Stop-Sign.com and FinallyFast.com* — Don’t
Television Ads Promise Faster Downloads and Problem Free Computing
This week I saw – for the first time – the television commercials for two different *wonder* products that promise to solve all my computer frustrations, and dramatically improve my Internet speed. I was expecting these commercials. Friends on the East Coast had told me of them.
These ads featured “before people”, unhappily watching a slow 
download “progress” bar, then installing the *wonder* product and becoming “after people”. Once they were “after people” they were all smiles and their download progress bars were zippy-fast. Lots of frowning “before’s” and smiling “after’s”.
These commercials are professionally done, and I must say, very convincing. I had to admit, that if I wasn’t educated in IT, I would be mighty tempted to try these products. (And try them you can; both offer free scans.) I mean.. who doesn’t want a blazingly fast Internet?
But, I am educated in how TCP/IP and the Internet works; how computers work (I am a Support Tech); I am studying for a major Certificate in Information Security; and, I have been a Geek since before Windows 95 was launched.. So I know (and.. if you think about it, you should too) that there is one, and only one, way to get faster Internet- pay for more bandwidth (bits-per-second).
But.. there’s a sucker born every minute, and if it is on TV it must be true.
Real FACTS:
Both StopSign (from eAcceleration) and FinallyFast (from Ascentive¹) say that their product will “optimize” your computer, scan and clean the Registry, scan and clean malware infections, which will remove the “build up” and things that slow down computers.. and basically make it like new again. Oh! Yes.. and “optimize” your Internet “settings”.
Okay. Fine. Sounds good.
1) Optimize your computer by – once a week – running the Disk Cleanup Tool and defrag once a month (see Rejuvenate your PC). These can be set to run automatically, you don’t need to install more programs to do this! Much less, pay for those programs.
2) Average people should leave the Windows Registry alone; and, there is much debate in the geek community as to whether or not real, legitimate Registry cleaners/defraggers even do any good — usually they cause more problems than they solve (particularly on machines with multiple User Accounts).
Neither StopSign nor FinallyFast have a real, legitimate Registry Optimizer, and when you Google the user forums about these products, you will find the complaints of broken machines.
If you install/uninstall lots of programs, or have recently repaired a malware infection, and want to scan your Registry, use the free CCleaner, or purchase Registry Mechanic from PC Tools.. they’re legit and at least won’t break anything.
3) Malware infections (viruses, worms, trojans, etc.) can most definitely slow down your machine. You – most definitely – want malware protection and removal scanners on your machine (that includes you, Mac fans). Both products have these scanners, but neither StopSign nor FinallyFast have real, legitimate ones (and by that I mean they are not on anyone’s Top 10 lists)
(to see my list of free [real, and legit] anti-malware programs, click here.)
4) Anything that claims to improve your download speeds by a percentage larger than 10% is lying. There are such a thing as download managers, which use various tricks to maximize your speed but the primary reason to use them is in case of interruptions. The Firefox browser has one built-in.
If you are on dial-up, you are going to get dial-up speed.. period.
Do you really think that there’s some ‘hacker’s trick’ that will triple your Internet speed and cheat your ISP? Or.. $30 program?
If you simply must attempt to “tweak” your TCP/IP settings and see what kinds of gains are possible, use the free Dr.TCP from DSLReports, or CableNut (also free).
But.. there’s a sucker born every minute, and if it is on TV it must be true.
¹ You’ve seen Ascentive before in scam alerts, “Have Your PC Running Like New” — Not! And Internet Security blogger Bill Mullins’ excellent Finally Fast.com – Fast Scam! Free Alternative Software
In case you haven’t guessed already, what I’m saying about these televised products is don’t waste your money.
[Note: those red "donuts" are warnings provided by the excellent Web Of Trust (WOT) plugin.]
[update: Ascentive has re-packaged FinallyFast and is now also marketing it under the name FastAtLast. For more on that, see Fast At Last.com or Finally Fast.com - With this Software You’re Neither!]
* Addenda: we actually installed Finally Fast on a fresh machine to see just what it would say. See New FinallyFast – Same Scam – Exposed!
