Winpatrol..R.I.P.??

hayc59 · June 07, 2016, 11:29:46 PM

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r30802711-Winpatrol-RIP
Also Corrine how is Bill?

ky331 · June 08, 2016, 12:26:52 AM

Regardless of whether or not WinPatrol continues further development, the program continues to function now as it always had... without requiring any updates.

In fact, I personally opted to "freeze" my WinPatrol at version 32.0.2014.5 --- the last build with which BillP was still (at least partially) involved. I had tried some newer versions, but always found myself reverting back to this one.

Corrine · June 08, 2016, 12:29:58 AM

Bill is dealing ok.

As to WinPatrol, as ky331 said, WinPatrol is still working fine. Sure long-time users would love an update but Bret et al are concentrating on WinAntiRansom in particular due to the tremendous upsurge in ransomware. As shown in this MBAM blog post, 65% of the exploid for May, 2016 was ransomware and that figure does not include malicious phishing emails and Droppers/Downloaders are another statistic entirely!

plodr · June 08, 2016, 12:32:28 AM

I'm also using WinPatrol on four Win 7 computers and don't need updates for it to work properly. I'm running v 33.6.2015.1 from June 28th 2015.
I had problems with later versions and had to restore one or two computers so that's why I stuck with this version.

CCleaner updates monthly. I haven't updated that in a few years and it also works fine for my needs.

hayc59 · June 08, 2016, 06:40:43 AM

Thank you Corrine

Digerati · June 08, 2016, 01:17:57 PM

I agree. There's no need to stop using a program just because there have not been any recent updates - as long as it is still fulfilling its intended purpose, and WinPatrol is.

I am using the latest version (V33.6.2015.18) that came out July 27, 2015 with no problems. I will continue to use and recommend it until it no longer serves its purpose.

I certainly am not looking for any new features and definitely don't want any changes just for the sake of change (or aesthetics!). But there are a few reported bugs that have been around for awhile that I would like to see fixed. Just fixing the known bugs would be comforting enough for me to believe the program is alive and well, and the developers/company still cares about it, and it's users. I think that would give significant reassurance WinPatrol users have not been forgotten, especially for those of us who paid for the PLUS version.

Starphish · June 09, 2016, 01:39:46 PM

I'm convinced that the WinPatrol buy-out was done for the sole purpose of acquiring a "reputation by inference" for Ruiware products. As such WinPatrol has been left to languish while feeble attempts to solve WinPrivacy and WinAntiRansom deficiencies seem to lead only to greater issues.

As a lifetime owner of multiple copies of WinPatrol and WinPrivacy, and a former user of WinAntiRansom, I have now removed ALL instances of these products from ALL of my machines (thank you Revo). I'm particularly troubled that Ruiware continues to promote and sell licenses for the latter two, both of which are no better than beta works (WinAntiMalware barely qualifies as alpha).

So yes, RIP WinPatrol, and condolences to Bill P who has seen his baby neglected, and left to starve from inattention. :-\

Scott · June 09, 2016, 02:54:04 PM

To comment on this thread, WinPatrol's current version is a solid stable product that isn't needing attention right now.

If there are folks that believe WinPatrol is being neglected, we will point out that WinPatrol is the least in terms of incoming support tickets and posts to forums regarding issues. So from a development stand-point, WinPatrol is a product that doesn't need (Priority 1 or 2) bug fixes but will get attention for feature requests.

We are a small company and have 4 products currently available, we will continue to support and release updates, but it may not be at a pace that is comparable to larger software companies.

Hope that helps.

v_v · June 09, 2016, 02:57:48 PM

I guess that I do not understand what all the fuss is about. So what if WinPatrol has not been updated in a year. It works very well as is. Outside of fixing a few minor bugs the program has been doing its job for years. Kudos to Bill P.

As I understand it Bill wanted to design a slim, resource friendly program that would help with certain security and convenience issues, and he provided it mostly for free. He acheived his goals and then some.

Could the currently existing product be upgraded with more features, etc? Of course! But then would it still be that slim resourceful product that we all use and appreciate, or would it turn into another case of bloatware?

From what I can tell WinPatrol still works well on Windows 10 and shows no signs of being ineffective. What is there not to like?

[ Scott posted while I was writing. His words, "WinPatrol's current version is a solid stable product that isn't needing attention right now," seem to sum up the situation well!]

v_v

techie · June 09, 2016, 03:07:42 PM

I have pretty much used Winpatrol since it's creation and do not see a problem at all with the software. It does it's job and does it well. If it's not broke don't fix it, if it does what it is intended to do, then what is the problem? As previously stated works well even with Win 10.

hayc59 · June 09, 2016, 03:14:00 PM

Quote from: Scott on June 09, 2016, 02:54:04 PM
To comment on this thread, WinPatrol's current version is a solid stable product that isn't needing attention right now.

