Here is the situation: I was checking blog visitor statistics this morning. When there is a referral link from a forum or another blog rather than as search results, I generally follow the link to see the source of the link. This is what I found today:
| VISITOR ANALYSIS | |
| Referring Link | http://forums.comodo.com/empty-t42573.0.html;msg288724;topicseen |
Following the link, I saw this blog post by Melih Abdulhayoglu, the President and CEO of Comodo:
"And its been over a week and she still hasn't put my response to her post on her siteSince the only comments I reject are spam links or comments containing vulgarities, I proceeded to check the Dashboard. A screen copy of the Dashboard notice of comments that were awaiting moderation at Security Garden is too wide to incorporate here. The image is available at http://securitygarden.googlepages.com/MelihCommentNotices.GIFSurprise Surprise!
http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/2009/07/parents-beware-of-comodo-firewall.html
I responded to her site on July 4th... and knowing the possibility of them censoring my post, i took a snapshot of my screen as I posted it.....7 days on... they rather censor what their users read...welldone Donna! Somehow I had a hunch that being concerned about telling the truth to her readers wasn't the first thing in her mind
Today its 11th July, they still continue to spread the lies and haven't changed a thing...
Your sole purpose is a witchhunt against Comodo.. I hope you are being paid well for that
Melih"
As can clearly be seen in the above-linked screen copy as well as the e-mail notice, reproduced in References below, the comment was left not on July 4 but rather last evening, July 11, at 11:29 PM. It is apparent that Comodo President/CEO "doth protest too much".
No, Melih, I do not get paid for blog posts or help on the forums. My issue is not only with Comodo but also with any so-called security company with practices I perceive as not being representative of a security vendor (see Ethics tag).
As to HopSurf, the domain registration information from DNS Stuff is copied below and HopSurf is registered to Comodo. That does not, however, change my warning to parents, as originally posted. HopSurf is a pre-checked toolbar for a so-called security product with a EULA clearly warning against the toolbar being available to anyone under age 18:
"1.5.The Toolbar and the Services are not intended for use by or availability to persons under the age of 18.IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE, YOU MAY NOT DOWNLOAD, INSTALL OR USE THE TOOLBAR AND YOU MAY NOT ACCESS THE SERVICES."With such a warning, I have no other choice but to believe that use of the toolbar would provide "adult-only" results in searches.
References:
- DNS Stuff Lookup: www.hopsurf.com A record
Domain Type Class TTL Answer www.hopsurf.com. A IN 3600 91.199.212.173 hopsurf.com. NS IN 3600 ns0.comododns.net. hopsurf.com. NS IN 3600 ns0.comododns.com. hopsurf.com. NS IN 3600 ns1.comododns.com. hopsurf.com. NS IN 3600 ns1.comododns.net. ns0.comododns.com. A IN 21600 91.209.196.4 ns0.comododns.net. A IN 21600 149.5.128.4 ns1.comododns.com. A IN 21600 67.51.175.4 ns1.comododns.net. A IN 21600 91.209.196.5
- E-mail notice: "New comment on Parents Beware of Comodo Firewall."
Anonymous
to me
HopSurf is a Comodo product, developed and published solely by Comodo, not ASk.com.
Please get you facts straight before posting what could be considered and is False information.
Publishthis comment.
Rejectthis comment.
Moderatecomments for this blog.
Posted by Anonymous to Security Gardenat July 11, 2009 11:29 PM
Reply
Anonymous
to me
Posted by Anonymous to Security Gardenat July 11, 2009 11:32 PM
- Referral link: http://forums.comodo.com/empty-t42573.0.html;msg288724;topicseen
- Screen Copy of Dashboard Comments: http://securitygarden.googlepages.com/MelihCommentNotices.GIF
- Security Garden: Ethics tag
- Security Garden: Parents Beware of Comodo Firewall
Remember - "A day without laughter is a day wasted."
May the wind sing to you and the sun rise in your heart...
Is Comodo President/CEO a liar? Certainly looks that way. His rants are also getting rather predictable and boring.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, could it be possible that the comments shown in the picture are not by Melih? And second, could he have posted comments besides those in the picture?
