"Highly credible, my butt???!!!!" I beg to differ with your opinion! So, you are saying that because it is listed in wikipedia, it is a legitimate software package???! The package was specifically picked up as "Spyware Doctor - rogue software" and my problems started as soon as I installed it. I am not the only one with such problems. Google' this and you will see other people have had the same experience. It would be very smart marketing for them to put out some valid programs and mix them up with rogue programs now, wouldn't it? Also, if it is a legitimate program, then how come it would deliberately NOT UNINSTALL when I tried to uninstall it with "Add/Remove Programs"? Any "legitimate" software would uninstall with that interface!!!!!!!!!!
I listed that link so you could check the sources, and see how many awards it has received from legitimate reviewers.
Just a quick example:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2251725,00.asp
Google even gives it away in their free "Google Pack".
http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html
Google would suffer great losses if they tried to install a virus on our PCs. I can't even begin to imagine the lawsuits.
If the uninstall problem is as vast as you imply, the answer is simple. They made a mistake on the installer/uninstaller. Every single software company has done it at least once. That doesn't mean they are automatically less legitimate. And if you think that's difficult to uninstall, have you ever tried to uninstall some of Adobe's products? It leaves all kinds of crap behind.
And, if, by chance, the uninstall problem is only affecting a small percentage of people, the problem is also easy to explain. Most of the time, it's either a faulty install (it just happens sometimes. Even Windows Updates themselves mis-install upon occasion), or a cleaning/maintenance app deleted the uninstaller, or (least likely) possibly a software conflict/incompatible app on the user's system, etc., etc. These tyhings are just errors, and unfortunately happen upon occasion.
And no, it would not be smart marketing for them to release a rouge app after gaining such a user base. Releasing a rouge app would have no positive effects on their business model at all.
As far as coming up as a virus on another scanner, there are such things as a false positive. If you downloaded it directly from PCTools, it's a legitimate app. If you downloaded it somewhere else, it might be a virus designed to imitate Spyware Doctor. In which case, that does not take away from the real Spyware Doctor's legitimacy.
