Can we hope that PC Tools will now improve its security and accountability?

They keep credit-card details on-line and use them to renew a subscription even when you say you don't want to! They then ignore repeated e-mails.

And, despite the fact that they have my money, without my authorisation, Registry Mechanic STILL tries to get me to renew!

Anecdotal evidence from other users suggests that this was not an isolated incident.

Seriously, this is the second time Symantec/Norton has bought PC Tools. The last time was when they bought the old program called PC Tools which was, in my opinion the absolute best file manager ever made for DOS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Tools_(Central_Point_Software)

billing issues aside i find reg mechanic and spyware doctor handy tools to have around, i worry now about the mess symantec will make, time to jump ship methinks, ill bet 500 quatloos symantec make a mess of it

Oh my word, pc tools, floods of nostalgia coming back to me.

Also.... symantec can buy every anti crapware company in the world for all I care, they still won't come anywhere near my PCs or Macs in my lifetime.

Symantec, who in the past has been widely known for it unique business model of: buying otherwise useful products and ruining them, appears to be widening out its business model some in hopes to annoy anyone remain whom they havent already annoyed now by buying up marginally useful products and ruining them.

A company spokesmen said in a statement today "The pool of companies making solid or useful products willing to sellout to us seems to have dried up, so now we've started down a course of acquiring second rate companies and their tools in an effort to sustain our reign of terror over mankind. This change in business model will have no effect on our company motto of 'We're better at making money than we are at making useful products!'". Share prices of various PC Tools competitors soared in after hours trading upon hearing news of its acquisition by Symantec...