Dear team of 2-spyware.com,
My name is Alex and I’m contacting you as it has come to my attention that you have published an article about Outbyte PC repair tool. Could you please let me know what were the sources that you were using while creating the article and if you have yourself tried using Outbyte software?
The reason I’m asking is that lately there have been numerous articles published about Outbyte tools that look quite similar to each other but when it comes to the actual information displayed in each article, unfortunately, it has very little to do with the real facts.
For example, the articles mention that we steal our users’ data without any facts backing it up such as queries going to our servers. Also, we do not have any pop-ups with commercial offers or false errors, we only show functional pop-ups as when, for example, detecting a potentially dangerous website. Outbyte tools are certified by AppEsteem, comply with CSA guidelines, and offer 7-day free trial periods for customers. The software doesn’t contain any unwanted behavior, otherwise, it wouldn’t be certified by AppEsteem.
We also acknowledge that the backlash could have been caused by the deceptive behavior of some of our affiliate partners that were using rogue advertising and distribution tactics in the recent past without us knowing about it. That has lead us to a decision to stop working with all affiliate networks that were not transparent about the way they functioned. The issue was addressed in the following statement https://outbyte.com/blog/affiliate-takedown/.
I’m hoping that we will be able to resolve this and will be looking forward to hearing from you soon.
We understand that pointing out your weaknesses and missteps might impact your business. However, we did not write a negative review of Outbyte software - the article is based on the experiences of other users, as well as conducted research.
We never claimed that your software shows fake notifications, or that you steal user data (we actually praised your data collection methods). In fact, it seems that you did not read our article at all, and simply sent this notification to all security-focused websites.
When we tested your product, we found many inconsistencies and misleading test results. Please read our article carefully, and you will find more details about the results that we found inadequate.
Finally, we did research your notification about rogue affiliates and, while the practice has been canceled, it does not mean that it did not happen in the past. We are merely stating a fact, similarly how you did on your official website.
That being said, our article is there to help users remove potentially unwanted software from their systems - they can choose whether they want to keep it or not, however.
Good luck,
2-spyware team
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my query.
We have read through the article carefully and would like to bring your attention to some questionable statements. That is the reason why I asked you to provide concrete sources that were used while writing the article.
Namely, in the review, our program is referred to as PUP, a category used by Malwarebytes software. However, in a similar manner, Reimage software you are affiliated with (https://www.2-spyware.com/disclosure) and that is being promoted via your website is categorized as PUP as well. As a matter of fact, Reimage software has more detections than Outbyte PC Repair. Please see here:
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/d817015e2f1a6be55b297a34fb8ecd44630b2fbfb4ea7ee941d23908a88106e5/detection
We find that this goes against principles of honest journalism and can be considered as a selective discrimination/favouritism as you chose to promote Reimage products in the same article while there is no information that their software is categorized as PUP.
I hope you can see this from our perspective that the article is clearly written to also promote Reimage software, which has more detections, than PCRepair. We would like to ask you to either remove the piece or add the lacking information regarding Reimage software as well.
We understand your concern. However, our article does not contain any false claims. It is based on conducted research results as our technicians have been using the Outbyte PC Repair software and checked its performance in practice. We have also collected reviews of people who have been using the software from Reddit and other forums. However, seeing how actively your company works on increasing Outbyte PC Repair software reputation, it’s understandable why most of these threads are no longer available.
In regards to the PUP classification, we see no false information provided. Such an Outbyte PC Repair detection name is applied by DrWeb (Program.Unwanted.4826), Malwarebytes (PUP.Optional.Outbyte), and ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/Auslogics.AB Potentially Unwanted) security tools. Our team hasn’t invented it. Reputable cybersecurity vendors listed it as such for sometimes exaggerated or inaccurate scan results.
Moreover, the classification of the PUP does not mean that the application is malicious. It implies that the software may sometimes run controversially, and the user can choose whether to use it. Our article stresses the previously applied misleading distribution manner via fake software bundles, while the rest of the information is solely a review of the program.
We have described Reimage in the same manner as Outbyte PC Repair. Our blog contains several articles on Reimage and the negative aspects that are commonly listed by its users. We are aware that quite a few AV engines detect Reimage as PUP and, consequently, inform our visitors, respectively. You can find articles on ReimagePlus ads and the Reimage virus on our blog, so we don’t feel responsible for adding or taking something out from the OutByte PC repair article.
Best of luck,
2-spyware team
It can be downloaded from our official website at outbyte.com.
Also, as we are now slowly building back our partnerships we would be interested in collaborating with reliable networks and websites like yours. If that is something you may consider please do not hesitate to contact me at alexandr@outbyte.com. Thank you
We had a chance to review the articles you’ve mentioned in your last reply that “described Reimage in the same manner as Outbyte PC Repair”. Unfortunately, we did not find “the same manner”.
The following article about Reimage software https://www.2-spyware.com/remove-reimage-virus.html is written in a rather positive/promotional way, describing it as “a legitimate tool designed to repair system by replacing damaged or missing files with the new ones”
The article states that “Sometimes adware can redirect you to program's main site without your approval. Reimage has nothing to do with that”.
Also mentioning that “installers that offer that application (Reimage) might sometimes include pre-ticked boxes that allow Reimage installation, and this has nothing to do with the app itself but rather the distributors.”
The article about Outbyte, however, says the following: “Outbyte PC Repair is a potentially unwanted application that is distributed via fake updates and other tactics. Choose system optimizer that does not employ rogue tactics for its distribution” while also suggesting Reimage tools as a valid replacement for Outbyte PC Repair.
Moreover, the article’s title for Outbyte suggests removing it while the one about Reimage questions the status of accusations it has been receiving.
Here, I would like to mention once again that Outbyte has stopped working with all nontransparent affiliate networks to avoid unethical practices altogether. Also, recently Outbyte became a member of CleanApps.org and the latest version of PCRepair was just certified by AppEsteem.
Practically, there is very little difference between the 2 programs: both have PUP false positives from Malwarebytes and both had issues with rogue affiliates in the past. But for some reason, they get a completely different treatment. One is recommended to website visitors while another is strongly advised to be removed.