Let me get this Virtuoso was once/still is flagged as the a "free-keylogger" by Spybot but are nice guys now who want to sell or offer robust above board commercial grade software. Reputation is something you carry with you, be you an individual or a company. There is no bum rap here. What you have
here is a company's past (it's name) is still associated with the
dung ware it once produced. Short, sweet and fair. PASS.


Paul Wo

rahter use less if you ask me. but thanks for tyring. i really appreciate this.

I decided to go ahead and try the software because of the 'yellow' sticky note feature...that you can put anywhere on your desktop. I figure my family could leave notes for me that way instead of telling me something to do at a later time/date, and expecting me to remember it.

#49 I took a look at that website you mentioned; looks cute, and may even give it a whirl. :)

Inre: #64 "My comment about this product..."

I noticed a negative rating on my comment, so I thought I would clarify my feelings concerning this software, especially in light of all the negative/nasty comments we usually see posted here. I didn't mean my comment in the afore mentioned manner, but in a calm, pleasant way; like if someone offered me a vacuum cleaner, but I didn't need it because I don't have any carpet to vacuum. I usually don't say anything if I am not going to download but since I commented on #7's post, I figured I'd mention my own thoughts about the software. I don't have any negative feelings about it, though; I'm sure it is just fine. :)

I just found this site 01/21/08. I just want to let you all, the common peanut gallery commenters, that I appreciate you. What a blessing to come on my second visit, 01/23/08, and get your comments!

It helped me better asses whether I wanted Smart To-Do or not since I am a bit green to this. Also, I am glad to get the links and suggestions for the other programs. I especially am excited about hearing about the GTD program which was also new to me. I cannot wait to go there next!!

Thanks again for sharing your expertise and your opinions.

Well guys, finally downloaded it and it is smooth like butter on insatllation and activation. No email address was requested as mentioned.

My Feeling about those who would comment with libelous accusations with no sustantiated prood, should be blocked from this site.

Sorry, but I love this site and understand how such slander could hurt the software company severly, and also how this could prevent future companies from exposing there products to such damaging claims.
So many people take things for granted, and I guess as long as there is free, it will draw the lowest of life, and even those who have there own agenda for such slander. Maybe a lot of members won't agree, but that shows you are clueless on why and how this site exists. Comments are great, but there will always be many that will abuse even something that is free. If this site is to exist and even grow, commentors must be responsible in there comments. So many have shown they are not and I am quite surprised how many low lifes there are. Sorry if you are one of those, but most of use love this site and want to see it protected from those who would try and ruin it by such slanderous comments.
Thanks GOTD and Virtuoza Program fits my needs perfectly.

Regarding the application itself, there just doesn't seem to be enough to it. The biggest problem is it's lack of any kind of address book or contact manger. I need my todo manager to know who and where as well as what and when. It might be adequate for managing a very limited number of tasks, but a normal day in my life would overwhelm it and very probably drive me to ritual suicide. I use Chaos Software's Intellect for my primary PIM, (not free but worth every penny) but I don't think you could do better than essentialpim (already mentioned above) for a free alternative.

This message is guaranteed spam free.

ok ok ok...come on guys...just use spamavert via firefox...easy peasy...no more spam.....as for gotd...i have never had any complaints...yeah we all want freeware,but i think we should be wise enough to know the pros and cons....you get what you pay for sometimes!!

if in doubt...leave it out!!!

First of all, I'm sorry that my spam warning created such a hullabaloo. That was not my intent, and as I said before, as far as the software went, it was OK from what I remember. I had no problems with either program. Installation and activation went smoothly, and the programs pretty much worked as advertised. In my comment (#7) I simply said what had happened to me and, based on that past experience, recommended giving a disposable address as I had done. Since no address is asked for today, I guess it's a moot point anyway. And as far as quoting that thread in a later message... well, in retrospect I probably should have left off the unfortunate title, or not referred to that thread at all. My apologies for that to all, and especially to Virtuoza Software.

Now I'd like to clarify some things that seem to have been misunderstood, and comment on a couple of things said.

#16 - Boris Yankov
"First, we do not collect your email to give you this program." You did require an email address when you offered it in May 2007.
"No paying customer of ours have ever complained about his email being compromised." No, I wasn't a paying customer, because I got the program free from Giveaway of the Day when it was offered.

