CyberDefender/Wikipedia

<CyberDefender

CyberDefender Corp (NASDAQ: CYDE) is a remote computer service company based in Los Angeles, California that makes the CyberDefender software. The software includes an internet security suite (known as Early Detection Center or CyberDefender Internet Security) and a registry cleaner. CyberDefender is often marketed in television commercials and magazine advertising through their websites, MyCleanPC.com and DoubleMySpeed.com, both claim to remove malware and computer viruses, as well as fix other problems on a personal computer. The company has also recently implemented an online backup service. Along with the software, CyberDefender also makes available remote personal computer (PC) repair services.

CyberDefender has come under scrutiny over the last three years on claims of being a scam.^{[sauce plz!?!1!]} Numerous websites have claimed that the CyberDefender software does not operate properly, which has raised questions about whether the software can be classified as malware or rogue security software.^{[sauce plz!?!1!]} In May 2011, a class action lawsuit was filed against CyberDefender, initiated by Joseph Thurman, Terry Drymon and John Abronski in Chicago, Illinois. The plaintiffs claimed that the Registry Cleaner did not clean the Windows registry effectively and in some cases caused Windows to stop functioning altogether. The plaintiffs hired an independent computer expert to corroborate these claims. The independent security experts found that “after a fresh installation of Windows XP on a clean virtual PC, never connected to the internet, Registry Cleaner detected over 151 errors on the pristine PC.” After the software removed the so-called errors identified in the scan, scans conducted during the next 24 hours did not display registry errors, even though registry errors were created during that period.

A settlement was reached in June 2011 and was approved on September 13, 2011. A settlement fund of $9.75 million was created, but claim forms were due on October 13, 2011. The settlement claim form page is no longer active.