MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaways

[Exterminator]

It has been brought to my attention that a certain member who won a license in an MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway is trying to sell the winning license on another site.
Therefore here is my personal thoughts and suggestions on this new revelation.
This cannot and will not happen again.The giveaway licenses secured from vendors by @Jack @BoraMurdar and myself are not so that members can enter a giveaway,win a license and then try to sell it somewhere else.I am truly speechless over this and to be honest take this as a slap in the face.All the time spent securing the giveaway licenses,drawing up the drafts,picking winners and distributing the licenses seems to be a waste of time after seeing this posted on another site.I cannot speak for @Jack or @BoraMurdar but I imagine they would feel the same way.
Apparently some members are more interested in winning licenses that they don't need or want and then trade them and apparently now try to sell them.Pretty selfish if you ask me.Why not do the right thing and differ the license to another member who entered ?
I like to think that these giveaways help some members who cannot afford to purchase and try some of these premium software and that is part of the reason why we put our time and effort into running these.
Personally I have built an ongoing re-pore and trust with vendors to bring these giveaways to the members here and I will not jeopardize that because of a selfish few members.If that means stepping away from running these giveaways anymore to maintain my good re-pore and trust with these vendors then that is what I will have to do.
In the meantime here are a few suggestions and guidelines to take into consideration.

• Vendors provide us with licenses for a giveaway and the licenses ARE NOT FOR RESALE!!!!
• NOT FOR RESALE IS A VENDOR REQUIREMENT!!!!
• If you are found trying to sell a license won here in a MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway you will be permanently banned from entering any further MalwareTips giveaways as well as a possible ban from the site.
• If you are found trying to circumvent the giveaway ban to enter a giveaway you will be banned from the site.
  
• If it is found that a member is attempting to sell a winning license I for one will personally contact the vendor and have that license blacklisted immediately.
• These guidelines are not negotiable!!

Please excuse my rant but I hope you understand the problem with this and hopefully we can eradicate the few who ruin it for those who abide by the rules.

 

[tonibalas]

Totally agree about blacklisting the license i believe it's a very good action from your part.
As for the decision to ban the member from MT it's up to you the staff members but i want to say that i believe in second chances.

 

[Exterminator]

Totally agree about blacklisting the license i believe it's a very good action from your part.
As for the decision to ban the member from MT it's up to you the staff members but i want to say that i believe in second chances.

He has been banned.This is inexcusable and jeopardizes on going collaborations with vendors.They are not providing licenses worth anywhere from $20 - $90 so that other members can take them and make money off of them. Not to mention they provide anywhere from 10 - 50 licenses at a time with some providing them to us 3 - 4 times a year. They do this partly because of site reputation but also because they trust us and know that their product is going to get a comprehensive presentation with a fair giveaway and the licenses being distributed accordingly.
We have given more members than you know of a second chance however some actions are just not worthy of a second chance.

 

[tonibalas]

Since you have given second chances and the same story goes on then i support your decision all the way.
I said i believe in second chance not in third or fourth.
Some people have to learn the hard way.
By the way thank you for the great giveaways

 

[Exterminator]

By the way this wasn't the first attempt by this member to try and cash in on a giveaway license.If you are a good member and in need of something that you cannot obtain I have no problem helping any member out.However I take offense when members try and exploit those of us who work hard bringing these giveaways which by the way I think we provide some of the best out there.
Its not fair to those members who enter giveaways and follow the rules and someone takes something they would or could have used for their own personal gain.
I have had many winners who after winning a license decide they do not need it and request that it be given to another member.Trust me when I say I do not forget those little things.Hopefully the one bad apple is gone and we can put this to bed

 

[BCHatesMalware]

Well, I must say, that this is one of the most horrible things I've ever heard. Shame on however is doing this!! I, for one, and very, very grateful for the giveaway's that I have been privileged to win, and would never ever consider doing anything like this. I personally feel that people who attempt this should be permanently banned for Malware Tips...period!! ):

Very sorry to hear that people are doing this!! ):

Again, I highly appreciate MT, and thank all of the staff for doing an excellently awesome job in running this site.

Thanks for hearing my 2-cents!!

 

[jamescv7]

Well I would agree in that part caused sometimes license key should be taken with proper procedure and conditions especially its an EXCLUSIVE where there's a restriction + the price worth really matters and very unethical on incident mentioned.

 

[tallorder]

There is no excuse for unethical stealing and fraud. I personally do not feel a person should be given a second chance on a matter of this sort: it is not an unintentional error. It feels to me that it violates anyone who is working hard to secure these keys and aid in the giveaways, and all of us here that care about each other and MT!

 

[Maikuolan]

Although I've seen them and read about them, I've never personally entered any of these giveaway competitions, primarily because given that I work and can usually afford to buy these licenses myself anyhow if I really wanted to have one, I don't have the need to enter, but also because I'm a very new member, haven't posted or participated much yet, and feel somewhat that even if I'd had the need, it'd probably a bit too early at this stage for me to participate in such things. That all said, however, I wholeheartedly agree with the OP's sentiments here.

