I am also a Beta Tester that was in on the testing of this Security Center.
This program is geared more toward the user that has absolutely no Spyware or Antivirus programs on their computer.
There are several reasons I will not use it.
1. I find the Firewall better than Window's, but less than the free Zone Alarm.
2. I do not like McAfee, because it usually only updates once a week. I use the free AVG, because it updates everyday.
3. This program does recognize some, but not all other programs and I will not be forced to uninstall another AV program that I like.
4. The biggest reason for me is that you can NOT schedulae a separate scan for the Spyware and AV. I see NO reason to run a 40+ minute AV scan everyday.

this is useless for ppl. there alot of software got those function why we should choice AOL. AOL start making ppl dispointed

Help us out here and name some that are free that come with the service you are using. You say "there alot of software got those function..."

It's interesting to see how the evolution of AOL over the last 10 years has been less severe than the companies changes in this last year.

A lot of people have become alienated by AOL, and granted it's mostly for several good reasons, at the time: versions 6.0 - 8.0 have been quite a bit more buggy than it should have been.

However, 9.0 security edition happens to be much more solid in stability and has gotten quite a few good reviews, including from such impartial sources such as Consumer Reports... and their security suites are effective, though geared toward higher powered machines with more available resources than what most people on this forum are probably using (I myself am find with my 700 mhz Athlon).

You've also got to remember that their programming is aimed toward less experienced users and as such, they have to build more idiot-proof software solutions which have to be aesthetically pleasing (what you call "bloat") to appease the tastes of it's user class, and as non-intrusive as possible (which relies on a lot of the behind the scenes processing). This is software that is neither designed nor marketed toward the more mature computing population out there... a fact you must remember before you decide to critique it on grounds that it's design is overly simplified and ineffective.

The comparison you also fail to make in terms of resource usage is how much you're computer's internet connection, firewall, spyware, and anti-virus use COMBINED compared to AOL's suite. I think you'll find that you're computer has just as many tsr's, using a similar amount of resources, from those afforementioned programs as AOL's suite does.

So, before you obstinately condemn AOL, check out the new version using the recommended system requirements... AOL has made it's $20 per month fee much more affordable with it's included spyware, firewall, and antivirus applications.

There is a reason Micorsoft, Yahoo, and Google were all looking at AOL as part of an acquisition... and why Time Warner refuses to sell it off.

In fact, there was a recent article in the New York Times that listed AOL as the most undervalued compartment of Time Warner.

Who cares?

It's like people that continue to buy american cars. They are asking for it. Yes there are more reliable cars out there, better built, in almost all regards. The top three American automakers have fairly substandard reliability, high recall rates, yet people still buy them. Amazing.

AOL is no different. People continue to use dial-up service because they know no better. Fine it comes with a security service. I seriously doubt that all the components that are included, people have any idea what they are doing with AOL's services, whether to check the integrity of the service itself.

Let the masses have their eye candy.

A few of the reasons people use a dial-up service are One, they can't afford broadband or cable or satellite and two, broadband or cable isn't available in their area, and satellite service is too expensive when cable and dsl are not options. If there is something about the integrity of the AOL service you don't like, list it. In the meantime, many, many of us like AOL.

"If there is something about the integrity of the AOL service you don't like, list it. "
I don't have to list what currently annoys me, because I bailed many many years ago. Here Are some things I've experienced firsthand:

How they used do do everything in their power to make it inconvenient to cancel their service. They hid the links, they kept you on hold, they offered you months of free service (mind you this was when the phone was busy trying to dial-up.) They were sued for this and changed their ways.

They constantly had busy signals during their peak hours, making the claims for unlimited hours unreasonable. They were sued under class action for both these issues and settled to change behavior.

As mentioned previously, they screwed with the TCP/IP stack on W9x series PC's enough to cause permanent damage on uninstallation. The only thing that protected W2K and XP was system file protection.

They spam spam spam, both snail and e-mail. They opt you in rather than opt out. I've never seen so much spam as on AOL, both for IM and for e-mail.

I imagine many people use AOL not because they like it, but because they want to keep their precious address (es) and the hassle of switching is not quite outweighed by the far better service and deals they'd get elsewhere.

To each their own. Like I said, I could care less about AOL's members.
http://radio.weblogs.com...gAolGoodLuckTrying.html

Just like other AOL systems, it wants to take over the system;"try our firewall, try our virus protection, but first disable the ones your using'" not.

yeah and how damn bloated is this tool?

I dont trust AOL, and never will.

As a software developer and PC manufacturer I have my reasons.

Besides, my system is secure enough already, and I dont run any real-time protection suites AT ALL.

