You may be at risk!?

  • 21 June 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 32 views

For what seems like the fifth time in as many months, Webroot has greeted me with a "You may be at risk" Alert on my Android Device.
OK! Except, as it turns out I was NEVER actually at risk, it was just my security provider, LYING to me and apparently using SCARE TACTICS to get me to agree to changes in contract terms. Webroot is supposed to be protecting me, not BULLYING me. The mixed message is frustrating and confusing.
If you need me to agree to new contract terms, please simply ask me to do so. Alarming me with a notice that is completely unrelated smacks of practices commonly used by cyber-criminals to phish. By using the "you may be at risk" to deliver an otherwise benign message make it sound like a threat. Like you intend to PUT my device at risk if I don't agree to terms.
Frankly I'm shocked that apparently, no red flags have gone off at Webroot over this. At the very least, this whole practice is both passive-aggressive and just a bit on the greasy side of unprofessional. I would think that this kind of maneuvering would be 100% at odds with your corporate message?
Mostly, I'm both surprised and disappointed that I'm paying a security firm to make me feel uneasy about my security.

1 reply

Userlevel 7
Badge +7
Hi @,
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience.  Bullying is certainly not our intention!
 
First, we don't update contract terms that often.  Since you are getting this message about once a month, it sounds like something is not working on our side.  I would very much like to fix this issue, but we don't have enough information.  If you would be willing to answer some questions and help us get the information we need to resolve this issue, please contact our support or send me a PM so we can work with you directly.
 
Second, I agree that the "You may be at risk" is not a good experience.  You can actually blame me for that.  When our software terms were last changed, we wanted to make sure customers were aware of the changes.  At the time, I thought we could re-purpose the "you may be at risk" message just to get the word out there quickly, since that was already an existing way the app can get customers' attention.  I did not consider that it would be perceived as a "scare tactic," but I was concerned that it could be confusing.  I thought we could improve upon the message before the next software terms change to be a nicer experience.  In fact, I had a meeting just yesterday to discuss how we can better inform mobile customers of any changes they may want to know about, while at the same time not giving mixed messages about the security state or being too annoying. 
 
Integrity is very important to me, personally and professionally. I'm disappointed to hear your reaction, but I'm thankful to get the feedback.  We can use it to make better design decisions in the future.
 
Kind regards,

Reply