Is SD5 safe now? Quick question...

[LiquidAir]

Last time i updated to SD5 my comp locked up and it took me 3 hours to get it working again.

I like PC Tools alot and their products and V4 was the shizz, all i'm asking is it SAFE to run SD5 yet? Is it going to drop a bomb on my pc like last time or has most of it been cleared up?

The reason i'm asking is becuase i see all kinds of threads here about SD5 and it seems like its not going either way...so i cant tell if its reasonably good to run with a few kinks or if its still the abomination i woke up to on my pc a few weeks ago.

Any input would be great all :)

Peace!

[ned_ludd]

I'd like to know if SD5 is now safe too.

It would be helpful if PC Tools would post an official on-going “Realistic” assessment of the current safety status of SD5.

A guy on Amazon reviews for SD5 reckons that the bugs have now been dealt with - quote:

I just upgraded SD v4 to SD5 and could not be happier. Release 5 has had a very rocky start to say the least. I do believe they released it a bit early. Fortunately I read the SD forums daily and only downloaded version 5 when it seemed the big bugs had been dealt with.
I have always found this product to be the best in it's class. Best detection and moreover removal. Easy to use. I've also had the product that is typically rated number 1 and for me it is no contest which I will stick with. This is my main, real time anti spyware product.
I think one big plus is their customer service availability. This is important. They are very responsive. Their forums on their website are also extremely helpful. Customer service is also free. This application is fast and is not a resource hog. I have a lot of confidence in it. Also recently just downloaded their PC Tools Plus firewall...it's another great product and it is free!
Basically a good company to deal with. I believe when the dust settles from this new (albeit too early) release of version 5, you will see Spyware Doctor attain 1st place on many tech lists.

[OUTTA HERE!]

Like Mikey used to say, "I'm not gonna try it. You try it!"

[Honeh]

I have been running sdv5 for a week now and so far its been really good and appears to be faster then when sd4 was installed. But like you said, in the forums their is some mixed reviews. Some are running it with no problem, whereas others are having problems. I think the only way is to try it or wait it out for a little longer just to be sure. From that issues list, looks like there are a 2 to 3 'urgent issues' still out there, but once this is fixed, should see less problems. You may also need to check what other security programs you have installed, as I see majority of people having problems may be related to that of another security program.

[vecchio]

hi
i have to say if u want total security you must have innstalled sd4 here
http://www.pctools.com/spyware-doctor/version4/
its still totally supported
:)

[Reodor]

I would say a litle like parachute jumping.

The bigger the chute (more running guards), the slower You decent and You might not quite know where the winds will send You.

Reduce the shute, disable the guards, gets You down quicker, but the landing might be hard!

[Lord KiRon]

Not for me...
dropped the damn thing .

[BenJr]

I'm currently using the 5.0.0.179 version of SD with no serious problems. I'm running XP SP2, ZoneAlarm 7 and Symantec Anti-Virus Corporate Edition. The only issue that I have is with the Known Files Scanner. The scan seems to be taking place but the counter doesn't count up the items processed. Besides that little GUI problem SD5 is working like a charm on my system.
My best friend on the other hand is still having a svcntaux.exe shutdown error with the 179 build on his XP SP2, ZoneAlarm 7, Norton Anti-Virus system. His machine does shutdown but he gets this little reminder that all is still not well with SD. He claims that it really doesn't bother him, but he can't wait for the issue to be resolved.
My Dad has stuck to SD4 he plans to wait it out.
If your daring enough to give it a try, make sure you have read the Reported Issues. It lists the programs that seem to be having conflicts with SD5.
I too installed SD5 in it's early stages and had to resort to rolling back to SD4 when all kinds of problems arose. When build 177 was released I decided to give SD5 a try once again and I don't regret it at all.

[tom.tdw]

it has improved alot

[Wayne]

We still have all kinds of problems with the V5 ,here at the plant we have 50 licenses and cant use the product ,even if we remove the AV plugin, it is causeing all kinds of troubles, slow downs , blue screens ... I hope there will be a newer release soon with some more fixes in place.

[tom.tdw]

50 licences all malfunctioning

i thin you should contact someone higher up
http://www.pctools.com/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=3

click this link to contact someone higher up

[padi]

50 licences all malfunctioning

i thin you should contact someone higher up
http://www.pctools.com/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=3

click this link to contact someone higher up

Think thats puts a different perspective on your 99.9% Quote.

