Hold up, you might not have to retire AnyDVD just yet. SlySoft is officially out for the count, but the developer has not only returned from its brief exodus as an entity called “RedFox”, but it’s also pushed out an update for its most popular decryption product.
It’s a somewhat bizarre resurrection, as the company doesn’t have much of an official website, instead relying on its old, though rebranded, forums to communicate.
On the topic of AnyDVD, it did indeed receive an update, with the application’s changelog serving as a sort of introduction:
7.6.9.1 2016 03 01
– AnyDVD reborn! SlySoft is dead, long live RedFox!
– This is an intermediate release, so old customers can continue
to use their existing AnyDVD license to watch their discs.
– This version can access the new RedFox Online Protection Database
– This version will only work, if already own a valid AnyDVD license
– For compatibility with 3rd party programs, AnyDVD will still use “SlySoft”
for directories and registry paths
– It will replace an existing SlySoft AnyDVD installation
– New (Blu-ray): Support for new discs
– Some minor fixes and improvements
On the surface, it sounds like good news — it appears development will continue on AnyDVD, at least for now. However, going over posts from SlySoft / RedFox representatives suggests an uncertain future, so cautious optimism is advised.
RedFox [Official forums, via TorrentFreak]
Comments
8 responses to “AnyDVD Developer SlySoft Has Returned As ‘RedFox’”
If SlySoft was forced to stop operating for copyrighty reasons, how does rebranding get around that? :/
It sounds like they moved the operations to Belize from Antigua. Given how rapid the move was, I imagine they’d had a backup plan for a long time.
DVDFab and makemtv may be the best alternative of Anydvd. I prefer DvDFab Passkey.
Slysoft’s resurrection RedFox announced that they will have to make the previous customers repay for the incarnated RedFox products. Although they said there would be some discounts offered, I was still pissed off as a lifetime subscriber who has been supporting it for damn so many years. Why not just honor your reputation by honoring your old loyal customers, RedFox? This is absolutely not the business practice I am expecting from a well-known company.
The one thing I am sure of is I spent an awful lot of money on AnyDVDHD, CloneBD, CloneDVD, and CloneCD for what I understood as LIFETIME LICENSES. And now because of a problem or other, I find out “well, you really spent all that money for nothing”, basically. I bought them with one idea in mind: to not have to deal with any of this bull again of licensing crap. And now suddenly I’m being told I have to fork out, I don’t know how much it’s gonna cost — what maybe about €200.00– or some such crap — except per year again?
I thought I paid that one time. I didn’t want to be paying for it again. I’m sorry, but a “discount” on my first year’s insn’t really gonna help, is it? It will take the bite out for perhaps one year. I’d have to take more than what I spend for the whole thing and maybe send it in for just maybe a whole year’s worth of loot.
Yeah I also bought DVD fab several years ago with a lifetime license and will not reup with anydvd if no lifetime licence is offered. DVD fab is just as good as slysoft.
The below 2 links are the latest in that continuing saga.
They’re just LOCKING threads when anyone questions how the SlySoft demise went down.
https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/blu-rays-releases-prior-to-saturday-april-30-2016.68864/page-2#post-433888
This other one states they can’t make a separate access to the v1 OPD for the LifeTime License users, (LTL) even though they admit they’re working on a v2 OPD for the newer program updates.
(OPD is the Online Protection Database, used to get the decryption key of BD+ disks… etc)
https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/2-questions-1-for-the-new-ceo-vidcache-bin-file-and-about-opd-v1-v2-w-ltl.69041/
(See the 2nd page of that post, it’s asking the new CEO to reply, but they say there isn’t any CEO)
(So, who is making the decisions now? … No one is willing to say how, or who makes them)
(That in itself is sounding shady…!)
My theory now is, they had this planned long ago, to simply use the Corporate Law that the old company is dead, and can’t honor the old LTL
But may simply be a SCAM to get another quick 2 million Euros per each 40,000 new LTLs at 49 Euro each….then simply vanish again several months later.
I don’t think this original boss is actually gone.
I find it strange that he just ‘ran away’ and left the servers running, or left access to them by his former employees.
Why not just destroy the servers, or take them with him when he left?
It’s because it was planned to shutdown the SlySoft name, to nullify the LTL obligation to continue, and to SCAM all the customers into making new purchases…then start with a new name…RedFox….and continue the SCAM.