Now, as far as the address I gave: I used a unique address for that giveaway, and for Fusion Desk, another product from your company which was also a May 2007 giveaway. Nobody else was ever given that address, only your company. Less than 2 months later (July 2007), I got 2 Nigerian scam emails at that address and immediately disabled it, to avoid getting more spam. I have no idea how the spammers got that address, but they did get it.

#18 - Robert. "You must be the luckiest person in the world! I have no other words for someone who only receives 2 Spam mails&" I said I had received 2 spam emails at that address. It was an email address which had not been used before I created it specifically to give it to this company for their giveaway, and I only used it with this company. It was not created through any email service online such as Yahoo or Gmail, and it had 13 characters which included the code that let me know exactly who it was given to. As soon as I received spam at that address, I disabled it.

It has been my policy for several years now to create unique addresses for companies and services that require an email address, and normally I receive NO spam at those addresses -- as in none, zero, nada, zilch. Many of those addresses have been in use for 5 to 7 years with absolutely no problems (that is, no spam).

I just returned from work and reread the vivid comments given here today.

My conclusion(if anyone still cares)

1.Don't judge a company by it's origin be it Bulgarian,Russian,Chinese .. nor over it's past.
(that reminds me of the vivid discussion concerning a Chinese company trying to gain access over all the computers of GAOTD users -Easus partition manager,an excellent program by the way)

2.The whole Spam issue was useless,as BuBBy finally states himself..

Quote
In terms of todays giveaway, as no email or personal information needs to be provided, I would have no hesitation trying Smart To-Do. I believe this discussion on the May 13,2007 Giveaway and the leak of email addresses is not relevant today
Unquote


3.Don't jump to conclusions.
I agree with Fubar who puts things eloquently

Quote
My only apology would be to Virtuoza, for the shameful way that so many of you have treated them, except that I can’t make that apology–it must come from those of you who have trashed their reputation. If you don’t like their products, that’s fine, but you have no right to make unfounded accusations against them.
Unquote

4.I believe the GAOTD Team would never offer a program containing viruses or harmful keyloggers,as they would also trash there reputation.
Being cautious is one thing ,being paranoid is another.

5.Many of the programs offered here are real beauties.
So try and enjoy this one too.

#70 Good comeback Fubar. No need to trade insults indeed. Know only too well I can at times have that exact same tone, and worse. And I too do not apologize. No big deal.
As for the unfounded accusations against Virtuoza we fully agree. It's a shame to see so many jump to conclusions based on so little. Shows how easy it is to get the hordes stampeding.
#BuBBy. I think a choice is in order. I usually very much appreciate your additions but I think the mix commenter/moderator is a poor one. It is confusing the least to see a moderator comment negative on offered software. A commenter can freely express opinions but is a moderator not supposed to at least somewhat support software offered? Or need I assume within GOTD there are some doubts about offered software?

My bad- My earlier post was #6, not #7.

Earlier I posted what I thought was a fair comment(#7),and now read all the other opinions posted. It seems that even a colorblind person can see a "red flag" in one form or another on this promotion. I'll stick with Rainlendar. Though this one seems not to be intended as malicious, there is a strong impression thanks to all the comments here that in one way or another something just does not feel right, users having to use disposable email addresses, and all the worry over this one.

#43--you probably picked an email address that someone else abandoned after signing up for stuff that put their name on lots of spam lists. I know, because it has happened to me just that way. I even received some confidential email intended for one who didn't advise his correspondents.

# 11. Wrote: Avoid Virtuoza Products (e.g. Smart To-Do) - they sell your email!!!

By the looks of things, they also put a Free-Key-Logger in your registry, which I found with Spybot today when I scanned my system! is was named 'Virtuoza software Free-Key-Logger' in the scan results.

I have read all your comments regarding this issue, but as a Non-Nerd, I really don't know what to think, it's all very confusing!

#61, Iggy, I agree entirely, I don't get spam either, and that proves you don't have to be a Nerd to know how to protect yourself!