I'm as secure as the CIA, given this being a "popular with the noobs" AOL project, it will be as vulnerable as Norton Antivirus soon.

There are viruses designed specifically to get past pathetic security apps such as this.

Three fourths of you who bash AOL in these posts have probably never even tried it. You probably heard from a friend of a friend who tried it who ran in to a problem totally unrelated to the installation or use of AOL that blamed it on AOL who had also heard from a friend of a friend that AOL was no good. I have been using AOL for quite a number of years and I have also been beta testing for AOL for a number of years as well. Never, ever, have I found anything in testing AOL that is referred to negatively in all of these posts which bash AOL. I really think that most, if not all of you who bash AOL have very vivid imaginations. You offer nothing substantive to back up your claims. Do that and you may have some credibility in the on line community.

LOL,

Your Killing me.

I assume you are using Norton or McAfee as well?

And how much spyware crap do you have on your system. You probably don't even know. I have personally (yes personally) removed volumes of spyware, virus, worms you name it from many computer users that were dependent on AOL to protect them from spyware, viruses, spam, take out the trash, wash the dishes. AOL promises to do everything automatically and what we end up with is a bunch of computer users that don't have a clue how things work.

AOL user computers are the majority that are being controlled as zombies launching DDOS attacks, sending spam email, and spreading other malware.

You sir have no credibility if you think AOL is anything other than junk.

I for one, did a lot more than try it, Tom. I opened my AOL account on December 20, 1993, and used it very heavily though 2000 and first part of 2001.

During that time, I was BOTH a community leader and a beta tester (of client versions 4.0 through 6.0).

I therefore had a front-row seat, in which I was able to watch its software become slower, larger, and less secure. I saw access to perfectly legitimate websites being blocked, and action repeatedly not taken on TOS violations. I saw the focus of its marketing drift unmistakably toward rank novices, and attempts to deceive those novices about the nature of the internet, the web, and AOL's own content.

I CONTINUE to get calls and e-mail from people whose technical problems are caused by AOL software, many of whom have never had such problems again after choosing to abandon AOL.

So yes, I'm very anti-AOL. No, I don't trust them, and I therefore try to steer friends, family and colleages away from AOL.

You may well argue that AOL has changed a good deal for the better in the five to six years since I gave up on it, and for all I know, you could be correct in such argument. But once my trust has been lost by a company or service, it's very difficult, usually impossible, to regain.

Now, having said all that, I do realize that AOL serves a purpose, by introducing many people to the internet, which is important and not to be completely discredited.

But in all these years, while I've heard of many, many people switching from AOL to better ISP, I've never once heard of anyone switching TO AOL from another ISP, and from MY experiences, that doesn't surprise me.

Your experiences with AOL may've been wonderful, and I obviously can't counter your word on that. But please understand that there ARE people---KNOWLEDGABLE people---whose experiences with AOL have been VERY different from yours, and very negative.

Most people switch to a broadband internet service from AOL, by far the biggest account of user loss in AOL's base.

I must add that your entry is well written and a welcome change to the normal incoherent and bigoted flamings that most users on this forum tend to fall back on. Justifications are nice in supporting opinions

I used AOL on and off from 7 to the 9 security edition. Found it quite buggy. At the moment I don't use IE anymore but I noticed every time I installed AOL's software that IE ceased to work properly (either crashed when I tried to use it or said Page could not be displayed). Had this odd problem with 8, that if I tried to open too many pages at once AOL would freeze and crash. Also, once it finally connected if it ever disconnect I could just hang it up and try again later.

I suppose, then, that I'm one of the 1/4 that does know what I'm talking about. I was one of the original 100 members back on 1.0, and I used the service exclusively until 4.0. When 4.0 was released, I was angry about their decision to continue using proprietary interface adapters rather than using Windows Dial-up Protocol like every other ISP on Earth... largely because their install took out traditional LAN TCP/IP stacks like a ninja. Nevermind the whole bundled, forced, (poorly, broken) customized IE installs they did. From versions 5.0 - 8.0, they just got buggier and buggier. With version 8.0 - 9.0, they started "bloating" it up... it's fine for any vendor to bundle whatever utilities they want. I'm really OK with that. My problem is when they force the installs despite what you may already have installed, rather than give you the simple option of a Custom/Advanced install that lets you deselect the software components you don't want. I'm also quite irritated by the extra "services" that AOL (and any vendor for that matter) install to run on startup. When companies like Dell are still defaulting all their models to 256MB of RAM, it's insane to force all these "startup utilities" on users as soon as the machine boots. Listen up-- IF I WANT TO RUN A PROGRAM, I WILL CLICK ON THE FRACKING ICON! I DON'T NEED NO STINKING TRAY ICON! CAPICHE?!