Considering the difficulty with directly enforcing that winners don't attempt to re-sell won licenses via those websites or services where sales may potentially occur, perhaps pre-registration of licenses may be in order? As in, before a license number is handed out, require that the winner give their details to whoever would usually be handing out that license number to them and then have that license pre-registered to the winner with the vendor prior to handing out that license number. Unfortunately, something like this still wouldn't be foolproof, as the winner could always re-sell the license and simply ask that whoever buys that license validate it with the seller's own details rather than their own, but, it's something, at the least, and may deter some winners from attempting to on-sell their license due to the risks of handing out their details to any potential buyers. Have it that use of incorrect details upon validation of a license could potentially result in automatic blacklisting of that license (this would, of course, only work for those products whose vendors actually use some form of license validation that checks vendor-controlled online databases or connects with a vendor service for validation, and wouldn't be viable for those products whose license validation procedures are done entirely internally).

And of course, if the risk of being banned from MT upon being caught doing something like attempting to on-sell licenses is made clear to any potential winners, as suggested by the OP, that should, hopefully, serve as a deterrent, too.

 

[tallorder]

quote: @
Maikuolan
"Considering the difficulty with directly enforcing that winners don't attempt to re-sell won licenses via those websites or services where sales may potentially occur, perhaps pre-registration of licenses may be in order? As in, before a license number is handed out, require that the winner give their details to whoever would usually be handing out that license number to them and then have that license pre-registered to the winner with the vendor prior to handing out that license number. Unfortunately, something like this still wouldn't be foolproof, as the winner could always re-sell the license and simply ask that whoever buys that license validate it with the seller's own details rather than their own, but, it's something, at the least, and may deter some winners from attempting to on-sell their license due to the risks of handing out their details to any potential buyers."

It seems to me that this would be a lot more extra work on the part of those that work so hard to secure the license and facilitate the give-aways. Some problems may need to be dealt with softly, some need a hammer over the head!

 

[soccer97]

Someone selling a license that they won from a giveaway where it requires a lot of work, time, patience and unusual generosity from both a vendor and MalwareTips staff is inexcusable and selfish. At minimum, the rules warn against this and being banned for sale or transfer of the license. Doing it again is a slap in the face, an insult and a disrespect for all the work and generosity of the staff here, the other members of the forum and the vendors who were so kind. That is truly cause for banning that user.

I was so grateful when I received an exclusive MalwareTips giveaway. I could not have afforded to purchasethe software and it was a nice blessing that came at a time where I needed encouragement. I still use the product today. I am grateful to all parties involved.

The warnings and rules regarding giveaways are posted in multiple areas, stickied and in the giveaways themselves. That is more than enough fair warning.

Thank you to MWT staff, the vendors and all of the users who abide by the rules.

 

[barti]

SpyShelter Premium and Spyshelter Forewall giveaways disappeared. What happened?

 

[Overkill]

I agree exterminator20

 

[Tani]

it's such a shame they're selling their winnings...

 

[NikolayfromRussia]

it's such a shame they're selling their winnings...

Yes, I know some users who sell licenses. Once there was a user in my forum everytime asking me for eset smart 1 year keys. I always gave him but then I was informed that he sold them with a good discount. That user was banned in and since that I always check users before sharing licenses

 

[Nico@FMA]

It has been brought to my attention that a certain member who won a license in an MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway is trying to sell the winning license on another site.
Therefore here is my personal thoughts and suggestions on this new revelation.
This cannot and will not happen again.The giveaway licenses secured from vendors by @Jack @BoraMurdar and myself are not so that members can enter a giveaway,win a license and then try to sell it somewhere else.I am truly speechless over this and to be honest take this as a slap in the face.All the time spent securing the giveaway licenses,drawing up the drafts,picking winners and distributing the licenses seems to be a waste of time after seeing this posted on another site.I cannot speak for @Jack or @BoraMurdar but I imagine they would feel the same way.
Apparently some members are more interested in winning licenses that they don't need or want and then trade them and apparently now try to sell them.Pretty selfish if you ask me.Why not do the right thing and differ the license to another member who entered ?
I like to think that these giveaways help some members who cannot afford to purchase and try some of these premium software and that is part of the reason why we put our time and effort into running these.
Personally I have built an ongoing re-pore and trust with vendors to bring these giveaways to the members here and I will not jeopardize that because of a selfish few members.If that means stepping away from running these giveaways anymore to maintain my good re-pore and trust with these vendors then that is what I will have to do.
In the meantime here are a few suggestions and guidelines to take into consideration.

• Vendors provide us with licenses for a giveaway and the licenses ARE NOT FOR RESALE!!!!
• NOT FOR RESALE IS A VENDOR REQUIREMENT!!!!
• If you are found trying to sell a license won here in a MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway you will be permanently banned from entering any further MalwareTips giveaways as well as a possible ban from the site.
• If you are found trying to circumvent the giveaway ban to enter a giveaway you will be banned from the site.
  