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix
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About Tech Paul
Welcome to my blog. I am a CompTIA Certified computer technician, and the owner of Aplus Computer Aid. I offer my affordable and friendly services via remote control over the Web, or over the phone. My email is tech4everyone(at)gmail.com.
I regularly post how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice. Sometimes I will answer (your) specific questions in an article if I believe that it is generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see is my own, typos and all.
I do my very best to provide the best solutions and advice. I use only industry best practices, and reliable sources for my research. I strive to Do No Harm.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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Copyright 2007-9 © by Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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TechPaul,
Almost “borderline” scam with these TV ads…
“You can only go as fast as the pipe will let you!”
Rick
Yes, these products (Registry cleaners, Internet Speedboosters, and psuedo-anti-malware) are indeed borderline or even outright scams.. and I’m singling out these two simply because they’re reaching the masses through (effective) television commercials.
Sadly, these things often not only fail to provide any improvement at all, but cause damage.
(Or, they provide services you already have, but may not be aware of.)
Excellent article! Outstanding! The best this year IMHO!
As you say, “there’s a sucker born every minute”. Let’s hope at least some of these people, read your article before they fall for these scams.
Well, I certainly thank you for those kind words.. they’re enough to charge my blogging batteries for a week at least!
Yes, I hope our words of warning will be seen, and that folks will pass them on to their friends and neighbors.
Shams and scams have been with us for years (and other programs that promise, but don’t deliver) but this is the first use of mass media I have seen.
(They must be fleecing the flock pretty well.. TV and radio ads aren’t cheap!)
Well said. Great information, keep up the great work!
Thank You. Visit often.. for I intend to!
Good advice, hope it keeps people away from them.
McAfee site advisor highlights the parent company and affiliates of hosting riskware/malware which combined with some confirmation of domain ownership got me to file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Agency on the grounds that it is misleading and adding credibility to existing malware scams. The more people that complain the less damage its likely to do.
Scott,
If I understand you .. you actually did file a complaint. If so, I applaud you.
What kind of response did your complaint get?
Well I am desperately trying to get rid of Stop sign on my computer and after the removal process when I reboot it is back on and working! The firewall will not let me download anything at all!! I have tried downloading Stopzilla today and like everything I have tried to download to get rid of Stop sign it disapears never going to the next step like the download wizard! What can I do ?
Cindy,
I could be wrong, but it sounds like you have more going on than just having the useless Stop-Sign on your machine. I strongly suggest that you read http://techpaul.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/how-to-cure-a-malware-infection/. Visit an online scanner (such as Housecall) if you can, or go to a non-infected machine and create a disc.
Stopsign is removed through Add/Remove Programs in your Control Panel (It is not a virus, it’s just a scam), so your other symptoms tell me that you (almost certainly) have been infected with malware.
Resetting Internet Explorer to its defaults may restore your ability to download. How you do that is Tip #2 in this article http://techpaul.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/heavy-duty-ie-repair-road-warriors-gmail/
I am going to send you a private e-mail.
Being a late night TV infomercial junkie, I religiously watch all infomercials, including that of Stop Sign. But at the same time, by dint of being a misfit weirdo, I also firmly believe that If it is on TV it must be scam. Thus, when I come across a new product or service being offered in an infomercial, my natural instinct is to type the name of the product/service and then add the phrase scam (or rip-off) and then do a google search.
If tomorrow I see that Tech Paul’s tips are being offered through a late night TV infomercial (and followed by “Wait, but that is not all”), I will do the same search.
But as of today, thank you for the nice write-up. Hope that this essay will help some of those people, who really believe that “if it is on TV it must be true”.
So long, and thank you for all the fish.
Znkp,
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who believes every thing on TV.. nor who disbelieves everything.
Doing a websearch on a product (with, or without the ’scam’ modifier) is a good idea, which I applaud. But bring your skepticism with you here, too. In general, only unhappy customers write reviews; happy customers don’t bother.
… a Tech Paul’s Tips infomercial… hmmmm….. nah.