A Fake WinFax PRO 10.03 CD ROM in a paper sleeve

If you purchased WinFax software and have a questions regarding if it is fake or not, let us know and we can check it out for you.  If you purchased a download of  Symantec WinFax PRO, it is an illegal copy and  could contain malware.   

WinFax PRO is no longer being sold & distributed by Symantec and the only way to purchase a legitimate version is 2nd hand (used) or New Old Stock (NOS) from a retailer. 

There are also counterfeit CDs in existance, and they are poor quality copies of the original.  Don’t get ripped off by purchasing a WinFax PRO CD!  The picture above is an image of an actual FAKE / COUNTERFEIT WinFax PRO CD. If in doubt, ask the seller to send you a picture of the actual CD they are selling.  Compare it with the picture here. It is difficult to determine the fake from a real CD if you have never seen an authentic CD, but once you compare the two, the differences are easy to spot. 

The first clue is if your CD contains the version of WinFax PRO. All official CDs will only list version 10.0 on the CD.  Authentic CDs do not include version identifiers 10.02 or 10.03. This is not listed on the CD anywhere.    Official CDs are on silver “shiney” surface where “WinFax PRO” is printed.  A dull matte-finish is a fake CD. 

• Symantec never included the actual revision of WinFax PRO 10 (10.01,10.02 or 10.03)  on the CD ROM.  So, if your WinFax PRO CD ROM says “WinFax PRO 10.03″ its a fake. All genuine WinFax PRO 10 cd’s contain the heading ”WinFax PRO 10.0″
• If you see text with “winFAX” or “Live Update” anywhere on the CD its a fake.  The official Symantec trademarks are ”WinFax” and “LiveUpdate”, no other variations of this text should appear on the CD ROM.
• Failure to capitalize ”symantec” and “corporation”.
• An “All rights resverd” spelling error, or other spelling errors.
• Incorrect font used for WinFax PRO and Symantec logo. The current Symantec logo is consistant across all software they produce.
• Silver portion of CD is a (dull) matte finish, on the real CD it is relective (mirror surface).
• To determine if the CD is brand new and sealed – geniune WinFax PRO 10 CD’s come in a white envelope sleeve that are sealed with a sticker that may have one or more of the following: a bar code, a Symantec 5 or 6 digit product code, a brief license agreement. 
• In most cases, manufacturer information is printed on the inner rim of the CD ROM of genuine CD’s. This is usually missing on a counterfeit.
• Update patch 10.04 is not included on genuine CD ROMs. Any CD that contains the patch update to 10.04 is a counterfeit.

Example of a counterfeit CD ROM  and genuine WinFax PRO 10 CD ROM. Notice the differences in the mirror surface, the Symantec logo, and different font types. The counterfeit contains ”10.03″ version, something that is not printed on the genuine CD.  You’ll also probably see manufacturer information around the inner rim of the genuine CD ROM.  This is  likely to be missing on the counterfeit WinFax PRO CD.

This is a counterfeit poor quality copy of WinFax PRO 10.03 that appears to be created on a home deskjet printer. Note the non-reflective matte finish on the CD ROM.

 Here is the original design of the WnFax PRO 10 CD ROM used for North American releases of WinFax PRO 10.0 and WinFax PRO 10.01. This has a different design, yellow with silver (reflective) images.  This version uses the older style Symantec logo.

This image on the left is an example of a genuine WinFax PRO 10.0 or 10.01 CD ROM. Symantec updated most of its design & software boxes when they changed logo designs. Version 10.02 and 10.03 use the updated design & Symantec logo. This design also uses a reflective mirror finish on portions of the CD ROM. Lack of reflective mirror finish would indicate a counterfeit CD, or a version with the 10.04 update included on the same install CD would indicate a counterfeit.

What is a doorway page?

It’s a link that may look legitimate and appear on search engines like Google, but once you click them, they can link you to another Web site or page that could be totally unrelated to the original link.

We’ve encountered links where you are presented with a realistic looking “Windows Security” scanner screen, where it looks like it is scanning your computer and it reports that several viruses are detected.  Clicking anywhere on the screen, including the Cancel button forces you to download and run a file.  The truth is no virus is detected, and the screen is nothing more than a animated graphic of the scanning process fooling the user that a real Windows security scan is happening.  Of course in a state of panic, the user clicks Cancel, and it asks you to run a file. This is where they get you, the trick here is if you actually do download run this file, you’re likely to be infected with malware, or worse, a virus that could potentially delete your data. Most of these doorways are a way for a scammer to take your hard earned money, but the most common are doorway pages that link to sites which try to sell you something, like illegal software downloads. A recent Google search of “WinFax OEM” resulted in some specific examples:

Symantec winfax pro 10.03 Download Cheap OEM software 8 Aug 2009 … Symantec winfax pro 10.03. Shop for cheap OEM Computer Software. Find the lowest priced Computer Software products from 100s of different …blog.student-energy.xxx/wp-includes/js/…/ymce.php?p…winfax-pro… – Similar

Symantec winfax pro 10.4 Download Cheap OEM software

5 Aug 2009 … Symantec winfax pro 10.4. Find, shop for and buy software, business software, multimedia software, and more from Discount OEM Software.com.
blog.student-energy.xxx/wp-includes/js/…/ymce.php?p…winfax-pro… – Similar

As you can see, these 2 specific links are hosted on a WordPress blog (I’ve edited the original link, to protect the owner of that domain).  The problem here is this WordPress site was compromised, the original owner is likely unaware that their site is being used as a doorway page. Once the visitor clicks on one of these links, they are re-directed to another Web site which purpose is to sell software downloads.

The spammers are using this organization’s domain as a doorway.  Not only is traffic being routed to their domain, and then re-routed to the spammer site, but they are also being used for the purpose of legitimately getting indexed quickly on search engines, like Google.  This can also damage your search ranking of your legitimate Web site once Google determines your site is being used as a doorway page.

Stuffed keywords like the following can appear on a hacked webpage:

Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Monday, August 24, 2009 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 download Buy Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 online oem Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 price Symantec winfax pro 10.0 crack Symantec winfax pro 10.0 software Symantec winfax pro 10.0 download download Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 sales serial number for Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Buy Symantec winfax pro 10.0 cheap Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 low price Symantec winfax pro 10.0 product key Buy Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 serial number buy Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 oem Symantec winfax pro 10.0 buy buy Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 oem serial number for Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 rapidshare Symantec winfax pro 10.0 download Symantec winfax pro 10.0 download Symantec winfax pro 10.0 software Symantec winfax pro 10.0 crack cheap Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 keygen Symantec winfax pro 10.0 price Symantec winfax pro 10.0 sales download Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 download Symantec winfax pro 10.0 serial number Symantec winfax pro 10.0 product key Symantec winfax pro 10.0 torrent oem Symantec winfax pro 10.0 Symantec winfax pro 10.0 low price

As you can see, they stuff the keywords so Google, and other search engines rank these pages above other similar type pages related to Symantec WinFax PRO. Once the page has been indexed by the search engine using the above keywords, they redirect the same indexed link to a spam site.

These Web sites should never be trusted! Why? because if they will go to lengths to hack other sites to make money, they will likely use your credit card and other personal information for their benefit. In addition, If any site is offering an immediate download of WinFax, at any price, it is illegal. We’ve come across MAJOR sites, universities, colleges and other organizations that have hosted links that redirect to these download sites, many of which included offers to download WinFax PRO and many other software titles after entering your personal information & credit card details.

If you are looking to purchase WinFax PRO, do so from a legitimate vendor, or private third-party who can provide you with an original Symantec CD-ROM media from their existing old-stock.  Please see our Where to Buy WinFax in our Guides section for more details on this.

 To purchase WinFax PRO, you’ll need to buy from a liquidator/distributor who has NOS (New Old Stock) on hand, or buy from a third-party 2nd hand.  You can find some sellers of WinFax (used and new) on eBay.   

http://www.getfaxing.com/winfaxebay

NOTE: Just because you’re buying an actual CD ROM doesn’t mean the software is legitimate. We’ve found some eBay sellers are knowing (or unknowingly) selling  illegal , copied software.  If the seller has more than one copy, and continues to sell the same product be suspect that the software is illegal.  If you suspect a seller has illegal software, ask them to send you a photo of the CD ROM they are selling. You can compare with our “Counterfeit CD” article we have on our site here.

NOTE: GetFaxing.com does not sell WinFax PRO software, The above link contains a listing of all current eBay listing with the search term “WinFax”.  We are not affiliated with any sellers (commerical, or private) of WinFax PRO software. 

There are also Google Ad links to WinFax software on our support forums, please see http://www.getfaxing.com/forums/

Any site which offers you an “instant” download of WinFax PRO is an illegal site not authorized by Symantec to sell & distribute WinFax.  For your security, do not buy and download any WinFax software from any of these  ”OEM download” sites you might find in some search engines such as Google. Not only are you purchasing pirated software (if you actually get anything at all), but you risk exposing your personal credit card details to criminals.  The only authorized download reseller of Symantec WinFax PRO prior to 2006 was Digital River. Digital River operated the Symantec Online Store.  They no longer offer this download, or provide on-line sales for Symantec.