Customer Reviews
Almost Perfect...! 
2008-09-15
SystemSuite 8, like SS7, is a terrific set of tools and antivirus/antispyware/antimalware. However, when I read many of the reviews here, I see people that installed SS and had unrealistic expectations on what it would do to an unstable system.
Look, if your computer is already messed up to the point where Windows needs to be re-installed, then no software tool suite is going to help you. That's as wasteful as changing the oil in a blown engine.
SystemSuite does have the most efficient anti-virus and antispyware you can get. We ran tests, and on an older Pentium 850MHz system the slowdown when running the antivirus/antispyware is noticeable, but barely. I'd congratulate Avanquest for the excellent job, except that they use TrendMicro's well-known antivirus/antispyware engine.
However, for a Corporate or small office environment, SS7 has three big huge gaping "gotchas":
1. The email scan will refuse to download emails past 3Meg. That means that if you have 8Megs of email waiting for you on the server, you will only see 3Megs of email and then it will stop downloading, leaving 5Megs of email unread, unknown, and unloved on your mail server.
2. Don't even try to download any single email larger than 3Megs because it won't. That means that the huge PowerPoint presentation your boss just sent you will become lost, just like your job.
3. Downloading those emails (assuming you know they are there - SS won't tell you!) requires turning off the email anti-virus, which can't be done unless you are logged into WindowsXP/2000 as an administrator. So, you have to shutdown your computer and re-login as an Administrator, turn off email anti-virus, re-login, download your email, then shutdown and reboot to turn email antivirus back on. That's unacceptable.
Actually, most of the SystemSuite features except for virus scan are unavailable unless you are logged in as an Admin.
In other features, SS has a terrific set of tools to keep your computer running in top shape. The disk defrag is one of the best, and the registry defrag is welcome for many systems. SS also comes with Startup Commander which shows you all the programs in your Start folder as well as the Run keys in your registry. A nice feature of this tool is that as you click on the startup program, a separate window explains IN DETAIL what the program is, who made it, and what it does - a welcome touch that saves you from having to search the internet for an explanation.
The the various cleanup tools are easy to use and rid your hard drive of unnecessary files. There is even a hardware diagnostics tool, something you rarely see on tool suites nowadays.
Novices should stay away from the registry fixer, because it's a tool for advanced users only. As with all registry cleaner tools, if you don't know what you are doing it can hose your system bad.
I never even installed the firewall - we use Agnitum's Outpost on all our computers - so we didn't even bother to test it.
The previous SS7 had some nice Uninstall tools that could backup an application with all it's files, and even allow you to move the application to a new computer. Those features were removed from SS8, and hopefully they will re-appear in SS9 which should be released later this year.
Back when these tools were sold and supported by V-COM, technical support was OUTSTANDING! But now, since Avanquest took over, technical support has been occasionally disappointmenting.
In summary, while this is a really powerful suite, the antivirus/antispyware is as bad as it is good.
problems with software and they will not send my rebate 
2008-08-21
I bought this software because it was offered for 0.00 after rebate and I had been having problems with Norton. Well, 8 months later and after constant complaining they still have not sent my rebate. Furthermore, the software kept crashing my computer so I had to pull it off. Horrible customer support and my free software turned out to be an expensive lesson.
Be aware if there is a rebate they will pull everything they can to not send it to you. I will never buy another Avanquest product again.
Excellent Product, not such good support 
2008-07-20
The software itself is very high quality, does a fabulous job. However, I am having trouble with connecting to update. I sent an email to support over a month ago, and still have not heard a response. Poor customer service, but still I love the utilities.
Misnomer 2008-04-24
Although this is probably the best product I have used for my home network, I think it is a misnomer to call it pro. As a Network Administrator I spent many weeks trying to upgrade our previous versions using a universal license key (read enterprise license). Our previous sales rep was always accommodating and managed our needs quite professionally. After his promotion everything went down hill, from bad part numbers to completely wrong information. After this three week runaround I finally received a part number but it was not universal. I informed them that using a separate key for each computer would be a logistical nightmare, we had always received a universal key. After the final contact I was informed that the upgrade price for our enterprise would include a universal key but that we would be required to pay 39.95 for each copy we purchase instead of for a block of three as had been the case previously. That effectively tripled our cost and made it unmanageable. It drove the cost far above what we would pay per license for other enterprise solutions. I was very disappointed as we had been using SS since version 5 and were very happy with their product. I am still very happy as a current end user and will continue to use the product at home, but don't confuse this with a professional or enterprise product. At least until their practices change.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED 2008-04-03
I realize that my review is not about this product, but I think it is relevant to potential purchasers of Avanquest products. I do not know anything about this particular program, but have had considerable difficulty with Avanquest as detailed below.
I purchased My Ultimate Organizer 7.0 via download and subsequent key.
I am not making this up - the product displayed a message in Serbo-Croatian telling me the key had expired.
Four hours later with Technical Support and the problem is still not resolved (despite erasing the program, reinstalling, trying different keys, searching the Windows Registry, etc). It takes a full hour on hold to get a technical support representative and at the conclusion of the last session, I was told to contact Customer Service for a CD copy in the hopes that that would resolve the issue. Now Customer Service tells me Technical Support must send me the copy, although Technical Support says otherwise. I am out $30 for a program that is at this point, totally useless, and left adrift by Avanquest who has my money and refuses to help me.
I would purchase Avanquest products with extreme caution. If you have a Technical Support issue, you will have to wait a minimum of 60 minutes on hold (no 800 number), and then get fairly substandard service after that.