#16 I know how it works, I happen to work for a magazine publishing company and an email list or client list is very valuable.
As for do I believe #5 the answer is YES. I have caught many companies by using the email company name@myhost.com, No matter how much (for example) Dell tried to deny it I ordered from them and was blasted with dell@myhost.com. Now if this was just an accident .. Why wasn't I getting those emails before I ordered from them? I am satisfied with #5 warning about the Spam emails because I understand exactly what he was doing. Honestly, there are plenty of other companies out there that DO NOT sell email address .. I mean this is the world wide web.
Yes your product is available with out using an email address, but the hate I have for Spam mail tends to lead me away from any company that accidentally or on purpose has given out my email address. Yes I know how to use Spam filters, that is NOT the point here.

I'm not going to waste everyone's time with a back-on-forth on this issue, this is the last time today that I'm going to clarify some things, assuming the moderators don't delete my comments (I'll just post them elsewhere).

#32, BuBBy, after my one-sentence mention of losing some respect for your opinions after reading what you posted in the forums about Virtuoza, you felt compelled to insert a five-mile long comment, displacing the remaining comments--now that's a lack of self-esteem. The truth is, you helped to trash Virtuoza's reputation for no good reason, and you're a moderator. Now, you're trying to claim that what you said isn't relevant, because it's yesterday's news. I'll keep this brief. Here's some of the things you posted:

"...when it comes back from someone else as spam, you know exactly who was the lowlife who gave it out."--implying the kind folks at Virtuoza are lowlifes.

"I think if I purchased anything from "Virtuoza" - I'd be double checking my credit card statements, just to be sure I hadn't accidently purchased some lottery tickets as well...."--even if meant in jest, that's an entirely inappropriate slam against Virtuoza.

You also posted their privacy statement, with your own highlights, distorting the actual meaning and implying that they might do inappropriate things with users' personal information. Again, that's an entirely unwarranted comment for a moderator to make against a GOTD contributor.

Today, you posted "However aware, or not - failing to adequately protect private information from being exposed or obtained by unauthorised third parties does very little to build any confidence I personally have in their software.", and the following paragraph again implied that the spam problem was ultimately Virtuoza's fault. You don't know that, you have no evidence that that's the case, and if you read the comments in the previous Smart To-Do giveaway, you'll see that Virtuoza does what many companies do--they use a web-hosting company, so they probably have very little control over the web host's security. Further, there's no indication that the host was compromised. While that's certainly possible, the email addresses could have been sniffed anywhere along the network path to that host. I'm not going to bother with the rest of your tirade; at least you indicated at the end that Smart To-Do was safe to try.

#44, Moizelle, I'm not going to trade insults with you. I like some of your comments, and some I don't like. I don't know you, you don't know me, I have no opinion about you personally. As for my tone, at the time my comment #37 was posted, my comment #31 was well in the negative range. My conclusion was that those reading it still didn't get the point. All you have to do is read today's comments, and look at the ratings for each. As usual, there's an overwhelmingly heavy positive rating for comments trashing Virtuoza. There's an unusually large number of comments trashing Virtuoza, and all without cause. There's a large number of comments from people who believe the negative comments and refuse to even look at Smart To-Do. Some of the developer's own comments defending their company have received overwhelmingly negative feedback. What am I supposed to do--applaud people for their lynch-mob mentality? TopDog completely fabricates his post, trashing Smart To-Do. His fictional post gets a bunch of positive feedback, my post indicating that what he said is completely made-up, gets negative feedback. What am I supposed to think of the average GOTD user? I don't regret anything I've said, I make no apologies to BuBBy, you, or any of the GOTD users. My only apology would be to Virtuoza, for the shameful way that so many of you have treated them, except that I can't make that apology--it must come from those of you who have trashed their reputation. If you don't like their products, that's fine, but you have no right to make unfounded accusations against them.

To the moderators: I have no control over whether you post this, but I can always post it elsewhere.

Who would pay 19.95 for this?
It looks very basic to me, most of the features are part of MS Outlook, or just use other free web based to do sites.

The interface looks like something out of 2003.

Where were you guys with the info on Virtuoza being connected with spammers the other day when their InControl software was on GAOTD? I never would have downloaded that one either if I had known about this! Not that I don't appreciate the info now, of course, but it would have saved me some grief since I always read the comments before proceeding.

