DoubleMySpeed.com – CyberDefender Review
January 1st, 2010 Tags: Antispyware, Antivirus, cyberdefender review, cyberdefender scam, doublemyspeed review, doublemyspeed scam, malware, malware removal, removing spyware, removing viruses, spyware, spyware prevention, virus prevention
Posted in Reviews, Spyware Prevention
Many people have seen the popular DoubleMySpeed.com TV Commercial and can relate to the frustration of having a slow computer. But are the commercial’s claims true, that their software can actually double the speed of “your” computer?
Take a moment and listen to the DoubleMySpeed audio review by Dale Powell (aka the SpywarePreventionGuy) and decide for yourself.
The product they are offering is actually called CyberDefender, which you must know is NOT certified by ICSA Labs, WestCoast Labs, Virus Bulletin (VB100), or AV-Comparative virus testing and certification companies. All the major computer and internet security software companies such as Eset Nod32 (my favorite), Symantec and McAfee are all certified by these 4 companies. Their product also appears to be targeted at consumers instead of businesses. They do not offer any business enterprise security products.
You will also find out that they don’t list any prices on their www.doublemyspeed.com website, but they usually tailor their solution with a combination of products costing about $49.00 (and this seems to vary). You can get more information from their www.cyberdefender.com website. But if you call their customer service line for help, you will find that they are very motivated in up-selling their “Live Help Desk” product for $249.00.
Many technicians will tell you that it takes several different reputable products to clean and tune-up the performance of a computer, not to mention manual procedures that only a live person can perform. Perform a search with your favorite search engine to find out actual customer experiences with CyberDefender, you will quickly develop an informed opinion on your own about whether you should purchase their software. You can also checkout the Ripoff Report to read about some CyberDefender experiences as well.
Below are some reputable alternatives to CyberDefender that I personally recommend and use regularly myself:
ESET Nod32 Antivirus: Free 30 Day Trial
SUPERAntiSpyware: Free 15 Day Trial
CCleaner: Freeware (Checkout my Free CCleaner Video Tutorial)
With all the competitively priced “certified” products on the market, please do your research first before taking a chance with your computer health and internet security. It might be hard to choose what you “will” use, but it will be easy to decide what you “won’t” use. I hope this review helps you to decide.
If you feel this information has helped you, please consider making a modest donation to help keep this website going.
28 Responses to “DoubleMySpeed.com – CyberDefender Review”
I had a great experience with DoubleMySpeed.com. i saw an add on TV and went to the website and downloaded the registry cleaner. The stuff that it found was leftover from uninstall problems. I had to purchase the full version to get the full benefit of the cleaner, but since I ran it my computer reboots much faster so it was well worth the investment. I have recommneded this to everyone – I am so glad I bought it.
I saw this DoubleMySpeed ad on TV too. They were talking about how it would clean the Windows Registry of any malware or errors, which would speed up your system.
I have never used a registry cleaner on my computer, so I wondered if they do anything. I researched some different sites. Some think that registry cleaners work and some think they don’t. Here are some sites I looked at:
http://www.registrycleanertechnology.com
RegistryCleanerTechnology.com did a in-depth analysis of DoubleMySpeed.com and concluded:
“DoubleMySpeed is a Registry Cleaner whose target demographic is people who don’t have a lot of computer skills, but want to keep their system running smoothly and wants a 24/7 computer help service as well.
Taken in that context, DoubleMySpeed is a good package.”
http://www.registrycleanertechnology.com/registry-cleaner-technology-summary.html
I also found the DoubleMySpeed is a Cyberdefender product, and in a sense is a compliment to their anti-malware product. I have been using their anti-malware Early Detection Network (EDN) software and service for more then a year now, and feel they offer a great security product.
I say product, because it is a combination of technologies: 1) installed software program and 2) 24/7 call center service.
The Cyberdefender EDN is the Cyberdefender customer base peer-2-peer network that allows for the quickest possible way to warn and protect all the other customers systems of new malware.
This is the Cyberdefender technology graphs about the Early Detection Network:
http://www.cyberdefender.com/pdf/CyberDefender-earlyNETWORK-2.0.pdf
http://www.cyberdefender.com/pdf/CyberDefender-CyberHunter.pdf
What about their product site – DoubleMySpeed.com? Well, I mention this background info, is because one of the biggest jobs of a registry cleaner, is to clean all the malware from the registry. Malware loves to hide in the Windows Registry, and having a strong anti-malware company like Cyberdefender producing a registry cleaning tool; has resulted in DoubleMySpeed.com.