If there are folks that believe WinPatrol is being neglected, we will point out that WinPatrol is the least in terms of incoming support tickets and posts to forums regarding issues. So from a development stand-point, WinPatrol is a product that doesn't need (Priority 1 or 2) bug fixes but will get attention for feature requests.

We are a small company and have 4 products currently available, we will continue to support and release updates, but it may not be at a pace that is comparable to larger software companies.

Hope that helps.

Scott, thank you for clearing up the questions I needed answered!

Bret Lowry · June 09, 2016, 03:24:48 PM

When we purchased WinPatrol, we were a one person company and the sales of WinPatrol were not even enough to allow me to quit my fulltime job and run WinPatrol as a business.

Since that time we've released WinPrivacy and WinAntiRansom into the consumer market, the increased revenue allowed me to work fulltime in the company and bring on a couple of people. One of which, Scott is 100% dedicated to support of the products, including responding for forums like LandzDown. He doesn't let any post sit unattended.

Please understand that a lifetime license generates revenue only once, each subsequent support email and forum response eats away at that revenue. That is a dangerous business model, which is why we've branched out into an annual renewal based business product as well.
We inherited millions of customers when we purchased WinPatrol but none of the revenue those licenses generated. Debacles like Adobe creating a bogus start-up program in Dec 2014 right after release of Beta-1 for WinPrivacy and the initial Windows 10 upgrades last September that removed the WinPatrol Registration code generated many thousands of emails that all had to be handled and we handled them all.

Yes, we have not released an update to WinPatrol since 2015 and that is unfortunate, but prior to this hiatus we took the time to ensure WinPatrol was stable and worked well on all systems from Windows XP through Windows 10 and included support for Microsoft Edge.

WinPatrol is not dead, if it was, why would we have named our product for business "WinPatrol Enterprise" and why would I have recently hired Scott to answer emails and forum posts?

Please have a little patience, that patience will be rewarded with updates to WinPatrol PLUS.

Thank You,
Bret Lowry.

Digerati · June 09, 2016, 04:18:39 PM

@ Scott and Bret - first and foremost, thanks so much for stepping in with your comments. It is very reassuring to know that you are indeed, listening. :D

Quote from: ScottSo from a development stand-point, WinPatrol is a product that doesn't need (Priority 1 or 2) bug fixes but will get attention for feature requests.

Well, IMHO, the feature set it has now is fine and personally, I would like to see the reported bugs fixed (even if priority 3 or 4) get the attention before any new features (that may introduce new bugs) are added. As I noted above, I truly believe WinPatrol is still an excellent, effective program that I use on all my systems and still, without reservations, recommend others use it too. I don't need changes or new features, just for the sake of change.

Quote from: BretPlease understand that a lifetime license generates revenue only once... .That is a dangerous business model... .
We inherited millions of customers when we purchased WinPatrol but none of the revenue those licenses generated.

From a business owner's standpoint, I fully understand and appreciate the position (predicament?) that "lifetime" business model put you in.

But from a consumer standpoint, frankly and with no disrespect intended, what you "inherited" is what you "bought into" - hopefully with eyes wide open. So those concerns are not our concerns (at least for those of us grandfathered in with lifetime licenses).

So you folks responding here is a truly great step in showing us "WinPatrol is alive and well". Perhaps another reassuring step would be to at least acknowledge the reported bugs as they are submitted in this thread, letting us know (in a timely fashion!) that they have been logged and are on your to-do list. I say this not just as longtime, loyal user, but as someone who has done beta testing professionally as part of my real job for many many years.

Let us help you help us! If you keep us in the know, we can keep your customers in the know!

onDvine · June 09, 2016, 04:31:24 PM

WinPatrol does what it's supposed to do but the versions on both computers here have ongoing problems with multiple copies running that I tried to get addressed in early 2015 without any response beyond Corrine's much-appreciated attempts to help (links below). I won't mess with it or update it further at this point because the program is functional, but you ignored my requests for assistance at this site and by email. So sorry our lifetime Plus licenses didn't generate any income for you.

Some links to those posts now display the message: "403 - Forbidden Access to this resource on the server is denied!" in a huge font.

Links to a few other posts are below.

http://www.landzdown.com/winpatrol-help-information/problem-installing-version-33-1-2015-0/

http://www.landzdown.com/winpatrol-help-information/too-many-winpatrol-plus-entries-in-startup-programs/

I feel as Digerati does, "... from a consumer standpoint, frankly and with no disrespect intended, what you "inherited" is what you "bought into" - hopefully with eyes wide open. So those concerns are not our concerns (at least for those of us grandfathered in with lifetime licenses). ... "

onDvine · June 09, 2016, 06:37:22 PM

Apparently the posts with relevant screen snapshots are on those inaccessible servers.

Just FYI, I did find a screen snapshot from April, 2015, showing how the Vista PC's tray usually looks when it boots. Sometimes there are only two Scotties. Occasionally, one. The gray box to the left of the Scotties is always there until clicked to exit. Hovering displays "Blocked startup programs," and the program it's blocking is yet another version of WinPatrol Explorer.