PS. I also appreciate it when a link to a previous bladded troth review is posted. Quite helpful!

Reviews Appreciated
I miss Bladded Troth's reviews recently. Those reviews are often a "make or break" for me. I realize that we all have more than enough to do, so I understand recent absence. I also appreciate those who attempt to do a quick review & post here. Those quality postings get lost in all the yadda, yadda 'I can't the key' blah blah. But I look for them!
Furthermore, I really appreciate it when people post links to other reviews such as ZD, cnet, etc. Even if it was a previous edition reviewed, those reviews are deeply appreciated.
So, Please keep posting the Reviews! - good or bad - they make this site MUCH more useful & I am more likely to utilize reviewed software! THANKS!

"Nigerian scam spam emails"

#7 (Terry), I have been getting those emails for years - in my Yahoo Bulk Folder, mind you - but didn't get them from downloading software from Virtuoza. I have been downloading software from this giveaway site for just a few months now, and only heard about Virtuoza through GGOTD.

My comment about this product - I doubt I will download it because to be honest I would probably not use it because I never remember to use to-do software. I usually just write down something I need to do, or someone in my family reminds me, as it is usually something they need me to do for them.

After coming to this site every day for many months and reading the comments on the programs offered here, I have a pretty good idea about who's opinion I am interested in and can trust and who's I can safely skip and not have to worry about missing anything. I find with the latter group, when they start getting rude and calling others names, I really doesn't care because I don't respect their opinion enough to let it bother me.

Bubby, you haven't been writing here long but you really are trying to help those of us with concerns and that I can respect, thank you and keep up the good work.

As for this company and spam, I have In Control installed on my computer, it works well and I have not received any spam because of it, but that could just be me.

Hi all,

Just like to share with you about how I been using this software. This is a really neat sw that been my big helper since my last install from previous giveaway. I use it to remind me of daily stuff like appointment, birthday etc.. I do have MS Work but it seems to 'confuse' the time often so I really like this simple and handy sw. Regardless of spam ware, is unavoidable since spammers can 'crawl' your net in many ways. What I do is that I always have two emails address, and I only give away my 'free yahoo' than my outlook home. Hope it helps. :)

Guys..!

this is a giveaway...no email address required, im sick oh hearing spam spam spam,sounds like a Monty python song....get real...spam need not be a problem if you have half decent security...i have never had spam, forever and ever( that sounds like a song too!!)...you lot are doing something wrong...jeepers!!

Regarding use of Tabs in this program:

In my previous comment, forgot to mention that the Tabs can function like boxes in the GTD system. This might not be obvious to someone who tests this program for 2-3 minutes and then renders a verdict about it.

Please, post those link at our Forum

This is a great program for anyone who uses the GTD system to manage complicated responsibilities in life.

What I like about it:
1. Very simple to learn and VERY fast to use.
2. Allows you to organize tasks by subject, category, priority,
etc. This is immediately obvious to almost anyone.
3. Allows you to create New Tabs and use them to organize. This
is a great feature that makes this software really useful for
GTD lovers and anyone else who needs fast lists. Cool thing is
that you can drag and drop/copy items between tabs.
4. Program remembers many settings and goes back to them when
opened. This makes it fast to use.

Wish list for developers:
1. Wish the categories could be resorted by user so that the
default category would be under user control rather than
always defaulting to "Business".
2. A few more printing options are needed. The progam prints a
border lined table of items with four colums -- it looks harsh
and unfriendly. Could there be options for the user to select
columns and also choose what if any borders printed?

If you have a lot of things to organize and get done, do not be deterred by some of the negative comments made about this software. Give it a try! You might be pleasantly surprised.

Finally, when I added new categories, I found I would work around the "Business" defaulting by starting the new category names with numbers -- e.g., 1 Manuscript. This way I could hit one key to get the right category instead of searching through the tedious list with the mouse.

> …is it me or has it been quite some time since a good program ( > 75% thumb-ups) has been offered?

The first time InControl (an app of ours) was featured here it received about 90% good votes. The slightly improved version got much less the last week.

I don't think the apps get worse here. Just people here vote off the apps.

