Falcon
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About Falcon
- Birthday 09/16/1986
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falcon@falconfour.com
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A quick glance over the forum looks like a lot of people use ImgBurn for copying discs... a configurable "copy" function (read... write... delete /or/ read & write) would be quite useful (especially in place of "discovery", I agree, I've never used that... what's with the facepalm? I don't see a use for a "create-a-coaster" function!) I wouldn't think it'd be too hard, just "create ISO" to a named pipe and hand it off to the "burn ISO" function (in the world's most quick-and-dirty way of describing it)
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LUK, I know you've heard a lot from me, and are probably sick of hearing about Ask Toolbar complaints, but I'm done complaining about Ask already. As long as the installer is modified in the future, to avoid key/click-buffering bugs (causing it to progress and install Ask due to the delay in loading the page, without actually asking)... then I've got no more beefs with that. But hear me out here regarding the affiliation with Uniblue software. I'm a computer repair tech at a relatively busy shop. I see all the computer problems first hand, I see what causes them, and I'm the guy that ends up fixing them most of the time as well (in which case another tech follows my prescribed repair/cleanup techniques). With that said, Uniblue software is absolutely freaking evil. In fact, it's flagged as malware in some of the better products (like Microsoft Security Essentials, which we install here). Every now and then we get a computer in the shop that's used one of Uniblue's products, or some from other vendors. And time and time again, Uniblue software has been responsible for pretty much entirely hosing the person's computer, and/or scamming them out of $30-60 for junk software that does nothing. Driver updating is not something that can be done automatically - EVER. The reason being, there is no central repository for drivers versus hardware IDs, so these programs cannot even function in any usable capacity to begin with. The very best they can do is match a certain set of common components with generic driver packages that the company maintains themselves. Far from covering every piece of hardware (as a "driver updater" should do), and far from being accurate - for example, it would toss out Sony's custom nVidia driver and throw on a hacked/generic nVidia driver, disabling all sorts of Sony's proprietary features and functionality. And that's just for that driver-updater garbage. The other tools that the site is now boasting, like RegistryBooster, are even more devastating. First, pony up $30+ for the software itself, then another $120+ for a computer repair shop (...Hi!) to repair the system damage done by this software. The registry isn't something that can just be "Cleaned", nor does it really ever need to be. If there are system problems caused by something in the registry, it's absolutely never going to be something a simple programmatic "cleaner" can repair. It takes an experienced eye and good amount of hunting to figure out that the reason the network icon isn't working properly, is because the Network List service isn't running, because that service is programmed to be dependent on a missing service entry in the registry, which is missing because a registry cleaner deemed it obsolete. (No joke, we have that on the bench right now) So... please, LUK. You might have had good intentions in mind, thinking you can help people out and make a few bucks on the side in the process, but in reality you're doing FAR more harm than help here. Anyone that downloads these tools per the site's suggestion, is just in for a world of hurt. This is far beyond just "don't click it then!". That would apply to me, and I'm not dumb enough to sucker into those things anyway. This is extending to every person out there who doesn't post on the forums, doesn't know ImgBurn's long and clean history, and is downloading ImgBurn because their friend told them it's awesome. When their computer comes into our shop because it got infected with Uniblue malware... it won't be anyone's fault but ImgBurn for pointing them there.
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Windows buffers clicks. So during that delay, if the user clicks the "Next" button twice during that delay (edit: while it indicates "Next" but isn't responding to a click), the installer catches one buffered click, then catches the second buffered click to the "Install" button when it finally appears. (edit: ... and, in the process, accepting the default "checked" value for the toolbar. Hence, installing unintentionally and without warning.) Seriously, you haven't realized this?
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I feel your pain. And... thanks, for breaking the silence...! You're not alone here! You've got friends! We're all with you... we've been violated by the Ask malware too! It's OK. We have each other... We can get through this!
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It's just that nobody legitimately wants Ask software on their PC, and it's sad to see ImgBurn even offering it (let alone by blind default). That's the whole thing in a nutshell. Nobody wants it. It annoys me in a similar way that ordering a combo at Carl's prompts the upsell phrase "Would you like that medium or large?", and if I didn't know better, I'd take one of the two upsell offers instead of "Small, thanks". Except in this case, it's more like "Would you like your Carl's ad-box as an MP3 player or a stereo?". Might look good on the outside to the novice - hey, play music! Except that you can't turn off the ads. And if you throw it out, it's already reprogrammed your phone, your car, and your computer to play you Carl's ads. Only someone that knows that the upsell is a bad one (and nothing but a bad one), and that it can be declined, would say "No thanks" to the offer. But the big question to ask is, why is Carl's even offering these ridiculous ad-boxes with their items to begin with - let alone shoving them down peoples' throats by default? Ask is a plague infecting *far* too many good software products... I find it quite disturbing that it's voluntarily taking over good products, and that people are just lying down and taking it. I mean, isn't it just a slap in the face to the people that have donated to ImgBurn and stuck by it for all these years? The one clean, pure burner that keeps computers clean of Nero and Roxio bloatware, now comes with Ask? Baahhh... rantmode off. Just makes me really sad. =( edit: Oh, and "... wow, this really bugs you, doesn't it?" is the question, "yes" in the answer.
