘supporting’ him, it’s not installed without warning or in some mysterious or nasty way, without you knowing!
Ok that’s my two pennies worth on the subject, lol
Thank you
I didnt even know what MVP status was all about until you know who told me about it ,I think its very bad then given all the MS forums to do with Unwanted software they should give it to a man with links to one of the Groups they are talking about …. well thats my 2 pence :0)
I am suprised they never consulted security MVP’s. Knowing what the software is about.
Again MS shoots its self in the Foot over one of its Services ,Lets wait and see what happens when the Auto Update for Xp Home is Withdrawn…
LOL. I really dread to think when that happens