Yahoo McAfee SiteAdvisor
False "Unsolicited Emails" Warning Posted For Rumford
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Update: As a result of our efforts, detailed below, on 7/16/08 the red warning posted next to our website by McAfee was changed to a green check. Yahoo got rid of the warning on 7/20/08. I'll take this story off but hang onto it until I'm sure the damage has been undone 7/14/08 False! "Unsolicited Emails" Warning Yahoo has posted a false "Unsolicited Emails" warning associated with our website, www.rumford.com, when searching for Rumford fireplaces. The warning is generated by Yahoo's partner, McAfee SiteAdvisor. The warning is literally false because SiteAdvisor says they made that determination by "entering our e-mail address on this site". They could not have automatically posted a test email address on our website. We have no forms or any other way to automatically enter an email message. I do all the site maintenance manually in html and sweep all the pages onto the Internet myself. Unable to Reach Anyone to Help Thinking that SiteAdvisor had somehow made a simple mistake, I tried to contact them by phone and email - without success. After a month of trying, I had not gotten to anyone who could help or even listen. Rather, I got transferred from one anonymous customer relations person to another who would not deal with the possibility that McAfee SiteAdvisor had made a mistake and their crawler couldn't have tested by submitting a test email address on our website as they said it did. McAfee and SiteAdvisor would only repeat that I should correct the problem and they would re-test. It was my fault, not their mistake. Yahoo said there is nothing they could do - my problem is with McAfee, they said. Filed Complaints So I complained to the Washington Attorney General and the California and Texas Better Business Bureau and have hired a lawyer - just to try to get someone in authority at McAfee who will take some responsibility. I have also spent some time surfing the blogs to see what others think about McAfee and Yahoo. I learned that McAfee falsely targets many websites with their faulty but arrogantly defended technology - and then blames their victims. There is plenty of discussion about the websites McAfee has falsely red tagged on several blogs. Blogs and Fellow Victims
http://www.revenews.com/davidlewis/my-life-as-a-spammer-or-so-says-yahoo/#comment-17488 Doublespeak As a result of the Better Business Bureau complaint I have had several email exchanges with Kimberly at McAfee. She hasn't dealt with the fact that the McAfee crawler could not have placed a test email address on our website and I know that she does understand the question. On July 11 Kimberly wrote in classic non-sequitur doublespeak: "McAfee's position has been expressed clearly to you, I'm sorry that you find this unsatisfactory. I'm unsure how else to say that your site was tested and received a rating based on that result. When the site is retested if no forms are found and your site warrants an adjustment, the rating will be changed." She went on to say that McAfee "will not provide the criteria or steps involved to you. That could jeopardize the outcome of our tests to your site and other sites as well." And she gave me the address of the McAfee legal department in Texas. In other words, McAfee will not admit they made a mistake and Kimberly is confident that the company lawyer will back her up. The lie is company policy. Even if they do eventually correct their error, their company line is that they will re-test (even though that is not possible) and change our rating if we "warrant an adjustment". They have made an error and are covering it up, making it seem to be our fault, in an attempt to avoid legal responsibility. I would let it go if they had double checked when I first contacted them to see that they had made a mistake and then removed the false warning. Instead McAfee has been unresponsive, arrogant and fundamentally dishonest. It has taken six weeks, and the BBB, to get even this dishonest answer and they have not yet corrected their mistake. The erroneous warning is still associated with our website continuing to drive away our customers. Developing Legal Strategy So here's the legal advice I've gotten so far from attorneys. Send a "demand letter" giving them 5 days to do what (remove warning?) or we sue. "Would we really sue?", I asked, not wanting to make threats I wouldn't carry out. 95% don't go to court. May cost $200,000 and the "American Rule" is you can't recover legal fees. A "demand letter" is better than just filing a complaint. If we just file a complaint it likely will take 30 days during which McAfee will do nothing but answer the complaint and drag it out. It could take a year or more to get to trial. They would hope we would give up or loose interest or settle for some small amount without having to admit any wrong-doing. Sounds as if there would be little reason to sue. Am I missing something? If we won would we get anything except the warning removed? Can we sue for damages? Penalties? Even if we can't sue for legal fees maybe we'd at least be reimbursed for our losses (and penalties?). I still don't know if "defamation" or "libel" is a good issue and if we have a good case. The attorney has yet to read the documents I sent him. I figure the McAfee attorneys have worked out a strategy of not admitting fault. They've been sued a lot. They will probably say, as their PR person did, that they won't tell us their reasons or methods as that is proprietary information. Seems to me that McAfee has published false and damaging information about us without divulging any facts or methods to support their allegations. In court I think you have a right to be presumed innocent and to be confronted by your accuser with evidence to support their accusations. Are there no such constitutional and ethical rights in a democracy except in court? Is the violation of these rights the essence of defamation? Is the only way to protect these rights to go to court? Even the attorneys said 95% don't take it to court presumably because of the time and expense. So corporations and anyone with a clever attorney can defame and slander all they like? Can we force them in court to reveal the detailed evidence they gathered to make their assertions? And if they refuse, do we win? Win what? Extralegal Efforts At this point I'm pretty frustrated - and angry - and worried that Google will develop some competitive rating system that might be just as irresponsible - unless we can find a way to defend ourselves and stop McAfee and other corporations from using these unethical tactics. While I seek more legal answers I think it might be useful to attend McAfee stockholders meetings to see what support we can get from stockholders for more competent and ethical management at McAfee. The annual meeting of stockholders is on Monday, July 28, 2008, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time at McAfee corporate headquarters, 3965 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, California 95054, according to Mark D. Cochran, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Wouldn't hurt to contact legislators and go to the newspapers either. Organize If you have anything to add or want to join our small group in support please contact:
Jim Buckley
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