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Well, I do think that EAC prompted about Ask, but I (obviously) unchecked that. I did install EAC before ImgBurn (in the order it's shown there)... but the odd thing is, I installed Audition before any of those. I suppose there is the possibility that Ask was installed elsewhere, but that other possibility is one that I remember actually unchecking And, really, I'm quite surprised (and quite a bit saddened) by the fact that so few people have come complaining about Ask... =(
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I've seen the threads, hell I've even argued against this Ask malware 'til I'm blue in the face. And I did say I'd said my last hoorah about it as well. And I've held up on my end of the bargain... well, until the ImgBurn installer didn't hold up on its own. But this time, the very reason I'd been holding off on installing ImgBurn on my new laptop, actually came to fruition. Ask Toolbar actually did, in fact, slip in without so much as even a prompt. Take a look. I think just having this Ask Toolbar in my programs list at all is perfect proof that it slipped in under the radar (take a look at the install date in relation to ImgBurn). I would never have left that box checked. And I was actually keeping an eye out for the checkbox, or the delay in the wizard. Curiously, there was no page prompting me to install Ask. There was a slight delay between the page just before installing, and actually installing, though. It seems like the logic for the page just figured that last button I clicked would apply there too! So I dunno. Just take this as a bug report. I'm fuming pissed that Ask infected my computer, but at least it didn't hijack my Firefox (from what I can tell... yet. I haven't restarted it). From what I understand, some changes have been made to place the inexplicable delay at the installer startup (so for no good reason, it'll take a few seconds to open, in which time the user will likely re-launch the installer) instead of in middle of the installer... for a malware installer that nobody wants anyway (grr). See attached screenshot.
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ASK Malware ignored all options and didn't uninstall
Falcon replied to askmalware's topic in ImgBurn General
Fair enough... I do sincerely hope the days of using these dishonest methods to fund ImgBurn are numbered - not at all for my sake (I'm more than capable of unchecking the Ask toolbar thing myself, and I know how to avoid an ad) - but just for ImgBurn's reputation's sake. I don't want to see ImgBurn get a sloppy reputation just because of funding issues! So, that's the last you'll hear from me on the matter... *sigh* much as I want to push it until it's gone... it's malware, by every definition, and I just can't stand to see ImgBurn associated with it. But I trust others will help continue my words where I left off, until it's gone... -
ASK Malware ignored all options and didn't uninstall
Falcon replied to askmalware's topic in ImgBurn General
Move on with a new product with a new developer that hasn't yet felt complacent in the user base and begins to believe it's OK to include a malware toolbar, then blame the user for backlash against said toolbar. And quite frankly I can't believe there are any ImgBurn users on this forum that think it's acceptable to throw Ask in there to begin with. I've been using ImgBurn since before it was even called ImgBurn... I'd like to think I'm more than just some throwaway user. But it seems that users have become disposable, and it's probably time for another product to come along and replace ImgBurn, the same as ImgBurn replaced Nero, and Nero replaced Roxio... -
ASK Malware ignored all options and didn't uninstall
Falcon replied to askmalware's topic in ImgBurn General
Perhaps we should address the other part of this posting - the failure to UNINSTALL, which is the one thing that makes Ask nothing more than slimy malware. The fact that Ask doesn't uninstall cleanly, and leaves itself wedged into Firefox... you know, the one browser that never should be touched by any outside programs to begin with? And even then, you'll never hear anyone talking about Ask in any regard other than how to uninstall or deselect it... anyone that DID install Ask did so unknowingly or unintentionally. How can a piece of software like that find its way into ImgBurn?! And really, this is just a preposterous response: Of course it's an option. It was an option to add it, it can be an option to remove it as well. Unless of course ImgBurn's soul was sold to Ask.com under contract, in which case we're all just totally fucked and should move on anyway. -
ASK Malware ignored all options and didn't uninstall
Falcon replied to askmalware's topic in ImgBurn General
This disturbs me Because it doesn't say "removed"... #39;( -
I think Night_Raven put it best in the first post. ImgBurn was once a shining beacon of pure code - a VERY functional and EXTREMELY well written program, given away for free, and setting the standard for all sorts of other burning software. In the wake of ImgBurn's success, even Nero took a cue from it and now offers a (crippled) free version. So it stood out as a beacon of clean software in an ocean of absolute crap - either good software tainted with a toolbar (uTorrent went that way when BitTorrent bought it), or just crap software from the start (just browse around SourceForge for a particular function of software you need to find). But now with the toolbar, it's like all hope for donations are lost. You can't have both... and you can't expect to benchmark the amount of donations as a "will the toolbar go away" thing. With the toolbar already there, donations WILL completely STOP. Nobody is going to donate to a project that comes bundled with a money-grabbing toolbar. Now, if people want to "donate", they have to sacrifice their computer's integrity with this Ask crap (and believe me, from experience, Ask is VERY intrusive - it digs deep into Firefox, adding redirects and hooks that uninstalling doesn't remove - hence, MALWARE). That's a heck of a lot bigger price to pay than dropping a $20, and it probably only nets LUK about $0.50. And that's not even counting people that fall for that "Clean up your registry now!" scamware... oh my god, I feel sorry for those people! While Ask is malware, that makes that godforsaken registry "cleaner" out to be death and destruction! It practically is! I cannot fathom the reasoning behind intentionally placing RegistryBooster advertising on the ImgBurn website! RegistryBooster is #1 alright - the #1 reason for computers ending up in the shop with unrepairable issues that require an OS reinstall. Even viruses - fake antivirus apps that hijack .exe file loading with the "secfile" type - are easier to repair than damage done by RegistryBooster. And the ImgBurn site is promoting it! I know LUK, our fearless leader and lighthouse operator, wouldn't've done this if he really knew what it meant to the users. So that's why I'm hoping we can show what Ask Toolbar and RegistryBooster really mean to us, and the lengths we'd go to in order to keep it from being "necessary"!