#48 you are ridiculous. Go in the program to options and uncheck "autocheck for updates on startup". This will eliminate the internet connection of the program to check for new version. In the name of all Bulgarians I protest against your misinformed insinuation. As someone who doesn't undestand the basics of a simple program like smart todo, you should be a little more reserved.

I tried this software and my hair fell out, my dog was run over, and my wife left me for the milkman. This can't be coincidence. The connections are just too obvious. Beware!

whoa, what a contentious program. I went to the dev site to look at some screenies and decided not to take gotd offer on this one, tyvm tho. I'm on the prowl for a todo app, one that has sub tasks shown with the main task, not a seperate tab for details. that's actually the main feature in a todo list app for me, and then reminders, highlighter and other frills on top.

...is it me or has it been quite some time since a good program ( > 75% thumb-ups) has been offered?

So, what's the smart thing about it?

hi guys...I am kicking this around since I can utilize a good simple task list, and a reminder feature would be very important to me, since I seem to take on more than I should on a daily basis.

My main reason for posting before tryng and I think I will try it... is, regarding the spam comments. 2 spams....I agree with several that is very few. However, several others also indicated that scam adddresses are obtained other ways (TRUE). I presently have several email addresses like most people these days and actually have several un-used email addresses through my roadruner /time warner cable ISP, and despite never have used some email address ever! I get spam mail about 2 a week from scam spams. You really have to ask yourself, ...Is Time warner selling my address to nigerian spammers?"....Well, of course not, and if that were so, I would be getting a lot more than this, which has always been my experience with email addresses that I have. I really doubt they are selling your email address, basing this on my experience and have been using the net for over 10 years heavily. I currently have about 20 emails addresses for various reasons and only use about 10 of those. I hope my comment sheds some light on reality for many. OH...I am on my pc about 17 hrs daily, so my risk tends to run much higher than most.

I guess I will go to download now to take a peek at this program and a big thanks to Ruan comment #3 for posting this list of alternatives and did check out Rainlender and will try that one also.

Thanks GOTD for good work and feel for you guys and boy the stuff one must go through to have a site like this. Your comments helps so much with providing so much information and also helps to dispell mis-information as well.

Have a marvelous day and will post my experince with this software, and yep, simple is a good thing for me with my crazy multi-taksing life. OH...bad rumors severly hurt GOTD and all it's members. AFter all, what software company would want to subject themselves to such libelous claims and for free. As indicated already, the provider of this software does not collect email addresses here.
I want to apologize to GOT and Virtuoza software for having to deal with this horrible accusation.

Spammers guess email addresses all the time. But assuming you used something that is fairly complex (let's say 9 characters) the odds that a spammer would guess that address are almost nonexistent.

The conclusion is either that the spammer is very lucky at guessing, or that the spammer tried all possible combinations of characters (millions) in hopes of finding your address, or that THIS COMPANY LET THE SPAMMER HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. Whether it was sold or given away, or stolen by a disgruntled employee, is immaterial.

Spam is mostly sent by spambots these days; spambots are set up and controlled by multinational crime syndicates. So, if the accusation is accurate, this company is somehow cooperating (perhaps without knowing) with criminal syndicates. If it is not aware of this cooperation, that is almost as bad as willing cooperation.

Instead of denying that there is a market for email addresses to spam, Mr. Yankov should be asserting that his company is cleaning up their act, making sure personal information is kept confidential, and pledging to not allow it to happen in the future.

A to do list does not help too much if it is bound to one computer. Try www.rememberthemilk.com, a superior approach

I installed this back when it was offered before on here. I thought I would use it alot, but in all, I have only used it a couple times in the past 5 months or so. Works ok, and does what it says, but I find it easier to just write important "to do" stuff on the calendar.

For me its better to forget something than to suffer one day from digital demence. If there is really something of tremendous importance: well then i have my good old pocket calender. Always working. No data loss, no need for electricity. But I try to keep all important things in my memory: birthdays, phone numbers ...
The human brain is extremely powerful, what a pity not to use it and to let it rust.

One a good advice to all of you from here:"Don't believe Trojans even if they offer to you gifts!".

Robert, I appreciate very much your comments, your honesty and your nobility, but "Who knows?".

#37 Maybe some others did what I did just now, ding your comment. When I hear people talk like you do it rapidly stops mattering what exactly they are saying, it is the tone of voice and choice of words I do not appreciate much. Face to face I'd tell you how much of a pompous, socially inadequate fool you can be at times. Here I ding your comment.