That's what I want from AOL... a customized install option that lets users pick and choose what they want. :)

Well said!

Nice post, and well informed. I enjoyed reading what you had to say unlike the posts of the less informed individuals. Your experience obviously was not hearing a friend of a friend, etc., relate a supposed bad experience.
Thanks for what you posted. And yes, I continue to have an enjoyable experience with AOL despite bugs encountered from time to time. That's one of the biggest reasons I beta test.

I bet 3/4 of internet users HAVE tried this service, and the people who stick with it are people who have no clue about its intrusive nature and dont care, because they have no computer skills or knowledge, so let them surf the bloated bulging whale.

LOL, what a hoot you are. Three fourths, eh? Since you don't have anything substantive to back up what you are saying I'll assume as it is my right to do, that the reason why people use the service is because they want to. If they didn't,they'd find another service. Many of us have computer skills and/or knowledge by the way and we still use AOL.

i haven't tried the app, i can't anyways since i don't have AOL, so i can't say if it sucks (it probably does)

but considering teh only free antiviruses (that i know of, at least) are avg, avast, and maybe that microsoft thing, then more choice is always good for us.

AOL = too little too late.

The words AOL, McAfee, Safety, and security all used at the same time......This can't be good, not good at all. AOL and McAfee are both garbage to begin with. To mention AOL, Safety, and Security in the same scentence is laughable to say the least. What can I say though, the 2 biggest names in bloat, it's match made in hell.

That must be difficult, Everytime AOL runs a Spyware or Virus scan it removes itself... How does that work???? LOL

Does this protect me from AOL users?

I know you are joking, but actually...it will.

Let me explain:

Prior to AOL's semi-recent security push, I'd be easily willing to bet that over half of the zombie systems out there were owned by AOLers who'd been infected.

This will hopefully cut down on the sheer volume of zombie AOL PCs out there and could effectively cut down on the number of viruses and spam in the wild.

I know I'm dreaming, but what a wonderful picture, eh?

AOL, there's a name you can trust with privacy and security!

The three are irreversably intertwined.

Although when used in the same sentance it is usually due to AOL's lack of one or the other.

But I seriously doubt this will change anyone's perception of AOL.

AOL and security. Now *that* is rich.

BTW:

their "standalone security"?

McAfee Antivirus, and Computer Associate's PestPatrol.

Heh... Had to scrape the bottom of the barrel on that one, apparently. Gotta wonder who they're using for their firewall engine, Microsoft?

*yawn*

HA HA HA Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha ha ha!

Oh my God.

This hurts.

Please make it stop.

lol

lmao

rofl

Hee...heh...hmmmm...

Okay, I'm better now. The title was just too damn funny.

My gut hurts. And gawd21...ya nailed it.

So does it truly remove spyware, or does it leave AOL installed?

Lol. Talk about a conflict of interests.

Oh, and just so you know, you're about to get flamed for calling AOL "spyware."

You might want to duck. =p

Interesting...

I hate AOL as much as the next guy, and I haven't installed AOL in...eons, but as I understand it, most users are well aware of it's usage tracking.

I think one of the main definitions of spyware is that the user remains uninformed of the act. (No mention of those acts in the EULA, silent install, no removal option...etc)

Even way back when, AOL was easy enough to remove. (Maybe not so easy to cancel, but easy enough to remove.)

Yeah, I know you were joking. I feel like picking nits today, though. You just happened to be the victim.

My deepest apologies.

No problem here. Heck I have been in a wry mood today, so that is less than water off a ducks back.

LOL Yeah, I think it will be fun.

OmGz i frkinn ahte alO!!!!

"By Mike162005

posted Dec 2, 2005 - 6:58 PM

OmGz i frkinn ahte alO!!!! "

What?

@gawd21

Oh nothing. Just being stupid.

I love AOL dude. :)

Aol SUX ... :p ( i used it for 3 years and i still regret doing so )

That's it, eh? "Aol SUX". Nothing about why it "SUX"? Amazing that you used it for three years if that is the case.

What kind of evidence do you think people are obligated to present to you, Tom?

Either you take them at their word or you don't.

You sound silly attacking each person with "oh yeah, well prove it!"

AOL does suck, and of the entire internet community, it is considered a universal truth, if such a thing exists. It's a cliche at this point.

If you don't notice that it sucks, then you have been lucky enough to not be using it very much.

There are plenty of examples of lousy products being used by millions of people that, in time, we all look back and laugh or cry.

The only question is: can AOL save itself? Maybe try changing it's name like Philip Morris...