Q+A: What To Do When Survey Sites Don’t Pay Up

Dear Readers,

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It has come to my attention after receiving plenty of e-mails on the subject. That it seems some of us are being taking for a ride when it comes to doing surveys that promise cash and or prizes.

Here are some tips of what to do to avoid this and or fix the situation. On the subject of non-payment when promised a reward.

First Off:

1. Keep all survey invitations that claim any type of cash reward or other prizes and do not delete them till you receive said reward promised.

1A. Also always wait one week more then the survey company claims for deliver. That goes double for any prize that is suppose to come on holidays.

2. E-mail said survey company. You should a;ways expect major delays for up to 32 days for most companies and 90days for really small survey companies.

2A. Always try your best to be kind in the e-mails. Also give all your information other then password. You should try to use only member account number and Survey ID number should be giving.

2B. A really good idea is to include the survey invitation attached or referenced in the e-mail. But often the company may have a policy of not excepting attachments. So you can try both ways regardless there should be the survey number as well as your member ID number included in the e-mail.

3. Keep tabs of the survey companies and what they owe you. If you don”t they sure as heck won’t…

4. Be aware that most companies have a minimum of $5 USD to claim reward of cash..

5. Some survey sites will make it even harder making it points or even making it a $20 instead of $5 USD before you can claim your prize. So read the fine print and be prepared to hold out till your desired prize level and or check is reached.

6. Some survey sites will take you years to get anything worth while.

7. All survey companies have something call “incubation periods“. Where if you do all surveys sent to you, you’ll get more as well as better prizes were others will not. (I have seen this first hand it may not seem fair but think about the large companies who want a fan or consumer base or loyal people then you’ll understand. Also used to prevent survey user scams as well.)

Well that is all for now if you have any questions or comments or wish to add to this list by all means. Please Comment and or E-mail me @ computer.savvy@hotmail.com

Till Next Time,

Remy “Se7en”

Downloads.com Removes Version Number Off All Software Titles (Issue Resolved)

Dear Readers,

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Now, I am happy to report that download.com has resolved the very frustrating issue I reported on yesterday. The Issue that I reported on was that download.com seemed to remove the version numbers from the main title thou making it harder for us the downloader to figure out what version we were actually downloading. Unless of course we randomly found it like I did at the bottom of the description.

Thanks download.com and of course CNET way to fix a problem right away….

Till Next Time,

Remy “Se7en”

Downloads.com Removes Version Number Off All Software Titles

Dear Readers,

(Last Update July 31, 2009 @ 11:23 pm EST) ISSUE has been RESOLVED

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I never thought I would ever say this about download.com. But it appear CNET has made it a lot harder to find the version number of the software you are trying to download. If you think it will be in the main title like it was before you are dead wrong. It was in the main title easy to find and see and understand. Now for what ever reason the version number is at the very end of the blurb about the software.

Here is what I mean here is a direct copy and paste of the last paragraph of the description.

This is a Direct Link to the full post for AVG Free Anti-Virus: http://download.cnet.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/3000-2239_4-10320142.html?tag=contentBody;mostPopTwoColWrap

**As You’ll see no version number in the title description like AVG Free Anti-Virus (8.5.374). also missing is the version history that use to on the right side of the page. But that is also no longer there. I wounder if this is new look or is was just a simple mistake. I personally hope it was a minor mistake because now you are not really sure what version of the software you are downloading .

————————————————————-

Publisher’s description

From AVG Technologies USA :

AVG Free Edition is the well-known antivirus protection tool. AVG Free is available free of charge to home users for the life of the product. Rapid virus database updates are available for the lifetime of the product, thereby providing the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers. AVG Free is easy to use and will not slow your system down (low system resource requirements. Highlights include automatic update functionality, the AVG Resident Shield, which provides real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.

Version 8.5.374 is a maintenance release.

——————————————————————

Till My Next Post,

Remy “Se7en”

New Version Of VLC Media Player (1.0.1) Available To Download @ Download.com

Dear Readers,

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Well to my surprise, I found there was an updated to my favorite media player “VLC Player”. I found a new version which was  (1.0.1) and even thou it is to soon to say. It appears to have just been a minor update with some features improved mainly for better stability. Keep your eyes peeled for a full review.

In the mean time here is the – VLC PLAYER Direct Download Link -

Till My Next Post,

Remy “Se7en”

Smart Defrag 1.20 – Freeware Review

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Here is my full review on (Smart Defrag 1.20)

AA. Cost: Free

BB. Is it worth that cost ?: Yes, for sure it is free but I still give the edge to AusLogic Disk Defrag

1. Ease of use – Just click and go…I would advise if you do use this program to do the analyze first before full defrag. So you know how long it may take to run full scan

1a. Interface - Not pretty but it works for what it needs to be used for…very grey

2. Quality of scan – Excellent

2A. Speed of Scan – Pretty Quick…not as fast as Auslogic Yet maybe next version

3. Updating – Have not had to update it yet

4. Can you run other programs during the scan ? Yes

4a. Can you run programs during update ? Not sure

5. Is there a progress bar? Yes a progress bar

6. Can you leave it running and it will run with out issue ? Yes

7. Is there adware or Spyware bundled with it ? Nope, not that I see

8. Is it stable ? Yes, very much so

10. How long do scans take ? The first time you run it could take a few hours. After that cut the time in half…

Over all a 3 out of 5 stars – Auslogic disk defrag program is way faster and better. But this does not bug you to buy another program like Auslogic does (TO REMOVE JUNK FILES PLEASE INSTALL THE FULL VERSION OF AUSLOGIC BosstSpeed) This program is very slow but anything is better then the built in VISTA defrag program. Even this one I just prefer Auslogic version of disk defrag because of the speed and a lot less CPU and paging file use overall.