• If it is found that a member is attempting to sell a winning license I for one will personally contact the vendor and have that license blacklisted immediately.
• These guidelines are not negotiable!!

Please excuse my rant but I hope you understand the problem with this and hopefully we can eradicate the few who ruin it for those who abide by the rules.

Very well said my friend. It is just unreal and lame that people would even try this.
Not to mention that you see so many people at the giveaway every time that it makes you wonder why they need 60 different AV programs.
But yeah i am with you on this dude.

 

[Andytay70]

It has been brought to my attention that a certain member who won a license in an MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway is trying to sell the winning license on another site.
Therefore here is my personal thoughts and suggestions on this new revelation.
This cannot and will not happen again.The giveaway licenses secured from vendors by @Jack @BoraMurdar and myself are not so that members can enter a giveaway,win a license and then try to sell it somewhere else.I am truly speechless over this and to be honest take this as a slap in the face.All the time spent securing the giveaway licenses,drawing up the drafts,picking winners and distributing the licenses seems to be a waste of time after seeing this posted on another site.I cannot speak for @Jack or @BoraMurdar but I imagine they would feel the same way.
Apparently some members are more interested in winning licenses that they don't need or want and then trade them and apparently now try to sell them.Pretty selfish if you ask me.Why not do the right thing and differ the license to another member who entered ?
I like to think that these giveaways help some members who cannot afford to purchase and try some of these premium software and that is part of the reason why we put our time and effort into running these.
Personally I have built an ongoing re-pore and trust with vendors to bring these giveaways to the members here and I will not jeopardize that because of a selfish few members.If that means stepping away from running these giveaways anymore to maintain my good re-pore and trust with these vendors then that is what I will have to do.
In the meantime here are a few suggestions and guidelines to take into consideration.

• Vendors provide us with licenses for a giveaway and the licenses ARE NOT FOR RESALE!!!!
• NOT FOR RESALE IS A VENDOR REQUIREMENT!!!!
• If you are found trying to sell a license won here in a MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway you will be permanently banned from entering any further MalwareTips giveaways as well as a possible ban from the site.
• If you are found trying to circumvent the giveaway ban to enter a giveaway you will be banned from the site.
  
• If it is found that a member is attempting to sell a winning license I for one will personally contact the vendor and have that license blacklisted immediately.
• These guidelines are not negotiable!!

Please excuse my rant but I hope you understand the problem with this and hopefully we can eradicate the few who ruin it for those who abide by the rules.

I agree, this stupidity ruins it for those who genuinly need free stuff.
I think people who give it away should be banned from winning or receiving offers

 

[Exterminator]

The following applies to all members entering a MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway no matter what your user title is,including Trusted Members!
The rules for entering a MalwareTips giveaway are very clear if you read them.Once again one rule in particular is not being followed! Not only by new members but by some well established members alike.So to make it crystal clear for the last time I will reiterate the rule for all members.

NO member is allowed to enter a MalwareTips Exclusive Giveaway from a proxy,proxy server,VPN,etc.

From now on the following will be strictly adhered to in any MT Exclusive Giveaway:

• If you enter an MT Exclusive giveaway from any type of proxy your entry will be deleted and you will not be given another opportunity to enter.
• If you have entered any other current giveaways these entries will be deleted also.
  
• You will be permanently reply banned from all current and upcoming giveaways that are on the forum boards.
• Your Username will be added to a permanent banned list for all future Mt exclusive giveaways.That is a lifetime ban for those who might have thought about asking.
• There will be no excuses accepted and we will not deviate from this rule no matter where you are on the user title ladder.
• That means Do not send a PM to any staff member pleading your case. Our decision is final and no PM will be answered on this topic.
• If your entry is deleted you will be sent a reason why on soft delete and that decision is final!

We understand that many members use a proxy/VPN for privacy reasons and are not trying to cheat or scam giveaways.However we have no way to differentiate between the two so the rule must apply to all.
The rule must be in place to prevent those who are trying to cheat the system and hence cheat those other members who comply with the rules in every giveaway.
MalwareTips does not share,sell,trade,forward or give away any members personal information so there is no reason not to comply with this one simple rule.Even more so now that the site is HTTPS!
Once again NO Excuses! This includes "I forgot to turn off my VPN"
We are working on a way to easily track and prevent permanently banned giveaway members from even having access to the giveaway forum once banned.

It is unfortunate that we have to beat this issue to death but apparently some just don't bother to read or just don't care what the rules state.

 

[NikolayfromRussia]

By the way, I can't participate in any MalwareTips giveaway - You have insufficient privileges to reply here However, I never participate in any contests as I always have keys for a. products I need or ask other guys to help me

 

[BoraMurdar]

However, I never participate in any contests

Yes, but you replied to giveaway threads without the will to participate. Too many times. That's why you're permanently banned from replying there.