Enigma Software Group - SpyHunter and Misleading adverts

I re-tested SpyHunter (see references) an hour or two ago, and am pleased to say, the rogue behaviour I previously witnessed, are all but gone - the only problem with the actual program itself, that I have now are;

1. It still requires payment to remove cookies
2. It still does not come with a fully functional trial

However, as I mentioned to Alvin (CEO, Enigma Software Group), I DO have a major problem with ESG themselves, or rather, their misleading advertising practices.

Rather than re-hash it, I'll simply repeat what I sent to Alvin concerning the issue;

Whilst SH itself seems to be no longer presenting with rogue behaviour, I DO still have concerns over ESG's practices, namely the advertising practices. An example of this is;

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=remove+virusheal&meta=

In the right column, there's an advert which claims to lead to "www{DOT}virusheal-removal.com". This is misleading as it actually leads to "www{DOT}virusheal-removal.com.removal-instructions.com/removeVirusHeal.html".

Screenshot:
http://temp.it-mate.co.uk/imgGoogleAdvert_-_EnigmaSoftwareGroup.gif

On top of this is the advert itself;

"Remove VirusHeal (Free)
How to Remove VirusHeal.
VirusHeal Removal Instructions."

We all know the "(Free)" isn't actually free - it requires payment for SH (yep, there may be manual instructions, but that’s not mentioned in the advert, so is irrelevant).

Though just one example, it's not isolated to the specific keywords I used for this example - ESG need to resolve this and cease using these practices.

/edit

Since publishing this, I've had a response from Alvin on my concerns. Firstly concerning the cookies;

You are entitled to your opinion on this point, I concede that giving cookie
deletion for FREE is reasonable because they are quite harmless, but the
issue is my larger commercial competitors: PCTools, Webroot, Alluria, etc...
Since they are all "pay to remove" cookies, files, and registry entries, and
I know you are aware of this fact. I have to be as competitive as they are.
However, I am open to the idea of removing cookies for free. I have to admit
that is an interesting point....

If SH changes to remove cookies for free, then thats great.

Secondly, on the Google adverts, Alvin advised me that Google has a length restriction on the URL thats placed on the part I mentioned, which explains why it displays as it does. However, in response to this, I've advised that a better option would be to have the main hostname there, instead of the sub-domain part (i.e. removal-instructions.com instead of infection.com). He's also advised me that he's ordered his marketing manager to remove the word "free" from the adverts. Definately a good step.

His response to the adverts was rather lengthy to be placed here, so I've posted the abridged version instead;

Steven, in all honesty, the Google PPC backend has a display URL character
limit, so it is a major pain in the behind to have a descriptive sub-domain.
This is not done for any deceptive or malicious reason. This is done so we
can be as descriptive as possible. Have you ever conducted paid campaigns on
Google? You will see what I mean... That bottom field is mandatory... In
fact, it is a useless field. I would rather they get rid of it and allow
more room to be more descriptive on paid ads.

..... snipped

2. On top of this is the advert itself;

"Remove VirusHeal (Free)
How to Remove VirusHeal.
VirusHeal Removal Instructions."

We all know the "(Free)" isn't actually free - it requires payment for SH
(yep, there may be manual instructions, but that's not mentioned in the
advert, so is irrelevant).

I agree with you on this statement. To say free manual instructions in the
description makes more sense, but I do not want to see the terms "FREE &
REMOVE" on the ad. As you said, it is irrelevant.

This would have been as effective:

Remove VirusHeal
How to Remove VirusHeal.
VirusHeal Removal Instructions

(If it looks a bit weird still, again there is a character restriction per
line on Google Adwords)

I officially ordered my Adwords manager to remove any reference of the word
FREE, so do not go crazy on me if it takes a few days ;) OK? Since it is a
manual task, and the Google Adwords interface is clunky, so bare with me and
then review the changes.

Again, I agree with you on this point, since having the term "FREE" on that
ad is not a value added term for converting customers any way.

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References

Enigma Software Group: Tracking the Hunter
http://mysteryfcm.co.uk/?mode=Articles&date=26-04-2007