Link to download Smart Defrag : http://download.cnet.com/Smart-Defrag/3000-2094_4-10759533.html?tag=contentBody;mostPopTwoColWrap

Till Next Time,

Remy “Se7en”

AVG Free Anti-Virus (8.5.406) Official Grisoft Fixes & Improvements List From AVG FREE FORUM

Dear Reader,

(Last Update July 29, 2009 @ 7:00pm EST) Changed Title

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Here is The Official List Of Fixes and Improvements For AVG Free Anti-Virus version (8.5.406)

So here it is straight from AVG FREE FORUM:  http://forums.avg.com/ww.avg-free-forum?sec=thread&act=show&id=387

Program update AVG Free 8.5.406

Fixes & Improvements

Core: Detection of the next modification of Virut has been added.
Core: Fixed possible BSOD in AVI loader driver.
Core: New modifications of Swizzors detected.
Core: Fixed problem with tracking cookies listing in detected objects report.
Language: AVG newly localized into Malaysian.
Resident Shield: Fixed problem with possible incorrect status change of the Resident Shield component.
Resident Shield: Fixed problem with BSOD when accessing Sony PDW-U1 drive.
Safe Search: Fixed problem with iexplore.exe crash.
Safe Search: Fixed problem with occasional crash of Internet Explorer due to defect in URL results handling.
Safe Search: Added support for www.bing.com search engine.
Safe Search: Added support for www.yandex.ru search engine.
Toolbar: Updated list of search providers

—————————————————————————————————————-

Hope this answers all the questions I’ve been getting about what are the improvements made to the new AVG Free (8.5.406)

Till Next Time,

Remy “Se7en”

New Version of AVG Free Anti-Virus (8.5.406) Available Real Soon

Dear Readers,

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Hey everyone…I found out today after looking at the new AVG Free Anti-Virus Forum. There seemed to be a new version release notes for a new AVG Free Anti-Virus version (8.5.406). But I was un-able to update my AVG Free Anti-Virus via AVG manual update nor could I find the new version @ download.com my normal download website. But know that when it is available, I will be adding the new AVG Free Anti-Virus link as soon as it is up and available to me to download…

Till Then,

Remy “Se7en”

Survey Savvy – Survey Site Review (July 2009)

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It’s that time again…. survey website review time

Name: Survey Savvy

Link: https://www.surveysavvy.com/ss/ss_index.php?action=home

Who is eligible: Pretty Much any country

Type of Award or payment: Sweepstakes / Cash / Prizes

Points or Cash normally earned per survey:: $0.00 USD

Sign-up time: Medium length

How many Surveys to expect per week: 0-5 Surveys a week

How Long to collect reward: way longer then you’d ever want…

Do they Spam you: Yes

Number of Survey received over 6 year since joining: About 35

Overall rating: 1 out of 5 – This survey company has major spamming issues, Even thou this company guarantees 1-3 US dollars per qualified survey……

Till My Next Post,

Remy “Se7en”

Blog Update #72 – Coming This Week: More Survey Site Reviews & Scam Database Updates

Dear Readers,

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This week just a really short Blog update—-first off there will be a few more survey site reviews coming to the site as well as some more updates to the Internet scam section of the site. Enjoy

Till My Next Post,

Remy “Se7en”

PC Tools: Desktop Maestro (3.0.0.830) – Software Review

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AA. Cost: $49.95 USD (3 computers)

BB. Is it worth that cost ?: Nope, it is not worth the extra $10 dollars US for 2 more options (Clean your computer options and an Setting button which is on the side anyways)

CC. Level of Knowledge needed to use software: Little or no knowledge needed to use safely

1. Ease of use – Very Easy – It has 6 main Icon Buttons -

1a. Interface - Very easy and simple to use…everything is simple and pretty much one button activation

2. Quality of scan – Super effective..not pron to as many false postives as older version of PC tools Desktop Maestro…

2A. Speed of Scan – Super fast and accurate

3. Updating – Super Fast

4. Can you run other programs during the scan ? Yes

4a. Can you run programs during update ? Yes

5. Is there a progress bar? Yes

6. Can you leave it running and it will run with out issue ? Yes

7. Is there adware or Spyware bundled with it ? No

8. Is it stable ? Yes very stable..but this is built for Vista 32bit and 64bit

9. How long do scans take ? 5-30 min

Over all a 3.5 out of 5 – This is the full program with all possible buttons, not that you need all the buttons in the first place. There really should not be that much confusion as what each button does it actually does. Also important to note this is built for Vista/XP 32 bit operating system. I would personally recommend the use of the cheaper more simply version “PC Tools: Registry Mechanic” which is 10 dollars US chapers and does the same thing….

Website Link: http://www.pctools.com/

Extra info: Some options can cause damage to your computer. So be careful and read manual if needed..or just get an older version of PC tools registry fixer/scanner

Till My Next Post,

Ding Dong Danny + Remy “Se7en”