Antivirus Compliance Expert. That is a pretty bold statement.

I can say that because I have in depth experience, knowledge and contacts in the Anitvirus community and have a proven track record of pro-actively addressing the concerns of leading, reputable Antivirus companies in the web and down loadable client space. I am the leader in repairing existing brands, products and websites that are currently labeled as undesirable.

I personally found the ALOT.com domain, defined all aspects of the new brand, defined the Antivirus Compliance strategy and ultimately delivered the clean ALOT toolbar and homepage solution. I repaired the flagged SuperHoroscopes.com website and worked with McAfee SiteAdvisor to change the RED rating to GREEN to reflect my efforts. I defined and vetted with industry experts the strategy for the cleanup of Screensavers.com (in progress). I have an unblemished track record in this space and am highly confident that I can repeat this process for any challenges that may be in front of your company.

How will being clean impact the bottom line?

As a direct result of my leadership, steady product vision and Antivirus Compliance expertise, the ALOT brand significantly outperforms the legacy Starware brand. From the this press release: RPMLU is 62% higher and retention is 14% improved and revenue growth is phenomenal. Every product success metric is up, while the brand is able to provide a clean, virus free and malware-free user experience. Those results speak for themselves.

But if you need more assurance, ask my previous CEO:
“ALOT has been delivering consistently higher revenues and improved retention rates compared to our legacy brand,” commented Peter Corrao, Chief Executive Officer, MIVA, Inc. “Our objective now is to build on this success by further expanding the ALOT brand…”

In fact, this is what he said to me upon my promotion to VP of Product Development:
“Hi Bill, I am personally and professionally thrilled that it has worked out so well with you at Miva. Few (if any) in the company have made such a difference in such a short period of time. Kudos, Congrats and Bravo on your much deserved promotion.” ~ Peter Corrao, CEO

This was just a few short months before being let go without cause.  My friends and co-workers think it was because the rest of the business was failing and he wanted to grab onto the one success in the company.. the ALOT brand.  Oh well, I imagine they will find a way to mess that up also…  (Update 10/13/2008: looks like they just started distributing the ALOT toolbar on Screensavers.com, which was my strategy AFTER the site was GREEN on site advisor… doing it before hand just puts the ALOT brand at risk in my humble opinion).

Here is a thin slice of my industry knowledge and expertise in regards to leading Antivirus concerns: One of the larger challenges is battling existing perceptions. Many times reputation will proceed and sometimes trump the details of the product behavior. I am excellent at giving presentations, establishing relationships and engaging in open dialog with even the biggest critics. I have many confidential industry contacts who trust me and are comfortable to provide assistance for the larger problems that can only be solved with direct contact with the leaders at the various Antivirus companies. Also there are many nuances that predict how the leading Antivirus companies will perceive your product. For example, CA really values clear disclosure and the user must actively opt-in to the EULA, prominently see links to the Privacy Policy and provide up front disclosure to the user if the software will automatically update. With MS VISTA adoption rates increasing, the MS Antivirus database is becoming increasingly important (as it fuels the default MS Windows Defender application). Unlike many other Antivirus companies, product behavior (not disclosure) is the most important aspect in the rating system. Adware, Spyware and Malware are all flagged as undesirable and thus highly incompatible with MS VISTA. A further challenge in this space is McAfee Antivirus and SiteAdvisor. While this i very similar to other Antivirus products, now the virus database is shared across the behavior of the website that hosts the executable and the actual behaviors of the executable. This is critical as the behavior of either can negatively impact the other. For example, a website that exhibits prohibited behavior can be flagged and the corresponding application that is delivered from that website will now be flagged in the McAfee Antivirus database. The corollary is an application that exhibits undesirable behavior and is distributed by a clean website, will effectively poison that website. I have experience being a leader in the TRUSTe Trusted Download Program BETA, and effectively lead the effort to get the ALOT toolbar white-listed. From the TRUSTe website: The Trusted Download Program certifies consumer downloadable desktop software applications that provide clear and conspicuous notice about functionality of importance to the user and obtain informed consent prior to download. Certified applications provide an easy-to-use uninstall and allow users to maintain control over their computing environment.