If you do the research on Cyberdefender, you will find that they are a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, which means they have accountability to their shareholders and the public. Many ‘anti-virus’ companies are a few friends working out of their basements somewhere. Cyberdefender has the strength to support its programs and business model, even including a Call Center in North America.
Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CYDE.ob
I hope this information helps anyone out there interested in cleaning up their system.
You seem to have some relationship with Cyberdefender. I don’t, other than I have seen many computers suffer after installing this product. Although your response was respectful, and well thought out, I have to totally DISAGREE with your positive comments about their products. As I mentioned in my article, all the major reputable players are at least ICSA Labs certified, if Cyberdefender is so great, submit it for 3rd party independent compliance to one of these testing companies, in other words, prove it.
As far as I can tell, the aggressive advertising this company employs through the media as well as what the software does once it is installed is all about making the sale, While I am sure that the shareholders appreciate this, what about the end user, the so called valued customer. And how many of your shareholders actually use this product?
Until Cyberdefender gets certified like all the rest do, I stand by my own observations about this product. I am a seasoned PC Technician that removes malware from computers on a daily basis, and I KNOW that Cyberdefender is not as nearly of an effective product as you claim it to be. I actually know my way around the registry and I can probably clean an infected computer’s registry manually better than your product claims to do automatically.
If you ever want to take a vacation in Hawaii, please visit me at our Computer Repair Shop in Waipahu, and we can compare notes for real. We can surf the internet and purposely infect a couple computers, and compare how your product stacks up against other SUPERB, proven products such as ESET Nod32, SUPERAntiSpyware, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware, and even Piriform’s Free CCleaner with temp file and registry cleaning features.
I doubt seriously that I will be the one proven wrong. By the way, all the other major players also tout how they stand against each other, why don’t they mention Cyberdefender? I believe because they don’t consider Cyberdefender as a contender.
I am not trying to criticize my customers, although some admit they don’t know much about computers. With that said, one thing that I see in common with people who have Cyberdefender on their computers are that they are the ones who don’t know much about computers. It is as if Cyberdefender is phishing for and taking advantage of these inexperienced customers. I believe that the rest know better.
Anyway, I think I made my point … again.
Dale Powell
aka the SpywarePreventionGuy
For someone with mild problems, you might see some improvement. But for Cyberdefender to tout their product the way they do is misleading. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day, so you and a few others were fortunate.
As I like to mention, I am a seasoned PC Technician, and deal with these problems on a daily basis. I see a large variety of products people use, as well as what I have tried over the years, and I KNOW what works great, what is adequate, what is not, as well as what are just scams. I have a very high rate of loyalty with my customers and could not have achieved this by promoting cheesy products just to make a buck.
Again, assuming you are not just an employee of Cyberdefender defending your product (they do that of course because they don’t like my review), I would have to say that you just got lucky.
If you really want to recommend some great products, check out:
ESET Nod32 Antivirus
SUPERAntiSpyware
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware
Piriform CCleaner
where can i find c cleaner.by the way thanks for your advice i was falling in love with the product
A VERY GLAD I FOUND YOU ENDORSMENT!!!
I was checking out “DoubleMySpeed.com”. Yes I did the free scan. But to my surprise, LOL, when I went to fix the 666 errors, no joke, not only did they want me to buy the program, but, also some other cockamamie program AND spend more bucks for a disk with my software saved on it. I got original disks gimmme a break. Then I found this site under reviews of DMS.com.
What a godsend. Both Nod32 and CCleaner perform well beyond my wildest expectations. Not only was Dale very informative, but, didn’t try to show me how to make a watch when I just wanted the time. I’d give Dale a raise. Double my speed LOL. My pc is easily 4x’s faster now.
I’d recommend, and will, to all my pc pals. Spywarepreventionguy is now in my favs, and will be the first place I go when I want trustworthy answers to my pc questions.
Feel free to post this on your site or on a huge billboard. Thank you again Dale and all the computer geeks at Spywarepreventionguy. If I was in Hawaii I’d give you all a big sloppy kiss and a hug. Your #1 spokesperson Too Giddy for Words, Brian in So Cal.