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Melih replied to your post.
Alas it seems he's also not yet realised that neither this, nor Mikes blog, belong to or are controlled by Donna - quite why he's fixated on her is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteRef:
http://forums.comodo.com/general_discussion_off_topic_anything_and_everything/here_we_go_again-t42573.0.html;msg309048#msg309048
LaserWraith, as you will see further in the thread, Melih did not post comments here. Sadly, it appears that Melih does not even know what he is posting where or who is who. He spent all this time accusing me of lying when he did not even know what he had commented where. His comments were posted on Donna's blog, not here.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Steve, for explaining to Melih that Donna, Mike and I are three different people. Although I am honored that Melih thought first I was Donna and then Mike, it certainly does lead a person to wonder about his fixation on Donna, the need to strike out at others, as well as the apparent inability to separate the information provided at three unique sites.
My head hurts.
ReplyDeleteMy head hurts too. :)
ReplyDeleteSo, if I'm understanding this right:
1. According to MysteryFCM, this and Donna's both share posts.
2. Melih posted his comment on Donna's blog, and then later thought he posted it here. So he blamed you.
Everyone makes mistakes, including CEOs. And maybe he was "striking out" at you and "the others" because he felt that they are blaming Comodo on false accusations.
Hi, LaserWraith.
ReplyDeleteNo one else writes blog posts here except me. I provide links to sources of information from other sites and show information from other sites specifically shown as a quotation.
Yes, I understand that people make mistakes. It is an example of one fallacy of humans. That said, I find it disconcerting that the CEO and President of Comodo is so focused on what we (Donna, Mike and I) post on our blogs that complete focus was lost.
To me his comments make him look like a clown in charge of a Circus.
ReplyDeletePaddy..
Very interesting post, Corrine.
ReplyDeleteI joined the Comodo community some time ago, to post a couple of questions on the tech forum. At the same time, Comodo had licensed their free firewall to a questionable 3rd party who repackaged it (with support) and sold it for $20.
I posted some comments about that relationship and was blasted by a few of the loyalist posters. Still, I was impressed at the time, that the CEO actually participated and seemed to be an active member of the community, attempting to answer some of the harsher criticisms.
My concern at the time was this relationship could hurt Comodo's reputation, and I worried about the proverbial "slippery slope" of a security company getting in bed with a company with known issues, when it came to questionable marketing practices.
Unfortunately my concerns were warranted. Comodo, while having an excellent product, seems unconcerned with the unscrupulous marketing practices of its partners and associates. In addition, Melih seems to have become paranoid about criticism, and an apologist for some terrible practices. I have to believe he doesn't get the connection between sleazy marketing, and security issues.
Based on what I have been reading lately, I have to say Melih seems like a liar. Is he an intentional liar? I don't know. I think he is a CEO fighting for the life of his company and can't seem to make the connection between sloppy business and bad security.
It's too bad. I have eliminated the Comodo firewall from all of my computers, and the computers of my clients. I have placed them the list of companies I will not recommend or do business with. IMO, Comodo is no longer a security company that should be trusted.
Brian (AKA The Dean)
I read everything to do with this so I could form a view not based on any prejudgice. If Corrine and others had been in the wrong I would say so and not support them. However, I know Corrine to be an honest person who to my knowledge of her, never launches personal attacks, such has been launched against her. Was Corrine right to point things out? Yes she was, because that way we become aware of things and can make choices. Was the attack warrented by the CEO and President? No it was not. I think that he owes an appology at the very least to Corrine. However, I will say this the result of his attack is that I shall never use Comodo again, I have taken it off my pcs and those that I control and service (5)nor will I recommend it again to another. The simple reason being is that if the company is a refelction of the CEO then they are not a very nice thing to deal with. And one final thing his comments make you wonder what else they have to hide. Yes you are a liar Mr CEO and perhaps, you should be aware that as with all liars you will be exposed as such and called to account for lies and the harm that they do.
ReplyDeleteisnt this libel
ReplyDelete