Just a little add-on to the whole email spam thing. One day about a month ago, I created several email addresses using well known and not so well known companies (all free email sites). I did not send these addresses out to anyone nor did I use them other than to check the inbox on a daily basis. Amazingly, even though I had never sent an email out nor did I give the addresses out to anyone, most of them started to receive email. Would you believe that there is a such thing as a program that will generate thousands of email addresses and send them out (even if they don't really exist.) At the end of the month, one email inbox had over 100 junk emails, the best one only had 10. So you don't have to give or use your email address to receive junk/spam emails. All someone has to do is guess your email address or use a program to do it for them and BINGO you get junk email landing in your inbox. Gmail was the best and it successfully had all the junk mail in the junk mail inbox.
On the use of this particular program, I am way too busy to get on my computer to look at a list of things to do. I use the good ol' notepad on the fridge/desk. I do think it looks nice and simple though and that is good. Too many features and you're dealing with a project management tool not a to-do list.
thanks.

What functions would you like to see in a Personal Information Manager/ Task Manager? This might also help today's vendor to see what users want.
Off the top of my head, I would like: 1. portability and sharing (the ability to perhaps publish a web document with calendar and to-do list, which I could see from any PC, and could share with another. At least, have the ability to use on a USB flash drive.)
2. The ability to have Projects or tasks with nested sub-tasks. 3. The ability to assign tasks or sub-tasks to a particular group or individual. 4. The ability to add customizable fields. 5. The ability to label categories and types of to-dos from a drop down list box, so the user does not have to type a category each time. EG: telephone call or errand or household chore. 6. Prioritizing within roles 7. Formatted printing of lists. 8. recurring tasks with in depth selection criteria IE: 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, except Xmas...
Probably more, but I have a Dr. appointment.
RichU

when I entered the key for the free giveaway it told me key was invalid. So its free for 30 days and thats it? I thought it was a giveaway????

I prefer MyLifeOrganized (MLO) / Karen's Countdown timer II

sounds like this is a more basic version than MLO
See:
http://pcwin.com/media/images/screen/57724-mylife_organized.gif
http://www.karenware.com/powertools/images/ptcount2.gif

I once installed their INcontrol software, and my PC slowed down tremendously. BEWARE !!!

OK, I see from the dings on my comments that some of you are clueless wonders. I've always used unique email addresses per company/website. I recall receiving spam from two of them--a reputable retailer of science-related items, and a reputable developer of security products. I know that those companies didn't sell or give away the email addresses. Either their servers were hacked, or, more likely, the email addresses were sniffed along the way, perhaps through a hacked email server. Again, everything that you do over the Internet is completely public unless you have a secure connection, or are transferring encrypted data. What you do over the Internet is far more public than a postcard (for those of you who live on the Internet and don't know what snailmail is, a postcard has everything that you write on it completely exposed). As for the person who dinged my comment #32, they're just clueless, period.

Frankly, I get very irritated with people who make false security-related accusations against developers who are kind enough to offer their products here. If you've actually tried an offering (I mean, really tried it--read its help file thoroughly, and actually tested its features), and find it's not to your liking and post relevant negative comments, that's fine, and helpful to others. Claiming that a company is engaging in nefarious activities, without proof, is despicable, and if I were the moderator, I wouldn't post your comments.

Thanks guys, this suits my needs exactly! Simple, easy to use, and FREE!

Free alternative: to Do List from Abstract Spoon (http://www.abstractspoon.com/tdl_resources.html). This is one is quite the opposite of 'basic', even though it can be configured to show less fields. Additionally, To List is portable, just copy the whole directory onto a USB stick and you are ready to go.
I too received a couple of spam e-mails on the earlier offering, but suppose that GOATD has received a reasonable explanation for it.
Pura vida, AlexSJ

I found the comments here caused me to avoid the download. A better alternative is "Desktop Calendar" which is free, takes up minimal resources, and only runs when you click on the desktop icon. You can edit any day months and years in advanced, or check past dates just as far. The link is http://tinnes.org.uk/desktopcalendar Try it and you'll see its advantages.