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Well, with the latest inclusion of Ask.com malware in the installer, ImgBurn seems to have finally entered the wide array of programs that were "once good" and got too big for their own good and got "greedy". But it's not just the ask.com malware - it's the links all over ImgBurn's website to "scan your computer" and, again, infect the PC with malware. Two instances of malware, now packaged with what was once a beautiful, clean piece of "always recommended" software! This makes me very, very, very sad. I really don't understand what prompted this. From the guy that brings us a smile to our face every time we open the program with witty status bar one-liners? Now promoting malware to make a few bucks? I don't get it. I really don't... "It's not a big deal, just uncheck it." That's not the point. The average user, who geeks recommend to install ImgBurn to burn an ISO, clicks blindly through installers out of fear and/or ignorance. They should be able to do that for a "clean" piece of software. Now the recommendation of ImgBurn comes with a "...but watch out for the..." phrase. This is not cool! This little bundling puts ImgBurn into the same category as RealPlayer and Limewire, that intrusively install things and set defaults if you're not careful. As long as this Ask crap keeps getting default-installed with the package, it's going to be "yuckware". What else is yuckware? uTorrent (ask), Foxit Reader (ask), Java (varies), and a few others. How about clean software? Foobar2000, LogMeIn Hamachi, 7-Zip, CCCP, Handbrake, Firefox, Thunderbird, and CCleaner/Recuva as far as I know too... "Just ignore the ads" That's not the point. Those ads are placed specifically, purposefully on the page. They're not just banners. They say "Download this now, speed up your computer!" - a DIRECT misleading statement designed specifically to trick novice users into installing some ridiculous piece of registry-hosing scamware. For what, a quick buck? "If someone is stupid enough to actually fall for it, that's their fault!" That's exactly why ImgBurn is now just scumware, yuckware, greedware... whatever else indicates "software tied to dishonest advertising tactics". I shouldn't have to tell someone to avoid clicking a link on a website of something I'm recommending for them. It's always made me wonder how people get their computers infected with all manner of registry cleaner, error fixer, driver updater, and fake antivirus. Well, now it seems more clear... LUK, I know you're out there, and I don't mean the person currently posting as LIGHTNING UK!... I mean the person that wrote the original DVDD, that wrote the single cleanest and most reliable burning program on the internet, and that did it because it needed to be done. If the costs of the hosting are getting to be a problem, just ask. There are hundreds of thousands... even millions... of users that are more than eager to help out. Maybe some financial issues came up that you could use help with. Again, millions of users that would be more than eager to donate. Just ask. I, for one, would be more than happy to donate hosting/mirror space, and money whereever my budget permits. I know thousands more would say the same. Bundling this malware with the program and the website is just like a big "F**k-you" to the geek users that use ImgBurn. I'd really like to see ImgBurn continue to be a "clean program", something we can freely recommend without needing to warn users of the malware that lies ahead of our recommendation... At any rate, however it goes, I just want to give a much-deserved THANKS for all the hard work, past and present, on ImgBurn and related technologies - and a THANKS for the continuing development of ImgBurn as well.
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Logical Unit Communication CRC Error (ULTRA-DMA/32)
Falcon replied to machser's topic in ImgBurn Support
Hate to bump an ancient topic like this, but I stumbled across this with a Google search and it didn't solve my problem - I was getting Logical Unit Communication CRC Error messages _ONLY_ when verifying - the burn went fine. Even if I re-opened the program, I simply couldn't verify. Every sector came up with this error, and even when I turned off DMA mode, I would get mis-compares at every sector as well. But the disc came up fine in Explorer and its contents were fine. Turns out, it was because the drive (my Plextor CD-RW drive) was configured to be Slave, and the Master drive (my DVD burner) had its power unplugged. So there was a Slave drive with no Master. After re-plugging power to the Master drive, everything works fine. Just figured I'd post here with another solution in case others come looking for it -
O_O Man, I'd think that if people pay this much for a drive and media (what's the media, like $30 a disc?), it'd've been tested, refined, tuned, tested, refined, and re-tuned before it even made it to production. How is it possible to have this many problems? =\ *stays the hell away from HD formats*...