There’s no assurances to the customer this all won’t happen again, and the way they’re all acting on the forum by locking threads asking questions about this, makes it look even worse for them.
This all sounds very shady, and it’s sounding as if it’s also possible they killed the old boss, buried his body, and figured they’d get a fast 2 million Euros making new licenses… Ha Ha… 🙂
Hey, anything is possible now, given they still act as if he’s actually still there giving the orders to them. They’re keeping his same policies of business, and using the SlySoft is dead argument to carry it out.
Mark my words…you’ll soon see the company dissolve again, after the 40,000 new yearly licenses are sold, and they have a quick 2 million Euros, or shortly after that.
—-
A quick update…they’ve posted their pricing, and the 1-year subscription is now 59 Euros
Yeah…they’re looking for fast cash..!
This smells like a scam of the worst kind.
It smells like it was the work of the original owner who’s calling himself ‘RedFox 1’ on the forum. A 74 YearOld ‘super moderator’ who’s the same age as the original owner.
It smells like it’s an A-Team scam, since RedFox 1 likes that old show so much, as he mentioned in another forum post.
How do they think we won’t think anything otherwise, since they summarily dismiss the original LTL customers by not also giving the same 50% discount as the newest SlySoft LTL buyers.
It’s this that makes me think it’s only to get another 2 or so million euros so this RedFox 1 guy can retire to where ever he’d like to go with his son, as his profile on the forum says.
I think the SlySoft team felt sorry for the old owner and he made a deal with them, to get this last money-grab for him, by keeping the company going with updates until the 2 million comes in, so he can recoup for all the money he lost fighting the law suits, and then he’ll give the business over to the developers (original team) to continue it.
But this original team doesn’t know, this will finally kill the business when all this comes to light, and everyone is disillusioned by this scam taking place.
I’ve owned lifetime licenses for almost all the original products. When I heard about these changes I wasn’t terribly upset as I tried to see their point of view. Then I found out that:
1) Anyone that bought lifetime BEFORE 12-1-2015 does NOT get the 50% off. I read it wrong, thinking that my loyalty to them meant something and I would get the 50% off. Nope. The email I got from them today confirmed it:
Dear XXX
Thank you for your email.
That only applies to owners of a SlySoft AnyDVD license, bought after or on 2015-12-01.
Kind regards,
RedFox Accounting Department
I wrote back:
While I do understand that RedFox (although still the same team) needs to make money, I’m one of those long time loyal customers that owns almost all of the lifetime software who feels VERY unappreciated. I know you’ve heard this a lot, but I can’t say enough how important the customer / business relationship is and that relationship is really hurting for a lot of us these days. What a shame.
Thank you for your quick response.
2) It’s still basically the same team, just a different place. The same team, just a different name in a different location.
I wasn’t happy about paying the 50%, but I was certainly willing (just so I can play the blurays I PURCHASED on the bluray player I PURCHASED, but cannot play without paying big $ for sofware!!, if nothing else). But $98.13 (that’s including the 20% for ANYONE that buys through July) for a lifetime that means lifetime of the company (how long will they last this time?), not lifetime of the software … wow. Now I am a very seriously unhappy customer. Which they have made VERY clear they don’t care about.
Instead of taking my $61.33 (half of the full price of $122.66 US for lifetime license) they choose to do it this way. No wonder people pirate.
As Paypal (in the pocket of the MPAA) won’t have anything to do with Redfox, (for the nature of their business).
Bitcoin and VISA seem to be their payment options.
Bitcoin is apparently Untraceable.
What happens if someone uses VISA? Can VISA identify the purchase, gather evidence and report the customer to the FBI, MPAA, RIAA and/or AFP?
Have sites like Redfox, DVDFAB, MakeMKV, IMGburn been added to the blocked list by the Federal Court of Australia? (for infringing and/or facilitating infringement of copyright)
This is just another criminal scam by an unethical company. The company sells lifetime licenses and then decide they aren’t making enough money and so develop a series of updates under a new banner to try to rip people off for more money using some lame and mindless pretext of copy write infringement being at the basis. You have no doubt noticed that these scumbags are not offering ongoing support to their previous lifetime customers and supporters. I for one have no need to continue to support such a crooked and unethical approach to business.