[Wayne]

50 licences all malfunctioning

i thin you should contact someone higher up
http://www.pctools.com/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=3

click this link to contact someone higher up

Thanks I did send a message ,time will tell

[tom.tdw]

in business environments there is usually common software on all computers which could be the problem

i think the figure might be closer to 97ish %

i am shocker at the amount of licenses malfunctioning but i think it is due to common software
Think thats puts a different perspective on your 99.9% Quote.

[Wayne]

We were ok with V4 up till the point were it started getting really slow on loading times and was taking up more and more memory ... now we are just stuck cant use the slow V4 and V5 we cant go any where near yet .

[XR6]

I have been running sdv5 for a week now and so far its been really good and appears to be faster then when sd4 was installed. But like you said, in the forums their is some mixed reviews. Some are running it with no problem, whereas others are having problems. I think the only way is to try it or wait it out for a little longer just to be sure. From that issues list, looks like there are a 2 to 3 'urgent issues' still out there, but once this is fixed, should see less problems. You may also need to check what other security programs you have installed, as I see majority of people having problems may be related to that of another security program.

It's good to know someone else is happy with SD5; I was beginning to think I was deluding myself about my lack of problems. I definitely agree that its faster than SD4.

[tom.tdw]

We were ok with V4 up till the point were it started getting really slow on loading times and was taking up more and more memory ... now we are just stuck cant use the slow V4 and V5 we cant go any where near yet .
what software do you use on the computers



It's good to know someone else is happy with SD5; I was beginning to think I was deluding myself about my lack of problems. I definitely agree that its faster than SD4.hi xr6
most users can use version 5 fine

the problems are quickly being resolved but programming isn't easy

[tgawz]

I've been having "freeze" problems with SD5b179. The first time I installed b177 and ran first update to b179 it worked ok, even had SD in the sys tray. Next manual update caused my computer to lock up. OS- XP home. After uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling, and again, reinstalling SD5b179, it seemed to quit freezing, but after the 2nd update, SD disappeared from my sys tray. The process is still there, but no icon. I've been using SD for quite some time now, but I do have to say that I'm very disappointed with the newest version. Version 4 was a CPU buster from time to time--it would freeze after an update. I think the problem is when it "restarts" SD after an update. Most of my freeze problems in SD4 and SD5 happened after the product "restarted", and then there would be no icon in the sys tray after rebooting. I wonder if the techs at SD have looked into the possibility that their "restart product" program may be a contributing factor to their current problems.

[Reodor]

I've been having "freeze" problems with SD5b179. The first time I installed b177 and ran first update to b179 it worked ok, even had SD in the sys tray. Next manual update caused my computer to lock up. OS- XP home. After uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling, and again, reinstalling SD5b179, it seemed to quit freezing, but after the 2nd update, SD disappeared from my sys tray. The process is still there, but no icon. I've been using SD for quite some time now, but I do have to say that I'm very disappointed with the newest version. Version 4 was a CPU buster from time to time--it would freeze after an update. I think the problem is when it "restarts" SD after an update. Most of my freeze problems in SD4 and SD5 happened after the product "restarted", and then there would be no icon in the sys tray after rebooting. I wonder if the techs at SD have looked into the possibility that their "restart product" program may be a contributing factor to their current problems.


The most common reason for theese kind of problems are conflict with other security programs. It might be security settings in Windows (use default) or other running 'on guard' active security programs. Compatibility issues with other 'anti' programs are well known issues.
One thing to try is set windows security to Default.
Shut down all other security applications that monitor activity (on guard)
Change SD update from 'auto' to 'manual'
Try a manual update.

If this works, then turn on one by one of the other app's and when problem reoccurs, You have the conflicting app.

Give a feed back if this works.

[tgawz]

I ended up uninstalling SDv5 via the unistall program in the programs list [Start button on sys tray], doing a search and deleting 3 other files not deleted by the uninstall program. I then went to the web site and downloaded and installed the newest version, ran the scan and update, and it seems to be working now, i.e. the SD icon is in the sys tray!
As a side note, I had Windows Defender [original beta version], but it was non functioning as I had [apparently] uninstalled it--I could not get it to re-install, so I went to [its] website and got the latest version and installed it [it is running along with SDv5b179]. Go figure. It's been my experience that similar programs, especially AV's, do not play well with one another, so it is usually best to disable one or the other.
I use F-Secure as my firewall/AV program, and disabled MSs' firewall/security. I didn't have problems with earlier versions of SD, with the exception of v4 towards the end of my subscription. It seemed to take forever to load, and sometimes the icon would disappear after an update.