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poltr1In the past couple of weeks, I've seen a TV ad for a website called finallyfast.com. It advertises a free computer scanning service which is supposed to enhance one's PC's performance.
Naturally, I'm somewhat skeptical of the claims, remembering that There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL). I'm also leery of any online service or program going through my PC and reporting its findings back to whoever is at the other end. But I thought I'd check them out. Here's what I found so far from visiting their website.
finallyfast.com is brought to us by the folks at Ascentive Software, the developers of WinRocket. They offer 4 different scanning services -- ActiveSpeed, ScanAndSweep, SpeedScan, and SpywareStriker. To my relief, the programs are downloadable and run (preferably offline). I downloaded each of the 4 programs on the laptop because it's much quicker to do so from the laptop and a wireless connection than from the desktop with its dialup connection.
Then I Googled on "FinallyFast", and found a number of sites that have reported problems with these programs. In a nutshell, from what they reported, the programs do the scanning, but in order to actually correct the problems, the user has to pay to purchase the software. This little fact isn't advertised at all. Bait And Switch. Even more troubling is a report that visiting the site could result in adware being deposited on one's computer. Grr Argh! McAfee gave them a red X for "avoid", based on the site's affiliation with ascentive.com.
Another tidbit of information that was mentioned was that in the TV ad for finallyfast.com, the actors are using Apple computers, not PCs.
The bait-and-switch is my main gripe about CNet's VersionTracker Pro service. It will identify outdated drivers, but in order to upgrade them automatically, I'd have to cough up $29.95 to do so. If I was a typical end user, who knew next to nothing about computers, I'd probably purchase it. But this is something I should be able to do for free. It would certainly be nice to not have my desktop halt, crash, and reboot without the dignity of a BSOD.
I made an exception for Runtime Software's GetDataBack, mostly because they stated the conditions upfront. I can scan for free, but in order to restore the files, I'd have to purchase the software. Which I did. And I'm glad, because the software saved my bacon a couple of times.
Would I copy the finallyfast files to the desktop and run them there? Maybe, but that's for another LJ post. The desktop has a copy of Norton SystemWorks 2004 and Internet Security 2004, which I'm still using even though the virus definitions are obsolete. But I know I'd run an AVG scan and an Ad-Aware scan after trying the finallyfast programs, just to be sure.
Naturally, I'm somewhat skeptical of the claims, remembering that There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL). I'm also leery of any online service or program going through my PC and reporting its findings back to whoever is at the other end. But I thought I'd check them out. Here's what I found so far from visiting their website.
finallyfast.com is brought to us by the folks at Ascentive Software, the developers of WinRocket. They offer 4 different scanning services -- ActiveSpeed, ScanAndSweep, SpeedScan, and SpywareStriker. To my relief, the programs are downloadable and run (preferably offline). I downloaded each of the 4 programs on the laptop because it's much quicker to do so from the laptop and a wireless connection than from the desktop with its dialup connection.
Then I Googled on "FinallyFast", and found a number of sites that have reported problems with these programs. In a nutshell, from what they reported, the programs do the scanning, but in order to actually correct the problems, the user has to pay to purchase the software. This little fact isn't advertised at all. Bait And Switch. Even more troubling is a report that visiting the site could result in adware being deposited on one's computer. Grr Argh! McAfee gave them a red X for "avoid", based on the site's affiliation with ascentive.com.
Another tidbit of information that was mentioned was that in the TV ad for finallyfast.com, the actors are using Apple computers, not PCs.
The bait-and-switch is my main gripe about CNet's VersionTracker Pro service. It will identify outdated drivers, but in order to upgrade them automatically, I'd have to cough up $29.95 to do so. If I was a typical end user, who knew next to nothing about computers, I'd probably purchase it. But this is something I should be able to do for free. It would certainly be nice to not have my desktop halt, crash, and reboot without the dignity of a BSOD.
I made an exception for Runtime Software's GetDataBack, mostly because they stated the conditions upfront. I can scan for free, but in order to restore the files, I'd have to purchase the software. Which I did. And I'm glad, because the software saved my bacon a couple of times.
Would I copy the finallyfast files to the desktop and run them there? Maybe, but that's for another LJ post. The desktop has a copy of Norton SystemWorks 2004 and Internet Security 2004, which I'm still using even though the virus definitions are obsolete. But I know I'd run an AVG scan and an Ad-Aware scan after trying the finallyfast programs, just to be sure.