You can get CCleaner at http://www.ccleaner.com
Dale,
Thanks for your expertise. I was looking around and found some software tyor Reggenie.com and decided to check it out and found it was no good and then I came upon your review.
Thank you for your professional way of presenting this serious issue of keeping your computer clean as it is a big part of our lives today. Our family is grateful.
Thanks,
Marten
Well I have to tell you I LOVE CyberDefender. My computer was running SO slowly, rebooting took literally 10 minutes, and getting infected every other day with one thing or another. I did all the usual, defrag, add/remove, ran THREE different virus scans. I had McAfee, Stopzilla, PC Doctor and other programs to try to solve my problems. I was at the point where I was going to unplug the thing and drag it back to where I purchased it to hand over and say either fix it or throw it in the bin. Finally I threw my hands up and screamed I need some real live help. Saw the ad and took it as a sign from God. Called, they hooked me up and told me to go have a cup of coffee. I did. Came back. My computer runs like brand new now.
Yes, perhaps if I’d done hours of research, gotten lucky, figured out with my limited knowledge what would help me and what would not, I could have fixed all this myself. But downloading yet again 4 or 5 or 6 more programs that “may or may not” help turned my stomach. I can only say that in my attempts and after reviewing dozens and dozens of programs that potentially might fix my program, I’m relieved to know there’s somebody ELSE out there willing to do all that work for me. All you have to do is make a phone call, no matter WHAT the problem and it’s fixed. Guaranteed. 24/7
You can talk about all the hundreds if not thousands of solutions that are out there that may be cheaper even free to use. But unless you have the knowledge, downloading these things willy nilly is as dangerous as any virus.
Here take my computer, fix it, I’m gonna go have a shower. Priceless.
Dale,
Thanks brah…you saved my computer and some of my coin. I used CCleaner per your advise and freed up 4gb of HD space and fixed over 400 registry problems. Now my computer may make through one more busy season. Mahalo for taking the time to post this advise for all of our benefit.
Angelo in Maui
I have been a Cyber Defender subscriber for almost a year. I had success with the help disk a couple of times, but very poor the last 2 requests. After providing remote control a months ago, I waited over an hour and called them back. Again a wait and finally obtained help.
Last Friday, I contacted them to repair problems related to the last “fix” which removed my Norton Antivirus and installing Cyber’s. After 3 phone calls and waiting over 5 hours I gave up. Never a response. I emailed their service department and lots of canned responses but no satisfaction. Today I tried to again obtain help and have waited over 2 hours and 2 phone calls and no help.
I would not recommend purchasing the help subscription. They do not appear to have the support personnel needed.
Ever heard of a placedo? How about the broken clock that was right twice a day. I even heard that turkeys can fly in a tornado. Anyway, CyberDefender is cyber snake-oil. And even if you had a good experience with their product, you are enabling them to stay in business to take advantage of others. As far any programs I recommend, I have made very easy to follow videos about how to download and use them. And I have used these programs myself for many years, so I walk the walk … faith with works.
I am not citified tech, but I know enough about malicious software and how to remove them manually. I actually was not surprised how pushy the sales rep. where to make that sale. I bought it just to see how it worked. I installed it on a virtual machine and ran my tests. I then installed Malwarebytes and updated that software to compare notes. I know two running anti-virus software at the same time can interfere with the detection of malware so I didn’t input my serial for Malwarebytes.
I opened Task Manager and went to several websites known for viruses. I downloaded process explorer to see hidden process.
Let me tell you, I was shocked I only had two processes running in the background that were infected. Both were detected on Task Manager and process explorer.
I scanned files with Cyber Defender and found two of the following, but it never blocked it. I found my BotWorm, and Trojan Downloader-A.
I now ran Malwarebytes and found a Network Worm, Bot Worm, and a Trojan downloader-A. I found so many tracking cookies and other stuff. I then checked the registry because I still had problems with a new hidden Process on Process Explorer. I did a technique called static kill for viruses. Where I isolated the source and found it was Cyber Defender who was the source of all problems. I called Double My Speed and asked for a refund they gave me hell. I told them I am a Non-Certified Tech Own My Own Business and found that your software was malicious software infested program. She never heard of the broad term for viruses and spyware (Malicious Software). She called me a dumb and a person who was crazy. Long story short I received my refund and was allowed to keep my product key.
