DoubleMySpeed.com – Cyberdefender Review

If you prefer just listening to the review, take a few minutes and listen to the DoubleMySpeed audio review by Dale Powell (aka the SpywarePreventionGuy).

Quick Story

Having migrated from repairing shipboard Satellite Communications Systems for nearly 2 decades to repairing PC Computers, I thought I was just being progressive about my career in electronics, especially since cell phones and the internet had been replacing the need for many of these communication systems.

Before the internet, before people got infatuated with computers, we didn’t give much thought about computer viruses, and probably never heard of spyware, much less how to prevent it.  So what seemed to be a good idea back then has blown into something I never thought I would be doing, … removing viruses and spyware.

Now I would be lying if I said we didn’t profit from this “online disease”, but we like to think of ourselves as the good guys. Sadly, the problem has gotten to be like the common cold with no cure, and everybody gets one sooner or later. But while colds eventually go away by themselves, computer viruses will only get worse if not dealt with.

My Benefit to You

So how does my story benefit you? As co-owner and chief technician at a full-service computer repair shop in Hawaii, we professionally remove viruses and malware on a daily basis, so our skills are current and we “know” what works best, as well as what is fake. As professionals, we have a vested interest in using the best tools available, and I can assure you that we would never use software such as CyberDefender to disinfect a PC, so why would you? In fact, customers pay us to remove DoubleMySpeed.com’s CyberDefender product because of the deceptive annoyances this software employs, much like what you would find in malware infected fake antivirus programs. I would normally say to get your money back if you could, but you’ll find dealing with their customer service reps might make getting a refund difficult, so I would recommend disputing the charge with your credit card company and initiating a chargeback if you were a victim of their software.

So if you lost some money buying CyberDefender and you want to try and save some money, there are many reputable freeware alternatives to get you some basic internet security protection. The only problem is that if you are already infected, trying to fix the problem is always harder than preventing it and it just might require someone with advanced technical knowledge to do the job.

The part that pains me in all of this are the TV commercials such as DoubleMySpeed.com that claims to have software that will fix all your computer problems and will speed up your computer. You won’t know it at the time, but their product is actually called CyberDefender.  I submit that anyone who actually experienced a performance boost from this product only experienced a placebo effect, and that any positive testimonials they published are FALSE!

Even so, why put yourself in the position of having to buy and experiment with some no-name software to fix your computer. Why not just find out what the professionals use, we aren’t “really” keeping them secret. You can find out by signing-up for our Free Report. I assure you that you will find what we use as very reasonably priced, and with much better customer support. But my goal is not to teach you how to disinfect your computer, but to interest you in prevention, because frankly, I am getting tired of removing viruses and spyware for a living. I miss the good ‘ole days of diagnosing and resurrecting electronics that died from natural causes, but most of our computer patients these days are poisoned! And many from these wannabe security products promoted on TV in the “so called” safety of your own living room.

Now if you were trying to save money by using some of the reputable free products out there, I would warn you that free basic protection isn’t quite enough these days, so I highly recommend that you at least use 2 top-tier paid products, one antivirus and one antispyware, but never two of both. For some high-risk internet surfers, maybe even a 3rd..a Firewall, only I run into many customers that really don’t know how to setup and use a Firewall. But let’s talk a little more about CyberDefender, the product you’ll be getting if you fall for the TV commercial about DoubleMySpeed.com.

The Review

First of all, the reputable players in the Internet Security business, such as ESET, Kaspersky, Symantec, McAfee…and many, many others, are all independently certified for product compliance and performance by an accredited 3^rd part company known as ICSA Labs. To date, I have never seen CyberDefender listed on this list. In my opinion, the fact that CyberDefender is not on this list shows their lack of true commitment to the internet security business. Please feel free to check it out yourself on the ICSA Labs Product List. ICSA Labs is also the first Security Product Testing Organization to earn a key accreditation. Sure, CyberDefender boasts many awards dating back to 2006, but most likely because their aggressive advertising drove up their sales numbers, not their quality. But if “they” think their products are so great, why have I been forced to remove their software from 100% of the computers I see it on? And why are they not ICSA Labs certified?

