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The DonationCoder "Superior Antivirus" Award/Certification
Stoic Joker:
The award could only go to a company that does not try to sell "security". They should be honest about what their product really does: attempt to lessen the likelihood of catching a worm, virus, or whatever. When they "guarantee 100% security" they are making fools of their customers.
But if they do educate their customers and try to raise their awareness about those "dangers" without resorting to panicking them, I think that should have a positive impact on the uhm awardiness(?).
-housetier (December 20, 2009, 12:06 AM)
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110% agreed ... The various AV companies seem to pit their marketing & legal departments against each other ... Granted they never really flat-out say 100% effective. But, most seem to use the cleverest forms of word play to get as close to the razor edge as po$$ible without causing anybody in legal to have a seizure.
Truth-in-Advertising should most definitely be considered, and weigh heavily on any award(s) given.
mouser:
regarding the suggestions that companies not be evil in terms of trying to trick people into a false sense of security, all well and good -- but for this award i think we want it to avoid any kind of subjective judgement.
there's plenty of room for full reviews written by lots of sites to tell us a more detailed description of what's good and bad about a particular antivirus and the company.
but what i have in mind for this particular thing is a kind of certification/award that describes a very clear and concise set of objective and strict requirements that a company can decide that they want to meet in order to get this certificate, and have it mean something important.
Stoic Joker:
regarding the suggestions that companies not be evil in terms of trying to trick people into a false sense of security, all well and good -- but for this award i think we want it to avoid any kind of subjective judgement.-mouser (December 20, 2009, 11:39 AM)
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Understood, but I really don't think it would hurt the awards veracity if there was some mention of how well (acurately...) their product was presented. Are the features (/claims) Touchy-Feely (new-bestest-friend-forever) ...or pragmatic (Meat & Potatoes) fact. There should be some way to quantify (Reality Check) how straight they are with the products presentation.
f0dder:
Stoic Joker: make the award too hard to achieve and not many companies would want to participate, though... I'm not for yet another meaningless "this'll look good on an awards page" kind of thing, but I do believe it should be something attainable with a product aimed at end-users and not "geekboy powerheads" like the participants on this forum.
Stoic Joker:
Stoic Joker: make the award too hard to achieve and not many companies would want to participate, -f0dder (December 20, 2009, 03:49 PM)
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So... you're saying honesty is too much to ask for? ...Mind you given the marketing environment today I'm inclined to agree with you. I just don't know that is best to ignore the hideous monster and take-it lying down (in a comfortable position).
though... I'm not for yet another meaningless "this'll look good on an awards page" kind of thing, but I do believe it should be something attainable with a product aimed at end-users and not "geekboy powerheads" like the participants on this forum.
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Right... and explaining just how paper thin a given (advertising) claim is, is something I could easily do to my mother (who is neither powerful, geeky, or a boy).
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