Thread: scamware

would like to talk to you about scamware. software that does not do what is claimed that it should do or dose. software use to make a quick dollar and fails at the application or desired results. recently i have seen several morph program for sale that does not do what is claimed. in particular is morphing software which is the most obvious. i am not sure if they truely do not know how to do a true morph or if they are putting something out quickly to make a few dollars. i mean after all they did put together a decent gui so why not do a few more lines of code and make the program do what it is supposed to do ?

i have download several free morph programs and most of them work just fine. also have purchased several books on graphic effects. fascinating. this one in particular come with a cd-rom with software demos on how to do two d and three d morphs. programs that work. plus the source code is in the book explaining in chapter 7 how the morphs work. or should work. one of many books the visual special effects toolkit in c++ is the reason i wanted to learn c++ . i mean why do a scam when there are many books with free demos on how to do whatever ? instead of scamming the general public.

<scam> send me 5 dollars and i will send you a copper bust of a president </scam> why is this example a scam ? you ask. this example scam represents the exchange of money for scamware. showing or trying to illustrate the action of how much is over paid. so then the question become what is the program that actually works worth ? or other items ? but also what has to be weighed in the decision of to purchase the item is "how much will that item benefit you" and "will i get my money out of it ? or usage ". then "will it do what i need it to do" ?

now for the regulatory agencies on commerce. are these scammware products not being reported ? just not purchasing the product is not enough. there just has to be a lot of complaints on these products. looking at their lists of malware or other products should be done before the purchase is made. also some countries do not have such agencies. which is why i think a lot of scamware and other scams are allowed to run ramped.

i am not sure why the morph contest thread was closed. thought i could generate some interest in this fascinating graphic subject meow and point out scamware being sold that does not actually morph. merging two images together is not a morph. image boundaries of both images have to be have to be calculated then the images have to be resized.

I believe the principle is, sans any anything more formal, CAVEAT EMPTOR. "Scamware" is certainly not the only example of this.

now for the regulatory agencies on commerce

Hopefully, doing things of greater significance with the limited resources at their disposal. Maybe if we legalized drugs we could afford a "war on scammers" and even the lowliest potheads of the consumer scam world would have something to fear. I doubt this is in the interest of the cocaine kingpins of the consumer scam world however, so don't hold your breath.

send me 5 dollars and i will send you a copper bust of a president

Okay, so you have lost your retirement fund?

People pay more than that for a lottery ticket. What do you expect? If I buy something at the app store for $1.99 and I don't like it, can I return that? How about a chocolate bar?

i mean why do a scam when there are many books with free demos on how to do whatever ? instead of scamming the general public.

Because the individuals that make up "the general public" have different perspectives WRT what $$ they can afford to invest in something vs. the time they have to research it. If I thot I might save myself 4 hours of research by gambling a few bucks, I might do it, on the principle that it is worth the risk. If it does not work out, I wasted 1/2 hour and a few dollars, and now (if I'm that serious) must perhaps do the research. What's the difference, in terms of resources, for a member of the general public to spend 4 1/2 hours + $5 VS. just 4 hours? Obviously the second is preferable, but if there is a chance the first choice might actually mean only 1/2 hour + $5, a lot of people will go for it.

You could say, well we could eliminate the risk but we will have to raise your taxes to pay for enforcement, most people will accept the risk.

Okay, so you have lost your retirement fund?

never had one. $0.00 in order to have money set aside "you need money coming in greater than your expenses or cost of living" try planning for nine lives. meow the down side of being feline.

Because the individuals that make up "the general public" have different perspectives WRT what $$ they can afford to invest in something vs. the time they have to research it. If I thot I might save myself 4 hours of research by gambling a few bucks, I might do it, on the principle that it is worth the risk. If it does not work out, I wasted 1/2 hour and a few dollars, and now (if I'm that serious) must perhaps do the research. What's the difference, in terms of resources, for a member of the general public to spend 4 1/2 hours + $5 VS. just 4 hours? Obviously the second is preferable, but if there is a chance the first choice might actually mean only 1/2 hour + $5, a lot of people will go for it.

point taken. but buyer beware was mostly assumes the seller made an honest attempt to put forward a reasonable product.

i would imagine that the "app store" would contain lots of this kind of stuff. not a customer of the app store but i would guess that the owners try to regulate malware to keep their good name? would guess through a screening process before the products are put up.