I too, found that Cyber Defender worked great……at first. When it came time to renew, my fee was automatically deducted from my account, but the program would not work. I spent hours online with tech support, only to be told that there were other viruses on my computer that could only be fixed if I spent $600 with them by purchasing a tech support program! I asked to have the money refunded as was given verbal assurance (will wait to see if it comes through the bank). I have concerns about the allowing them to “remote access” my computer. Please assure me they wouldn’t do anything they shouldn’t……
The moment it showed that it detected over 1k+ errors, I know that removing all will cause lots of problems. Like Dale, I deal with problems that slow down my PC on a daily basis. Even if I’m not as experienced, I’m sure I’m not poor enough to have 1k+ errors to be detected. I already have Malwarebytes Anit-Malware, SUPERAntiSpyware, Piriform CCleaner installed, along with other things I would like to recommend too which can boost your PC speed significantly:
PerfectDisk by Raxco (for defragmenting)
RegistryBooster by Uniblue (for registry issues which CCleaner don’t fix)
SpeedUpMyPC by Uniblue (This is the real deal; DoubleMySpeed is a complete joke)
Outdated drivers can slow down your PC too, I would recommend:
DriverGenius from driver-soft (for updating of drivers)
Oh, and with SUPERAntispyware + Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, personally I find no need for an Anti-Virus software.
More reviews on Cyberdefender products:
http://techie-buzz.com/scams/is-cyberdefender-a-scam.html.
http://www.computerwizardindy.com/stay-away-from-cyberdefender/.
http://wa4zko.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/doublemyspeed-com-just-more-cyberdefender/.
http://redplanetaryearth.blogspot.com/2010/08/mycleanpc-cyberdefender-and-absurd.html.
Dale,
Consider the “review” by demcrokad spam. If you copy one of his sentences above and Google it, you will find the same “review” http://bit.ly/fcC97w over and over again.
Thank you for your review. I too am a PC tech and was curious how well it worked. I won’t even bother trying it, let alone recommending it.
Double My Speed and Cyberdefender are total rip-offs
After you buy the software you get a ‘hard-sell’ for the support for $239 which gives you support on any issues with your computer.
Cyberdefender brought my computer to its knees and had emails down loading in minutes instead of seconds. At one point no emails would down-load.
After 6 calls to their support center I removed the product and supposedly will get a refund. Each call is screened and a ‘technician’ will look at the problem HOURS later.
They had to disable their product for Outlook scanning so emails would get through. What good id the product if it does not work?
Because the support is seperate from the product you cannot get a refund of this product, even though they couldn’t get Cyberdefender tp perform properly. They are selling their service for your whole computer. With this poor response why would I trust them to do anything else on my system?
DO NOT BUY ‘double my speed’ OR ‘cyberdefender’.
I downloaded the software some time ago. Seems to be doing a good job. The real bonus is Cyberdefender’s tech support. I run a small business with 4 PCs. All of them are on contract and for the last 3 years, Cyberdefender has been able correct / fix all of them when needed remotely. (This has been a BIG cost saving instead of hiring a local tech).
How much have you paid for 3 years of remote support, how many times have you had to use their remote services, and what was the least and worst type of problem they helped you with? All I know is that you are a very small minority of people that appear to like the product aside from the paid actor portrayals on TV. There is so much negative press (that I concur with) that makes me wonder why anybody would take a chance with these guys when there are so many other well established, reputable products to choose from.
Just compare the content on CyberDefender’s website with that of any other major player out there, such as ESET, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Vipre, Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, Computer Associates, F-Secure and on and on. You will see that CyberDefender doesn’t provide any Enterprise support at all, and has absolutely no specific information about the latest threats they are aware of and have virus definitions for.
All the major players also offer fully functional free trials of their software as well, unlike CyberDefender’s free diagnosis that just reports what it find, that you have to activate (pay for) to remove. The major players are banking on that you will discover how effective their software is and will decide to buy it based on proven performance, whereas CyberDefender won’t fix anything unless you purchase it first.
The fact that anybody would be running CyberDefender anyway is because they know they have a problem with their computer already, such as an infection, and then they fell for the bogus TV and Radio commercials advertising their free diagnosis. There are plenty of free online virus scanners from all the major players as well as free registry cleaners like CCleaner that will outperform CyberDefender. They not only scan your computer for free, but they provide the fix for free, unlike CyberDefender.
