I wonder whether this is an official statement on behalf of Lavasoft. Alright, there have been other statements from the PR spokesperson which are not much better, but this one is really frightening (emphasis mine):
That being said, we are very aware that you do not want a process that, seemingly without reason, hogs precious system recources — We do not want that either. Please but bear in mind, however, that this is beta software, and the program has yet to find its final form, both in terms of features and in terms of what it requires of your system in order to run.
Source: Lavasoft Beta Community
Has anyone of those in charge actually there read this article, yet?
// Oliver
Just kidding. 
… but if you didn’t notice, that is the 3rd article in a row dealing with LS.
Apparently “defiance” got a job at Lavasoft. Congratulations, “defiance”. However, “defiance”, I think your Swedish is fairly bad for a Swede or you did ignore the local press ([1], [2]). Or maybe you deliberately chose to be blind? Google yourself for “Job Lavasoft 2007″, your blog has been indexed. A friend of mine already pointed out that the “Division by zero” error on the comment page suggests that infinitely many people tried to warn you, but probably you just didn’t approve the comments … anyway. Good luck with the job - hope you’ll have more than I had (and still have).
Continue reading ‘Three in a row … LS wins!’
LS is begging for PR it seems. There you go …
Strange though … who is that third face from the right half-hidden behind a glass? Looks like I know the person, but she looks completely different than on this page. How comes? Photoshop? PaintShop Pro? GIMP? … nah, I am not going to enumerate all of these tools now 
Also nice in this blog article is this sentence (emphasis mine):
Ever wonder what happens behind the scenes – like, for instance, what it took for that beautiful GUI and redesigned engine of the Ad-Aware 2007 Beta to make it to your PC?
… and now let’s ask a beta tester Continue reading ‘They are begging for PR!’
ME ME ME
Until today in the afternoon there was a rating facility in the “Lavasoft Beta Community” which was even used by some users of the community. The latest rating for me I was aware of was 5 out of 5 stars. Funnily I was the only one to be rated at all
Guess what - the rating facility was removed and you have three free guesses why?! … what will be the next step?
// Oliver
PS: Although not a beta tester myself, I try to reach out a helping hand to the beta testers and also try to get some helpful information from them for former colleagues and (current) friends! 
When trying to register for the public beta of Ad-Aware 2007 I was amazed the server actually told me … quote:
Warning: mysql_connect() [function.mysql-connect]: Too many connections in /downloads/data/www/htdocs/lavasoft/public_html/support/securitycenter/config_beta_application.php on line 3
Warning: mysql_select_db() [function.mysql-select-db]: Access denied for user ‘www’@'localhost’ (using password: NO) in /downloads/data/www/htdocs/lavasoft/public_html/support/securitycenter/config_beta_application.php on line 4
Warning: mysql_select_db() [function.mysql-select-db]: A link to the server could not be established in /downloads/data/www/htdocs/lavasoft/public_html/support/securitycenter/config_beta_application.php on line 4
Proof (click to enlarge):
I wonder what the author wants to tell me with this poetic error message
Update: Skimming over the Terms of Service for the beta-test I found this jewel (emphasis mine):
No support is provided for applications released under the Lavasoft Alpha/Beta application testing program.
… no comments!
// Oliver
Last night I commented on the chauffeur of LS and still he didn’t make it into the “hall of fame” of LS’ management as logistics manager. I am one of the lucky ones to know his name and how he looks, so I can tell. But despite that, here is another fun fact: I know from a very reliable source outside of LS’ realm [1] that the “logistics manager” called himself the “private chauffeur” of the CEO last year. How rapidly things change …
Although I added it as a comment already, I want to point to it more publicly here. There is another article on the website of Göteborgs Posten: “Det luktar fortfarande illa” (English: “This smells still/continuously bad”).
// Oliver
[1] This person never worked for LS at any time, so don’t be afraid LS, no leak of information from former employees, the “logistics manager” stated it himself … and still works at LS so it can’t be that sensitive … if only Skatteverket knew
In their press announcement Lavasoft writes:
The person that is referred to as the company’s chauffeur is the logistics manager of Lavasoft.
… now all dictionaries I checked draw a direct connection between the terms “management” and “manager”. Am I the only one missing a manager here? Can you “spot” the missing one? …
// Oliver
Since Corrine put it up so nicely I am not going to add anything for now. Maybe later. LS has finally trouble with the tax authorities. My Swedish is not good enough to translate it ad-hoc and I also lack the time. Therefore thanks to Corrine for the nice write-up.
The gist of the text was quite well matched. Here are the links to the original (Swedish) articles from Göteborgs Posten:
1. It-bolag har stora skatteskulder (IT-company has tax debts)
2. Det luktar skunk på Lavasoft (This smells “fishy” with Lavasoft)
Yes, it smells indeed,
// Oliver
Hi fellows,
today I recognized that LS has removed all stuff from the Lavasoft blog. Interestingly all of my blog entries (e.g. this one) have been cleaned up including the one to which I am referring here. Surely just a mistake or maybe because of “regular” cleaning. The funny thing is, that in the forums my blog entries had created some positive feedback - will the inverse hold now that the blog entries have gone?!?! Continue reading ‘Cool: Lavasoft blog cleaned … (update #1)’
Starting today, I am finally no more an employee of Lavasoft. This is a good and final answer to my question raised during the long period of uncertainty caused by Ms. X (see the linked article). If someone is interested, the person I am referring to by the handle “Ms. X” is no one else but the current CEO of Lavasoft.
I am glad to be released now, while I was relieved from working duties already since May. Now I just have to see the outcome of the trial against Lavasoft and hope for the best.
// Oliver
Since I want to support my beloved “still-employer” in its search for a replacement of myself I just want my readers to consider the latest entry in their blog:
We’re looking for the best of the best to join the Lavasoft team as we continue to develop innovative products and deliver excellence in customer support.
(source: article “Bragging Rights”, screenshot available here!)
So if you are one of the best, apply. If you will work for free, apply immediately - you would be the perfect replacement for me then :mrgreen:.
// Oliver
2006-11-01: Updated to include the screenshot of the blog article referenced.
With some distance from the events casting shadows over my suspension from work at LS, I want you to have a look at the following link at rootkit.com from which the quotation in the title was taken.
If any of my readers are passionate reverse engineers and want to comment on the allegations in the above linked article, please do so. Obviously it is currently impossible for me to comment on anything Continue reading ‘“Ad-Aware is a poorly written anti-spyware program […]”’
I am currently wondering whether I am still bound by the clauses in my employment agreement since Lavasoft decided to not pay me anymore. Actually it has not been “Lavasoft” but a very specific person from the Lavasoft management. I will not disclose her name at this point, though. Let me call her Ms. X during this post.
When I started at Lavasoft back in September 2005, my intention was to stay in this company 3-5 years if possible. This enthusiasm was Continue reading ‘Am I still a Lavasoft employee? Help find out …’