The folks at DoubleMySpeed.com claim that you can speed up your computer instead of buying a new one by downloading and installing their software for a safe and free diagnosis, after which their proprietary software will scan your computer and identify trouble areas. At the completion of the free scan, a results page will provide you with details on the types of issues that may be slowing your computer down. With one click, you can get the software that will fix these troublesome errors, but you will have to purchase the software to activate it. Upon completion, they claim that you can enjoy your faster computer, all backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee! And Help to Install or Uninstall is just a phone call away 24/7. Because their free scan is supposed to identify the trouble areas of your computer’s health, it will then download additional software for you to purchase which is now supposed to actually repair the various problems it detected. I wish I could tell you CyberDefender’s renewal rate, but it is probably a closely kept confidential and embarrassing secret.

I would like to see the Windows and CyberDefender event history logs of the computers from the people giving positive testimonials about this product, and then see what a reputable product would find on the same computer. I say…prove it in a laboratory! Better yet, let an independent, 3rd party test your product and get it certified…like from ICSA Labs!

From my experience, a seasoned technician could spend hours disinfecting and tuning up a computer. And to actually double the speed of a computer means that there had to be quite a few memory hogging startup programs running in the background. In some cases, a memory hogging startup program might be necessary if it is a program you know and use, so you might just need a memory upgrade. But mostly, these startups are probably unknown and completely undesirable. Not only do they need to be stopped, they need to be removed because they are probably some form of malware. I wish CyberDefender’s claims were true, then I could sell their product as an affiliate, as well as charge for the labor to fix the customer’s computer. As it is, we use a variety of different company’s software, as well as many manual methods that only a live human can perform. Much of the software we use doesn’t cost much, and some is outright free! With that said, here are some prices of CyberDefender’s products as of this writing.

CyberDefender Prices

Surprisingly, the DoubleMySpeed.com website does not list any prices, so these prices were derived from the www.CyberDefender.com website itself. According to www.whois.com, the DoubleMySpeed.com domain is registered to the Cyberdefender Corporation.

$29.99 ——- Early Detection Center

$29.98 ——- Registry Cleaner

$249.99 —– Live Help Desk (24/7/365 for 3 PCs)

$14.95/mo –Identity Protection Services (without Credit Monitoring)

$19.95/mo –Identity Protection Services (with Credit Monitoring)

Free ———– MyIdentityDefender Toolbar

The initial combination of CyberDefender products you will be prompted to purchase is affordably priced at about $49.00. But they are pretty aggressive about their backend support product called the Live Help Desk. Many of the complaints we know of involve the poor performance and unreliability of their products, not to mention poor customer service. Some just wanted to find out how to remove CyberDefender, and when a customer calls to complain, there are some language barriers to cross, but they are very clear about needing a credit card to help you. It appears their intent is to pressure you into buying their higher-ticket product call the “CyberDefender Live Help Desk”. Many frustrated CyberDefender customers who were reluctant to spend any more money would just be left out in the cold. In Hawaii, many of these ones ultimately end up becoming our customers, so we educate them and help them to avoid ever being put in this position again because of some seemingly cool, but deceptive TV commercial. I wish the local TV, Cable TV Networks, and Radio Stations would do more to protect their viewers and listeners. Checkout the Ripoff Report to read some of the complaints about CyberDefender yourself.

Alternatives to CyberDefender

Assuming your internet connection still works, you could just download some Free Trials of some indisputably superb products below. I personally and professionally recommend and use these products regularly.

ESET Nod32 Antivirus — Free 30 Day Trial ($39.99 for 1st yr / $27.99 to renew) Microsoft is one of their Customers

SUPERAntiSpyware —— Totally Free Passive Version, or Free 15 Day Trial Professional Version ($29.95 but you may be offered a $19.95 “One Time Offer” with Lifetime Updates!)

CCleaner ——————— Totally Free, but accepts donations (check out my CCleaner Video Tutorial at http://spywarepreventionguy.com/2009/10/ccleaner/)

I know Best Buy will charge you $199 to remove a virus, so I think $70 for Nod32 and SUPERAntiSpyware is well worth it!

Conclusion

While CyberDefender is ‘NOT” an outright Fake AntiVirus program with all the malware/scareware/adware features, I firmly believe it is suspiciously close to one. Aside from that, it is not very effective, which is probably why it is not certified, and is certainly not a product that could remain on the market by word of mouth alone with all the complaints. There are just too many similarly priced, reputable alternatives you can use. Don’t go to the “fence of deception” with this one and risk your hard earned cash, not to mention causing further harm to your computer. So, in my opinion, DoubleMySpeed.com, which is powered by CyberDefender, might as well be a scam, but they probably exploited every legal loophole they could find to make a good appearance on TV, and not get shut down. I’ll bet all their end users are unwary consumers and not even one big business uses their products…so why would you!

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