As for Remote Tech Support, I’m all for it, but it has its limitations, like your internet connection has to work, and they can’t repair hardware problems. I know of several of these services that can provide unlimited remote support for as low as $17/mo.
To sum it all up, I know how hard it can be to run even a small business in this economy. But as a small business owner myself, I would never do business with any other company I knew had a bad reputation, especially when I heard story after story about how they did shoddy work and sold snake oil, no matter how nice they were to me, even if I was the only person they actually did good good work for. I just can’t see rubbing elbows with such a company, so I don’t get when people stand up for them, unless they are shills, but I am very willing to debate the efficacy of their product with more than just my opinion. I might just record a Camtasia video of an infected computer and show the world just how ineffective CyberDefender is, not to mention, very rogue-like, and then show what it missed with some free products I mention all over my site.
I know CyberDefender for what they really are, a borderline scam, and I will keep warning people to stay away from their product until they change their ways and actually start performing to security software industry standards, both formal and informal.
well wish I had read your piece before yesterday, when I purchased the doublemyspeed 39.00 part. fortunately, after hearing them trying to sell me the 249.00 tech experience I backed off. So basically Im half an idiot.:) I am going to try to get back my money, but will probably be fruitless. I went to Justask.com and had a competent tech also tell me to run ccleaner and malwares program. Im just trying to get my comp to pick up speed and stop taking so long to open Microsoft word as my wife and I do a lot of files for school and my writing business.
I purchased the double my speed product the other day for $39. I was really annoyed to find out I was required to call an 800 number to activate. As soon as I got on the phone, a snale oil salesman started telling my how bad things were on my computer, and that I needed to subscribe to Cyberdefender as my IT support for $249. They had not actually done what they promised for the $39, and now wanted another $249. After I said no, they guy on the phone activated the software which does not remove anything, and so far I do not see any improvement in speed. I will now tell them I want my money back, and feel stupid for being suckered into this.
Jim M.
I hear you Jim. Your experience with CyberDefender is typical. The fact is that these guys and many other have so many complaints against them that it is pretty easy to get a feel for their reputation within a minute of searching for some online reviews. While you might find a few “questionable” good reviews, the overwhelming majority are bad reviews. The good news is that if they don’t refund your money, that it is pretty easy just call your Credit Card company and do a chargeback, only it may take up to 30 days before you see the funds credited back to your card.
Dale
SpywarePreventionGuy
Paid the $39 last year and found the product to be a waste of money. Upon calling the 800 to activate, I also got the high pressure sales pitch for the $249 service. I ran the free version and found it to be virtually worthless. Now I found out that there was an opt-out of the automatic renewal that I missed. To add insult to injury, there is a 30 day cancellation available, but they billed my credit card on day one of my billing cycle and I got the bill 36 days after being charged. The whole thing is a waste of time and money.
Dale Powell: I just ran the Ccleaner clean up, and the words of everyone’s favorite Chinese philosopher, Ho Lee Kee Rap, the machine is night and day. Thanks for all the right on objective info.
I never see an ad for “double my speed” for an apple computer. I wonder why?
There are quite a few free products that do more than Double My Speed available on the Internet. Simply search for “slow computer” on the CNET downloads site (www.CNET.com). Of these my favorite is IO Bit’s Advanced System Care (the free version). There are also a whole bunch of books on Amazon for as little at $0.99 that will guide you to having your computer run like new. I recently read The PC Power Pack, a $2.99 book that I prefer because I also have a Macintosh.
@ GaryA: IO Bit Stole malwarebytes code and passed it off for their own. http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=29681
I would never use one of their products, just like I would never use cyberdefender. Find a decent tech as their are times nothing else will work. There are decent and honest ones out there, but a lot of bad ones too. Craiglist ads for someone stating they will fix any problem with your pc and come to your house for $20 probably isn’t a good one! Dale, You tell truth on this one.
I bought Doublemyspeed in 2009 after hearing about it on the radio. I noticed absolutely no change in my computer’s speed. DMS has charged me 3 more times in 2010, 2011, and 2012. I didn’t notice until the last billing because they’re using an old credit card number. I refuted the charge with VISA but DMS sent them an impressive reply convincing VISA that I purchased it. I have cancelled that card and will pay the bill to keep them off my back. But overall I paid about $160 for nothing. DMS sucks ass. Stay away!
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