Response to Andy@Evidence-Eliminator.com
Updated Sunday, 18 February 2002

I have been asked about Evidence Eliminator numerous times. I've viewed their website, which curled my lip. I've received their unsolicited emails, which was an outrage as such intrusions always are, to say nothing of their odious sales pitch. I've browsed Usenet to find their spam, which is dumped into newsgroups in startling quantities. The lowbrow neighborhoods are most densely bejeweled with EE spams; porn, warez and crackers' groups and the like; but it is not at all confined to those.

It required nothing more than these observations to reach my own conclusion: I would personally never buy this product. I would hope never to see anyone profit from such abuses.

I have said as much at various times, both publicly and privately.

Someone sent me an email today, purporting to be Andy Churchill, presumably a principal of Robin Hood Software.

What an unfortunate name; it is surely from the poor (at least of judgement) that the seller of Evidence Eliminator draws his wealth; and I sorely doubt he gives anything back. The Robin Hood paradigm is turned on its head.

At any rate, Andy or someone dug up one of my posts to a GRC newsgroup. Andy attempted to answer my comments and to sway my opinion. It didn't work. Here is my reply, with his message fully quoted:

Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2002 08:04:56 -0800
To: "Andy [EE]" <andy@evidence-eliminator.com>
From: pchelp <pchelp@pc-help.org>
Subject: Re: Fw: Evidence Eliminator
In-Reply-To: <001901c1b2f3$c70316b0$0564a8c0@support2pc>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
X-UIDL: %Vk!!4<6!!Uag"!-#n"!


Hi, Andy!

Be advised, this email is going onto my public website immediately, and
there it will remain.

At 11:55 AM 2/11/02 -0000, you wrote:
>Dear Keith
>The message below has been forwarded to me. It seems to contain some
>questionable assumptions - I wonder if you have ever used Evidence
>Eliminator software?

I haven't, and more than likely, I never will.  I do understand
approximately 100% of the technical issues involved.

>re:
>> catering to criminality

>I suggest this is a little harsh. We prevent people from accidentally
>incriminating themselves, something millions of legitimate Internet users do
>every day whilst surfing Adult material in the USA.

Your promotions -- those intended for people who would ordinarily have
nothing to hide -- are grossly overstated, unnecessarily and very
intentionally alarming; in sum, blatant and extreme scare tactics.  That's
my opinion.  You can't sugar-coat that garbage with me, and frankly I'd
prefer you didn't insult my intelligence by trying.

Meanwhile, those promotions aimed at p0rn-related markets and similar, are
indeed clearly intended to assist in the coverup of criminal and/or
disreputable acts.  They cater directly and unmistakably to those
motivations.  That's my opinion.  I'm sure you can justify it -- "someone
else would do it if I didn't" or the like -- but I won't be distracted from
the fact that it is YOU who ARE doing it.


>> The efficacy of their product is obviously overstated.

>It does what it says on the advert. It's the best engineered and most
>thorough Windows HDD cleaner you can get.

Good for you.  Now take your unethical and Net-abusive marketing, and your
product incidentally, and shove 'em both someplace no one else will have to
endure them.  I'm offended by your motives and methods.  I couldn't care
less about your "engineering."


>> They naturally don't tell you free/inexpensive measures will do the same
>> things.

>There are all kinds of rubbish cleaners out there but none can provide the
>same protection as EE in a quality package. Yes it's a commercial product,
>it's priced for a market, its buyers set the price and this is what they're
>willing to pay for it. Buyers also receive lifetime upgrades, these are very
>worthwhile. Wehave people who purchased version 1 over two years ago, who
>are nowdownloading 5.056 without upgrade fees. Over 10 or 20 years of
>quality upgrades it's an amazing deal. I would buy it myself if I didn't run
>the company!

Know what?  I don't CARE how good your product is.  Are you getting the
idea by now?  I've seen enough to draw the conclusion that the character of
its sellers is beneath contempt.  That's my opinion.  The character of
those with whom I would do business is every bit as important to me as the
qualities of their products.

In addition to your reprehensible sales tactics, I see that your resellers
are spamming continuously and massively via Usenet and email, and have been
doing so for ages.  You certainly know this.  You certainly profit by it.
All indications are that you have never acted to eliminate it, which is in
my mind THE SAME as doing it yourself.  Thus in my opinion YOU are a
spammer of very large proportions.  This spamming is in fact continuous
worldwide theft and abuse of resources not your own; it is a criminal act.
Right down to the time it wastes of the unwilling recipients, it is an
OFFENSE.  That's my opinion.

I am ONE person who would dismiss you utterly and with you, your product,
on those bases.

No sale, Andy.

Go away.

pchelp


>Best Regards
>Andy Churchill
>Director, Robin Hood Software Ltd.
>andy@evidence-eliminator.com
>http://www.evidence-eliminator.com
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "pchelp" <pchelp@nwi.net>
>Newsgroups: grc.zzz.security.software
>Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 7:33 PM
>Subject: Re: Evidence Eliminator
>
>
>>
>> They're the Lockdown of privacy apps.
>>
>> Their advertising patter is grossly unethical, catering to criminality
>> and using extreme scare tactics.
>>
>> The efficacy of their product is obviously overstated.
>>
>> Their product is extremely overpriced.
>>
>> They naturally don't tell you free/inexpensive measures will do the same
>> things.
>>
>> They're spammers, in effect, because they promote and condone spamming
>> by their "affiliates," who spam with abandon on all fronts.
>>
>> Therefore, my recommendation:  As a matter of principle, DON'T BUY THAT
>> PRODUCT.
>>
>> pchelp
>>
>>
>> "Robert Stirling" <thumperstirling@home.com> has evidently written:
>>
>> [snipped rude html]
>> >Does anyone have any info on Evidence Eliminator? I have just
>> >viewed a web site advising me that it is a "must have" security
>> >software. It's very expensive, over $100.00 Canadian, but if it works
>> >then maybe it would be worth it. Suggestions? TIA.
>> [snipped rude html]

-- 
http://pc-help.org/

Andy replied, with this only:

My gosh you really are an agressive fellow! Have a great weekend!

Aggressive? Perhaps so. Will I be criticized for my acerbic commentary? Doubtless. Sued? Perhaps, albeit without basis, as it is my God-given and Constitutional right to express my opinions. But that never stopped anyone like Andy from abusing the US courts.

In any case, if you're a happy Evidence Eliminator user, I don't want to hear from you about it, any more than I care to soil my hands on the likes of Andy again. For all that I take a strong interest in matters technical, there are considerations that take precedence.

If you're someone who is wondering whether to buy EE, I prefer that you use your own standards and judgement, not mine, as the basis of your decision. At which point I trust you'll decide against it.