My machine runs Faster! 
2008-02-14
System Suite 8 Professional is the Ultimate, All-in-One Suite for PC Security, Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Maintenance and Privacy. System Suite's easy-to-use interface detects and removes viruses and spyware, tunes up your hard drive, fix Windows startup and registry problems, recover lost data and diagnoses your hardware and much more. Get powerful protection and performance enhancement with System Suite's integrated suite of 60 powerful tools designed to maintain and protect your PC, and keep it running just like the day you bought it. Defend against viruses, spyware and hackers, diagnose Windows problems, recover lost data, protect against spam and more. Data Recovery Tools restore your non-booting PC and recover deleted files and data. Launch Programs and Files Faster with DiskCleaner and DiskFixer to help you regain wasted disk space and repair problems on the drive's surface. JETDefrag, the high performance disk defragmenter, gives you a powerful and timesaving tool that reorganizes your hard drive. NetDefense Firewall is the ultimate defense against hackers and spammers. WebDefense identifies and blocks malicious websites preventing Phishing and fraud scams. File Shredder protects you from identity theft by securely erasing sensitive data. Firewall & Anti-Spam Secure File Shredder Disaster Recovery Tools Spyware Remover NetDefense Firewall Anti-Spam Control PC Maintenance Recovery Commander Internet Cleanup Windows Startup Manager Fraud & Phishing Scam Prevention Active Intelligence Monitor Enhanced Recover Commander Supports Windows NTFS, FAT & FAT32 Disk Repair System Requirements - Windows 2000, XP or Vista, Internet Explorer 5.01 or later, 64MB RAM and 40MB free space
Malware protection is probably defective -- Avenquest/v-com 
2008-02-09
I've used System Suite since version 4 or 5 (maybe earlier?). It has some useful features but in Version 7, the anti-spyware was very weak and the firewall had SERIOUS LEAKS. I purchased version 8, but use little of it.
Here's why:
1. While using SS 7,my computer was attacked several times, with my files being copied to the computer of a hacker. Luckily, my files were not damaged and contained no personal information like an ss number. I discovered the problem when I realized that my CPU was running full-blast and my GoBack utility was repeatedly suspended due to "massive file activity." [GoBack was purchased by Symantec and has NOT been updated for Windows Vista.]
2. I contacted Avanquest/v-com and was sent a link to a "fixed" firewall setup file. Questions: 1) Why didn't Avanquest/v-com notify its registered users of the firewall update? 2) Why wasn't the firewall included in the SS7 Easy-Update downloads? 3) Why didn't Avanquest/v-com respond to my emails that asked questions 1) and 2)?
3. I now run Kaspersky Internet Security. Kaspersky is not for everyone: You have to be willing to get A LOT of warnings and decide what to do with each. Thus, my wife's computer is running SS8 firewall and anti-virus. There's no way she can deal with the Kaspersky warnings, and she is unlikely to click on or download questionable links or files.
4. Just today, Kaspersky warned that a harmless-looking link was a phishing site. The SS8 Linkscanner said the link was OK. Guess which one I believed.
5. I am running PCTools anti-spyware--the free, Google tools version, which seems to find much more spyware than does SS8. [Note: Google may add some undetected spyware with the free PCTools download...but my Kaspersky catches Google's attempt to connect my computer to Google's.]
6. There are good, free alternatives to some of the SS utilities. In particular, see Mike Lin's utilities at [...] .
7. Note: The SS8 Startup Commander 2 says that the KAVP program is dangerous. It is actually Kaspersky!
extra good 2008-01-02
I used System Suite 8 for about 3 months and it is the best suite of pc utilities that I ever owned. I had used pc tools , System mechanic 7 , and Norton utilities but this one wins first place. O.K. I know it's as slow a molasses to install but it's very careful with your system and makes back ups ,undo , and it's install cd is also the rescue disk. After it's installed it fast and effective. Well worth the price and I'm cheap.
Disappointing 2007-12-18
Systemsuite is more than just an internet spam/virus/firewall, it comes with utility tools for the system. For the duration I have this program, I liked these tools and they functioned well. After 4 months of having this program, I have to uninstall it from both of the computers (I have bought the 3-user version for $10 @ Fry's).
On the first computer: after a month of usage, I was informed the registration code was used already. !!Dah!! Of course! That's me who used the code for registration! It just shut down the program that I cannot find a way to fix it. On my second computer: I cannot update the virus files through easyupdate. I have to download and update the pattern files manually! This is a real hassle. There is no help available to correct this problem.
But the deciding factor for me to uninstall this program is when my computer was infected by a virus/trojan or whatever. Ad-Aware picked it up in the first scan and quarantine it immediately. However systemsuite cannot detect it after numerous scans. This is not a new virus, according to McAfee website, it has been active since 2005. !!??Huh??!! Isn't that the purpose of having an anti-virus? Shouldn't it scan the files as it download to the computer? If it cannot detect a 3-year old virus, you think it is going to detect any of the new ones? If the security software offers no security, then it is not worth having it.
My recommendation: Stay away from Systemsuite.
Poor Tech Support 2007-12-18
I think this software is fine IF you can get it installed on your machine without problems. That, unfortunately, is a big IF and their technical support is very poor. I have used the System Suite utility for many years and have felt it worked okay but when I tried upgrading to SS8 it has given me nothing but trouble and after more than a MONTH of trying to get it working through a slow and disinterested tech department I am finally giving up. I'd highly recommend you look elsewhere for your antivirus/utility software!
