Originally posted by HighFlyer I couldn't find any trace of c-dilla or its variants using zone alarm and ad-aware......

The free version of Ad Aware hasn't updated it's reference file since September so it looks like Lavasoft has stopped supporting it. Have a look at this
news letter which explains the situation and offers an alternative.

Also I'd recommend this news letter to anyone, it's free and has some great info.

Originally posted by mazda626 The free version of Ad Aware hasn't updated it's reference file since September so it looks like Lavasoft has stopped supporting it. Have a look at this news letter which explains the situation and offers an alternative. Also I'd recommend this news letter to anyone, it's free and has some great info.

Lavasoft have said that they are working on a replacement product that will be available first to paying users and then as freeware. Availability is supposed to be the next couple of months. I'm not really all that anxious, seeing as you can prevent nearly all of this spyware and other crap just by paying attention.

You should wait for Staples to have the product on their site (SKU 501352) and then use one of the $15 off $50 to buy it. Just add another $10.95 of products to your shopping cart).

Originally posted by Mr_Ding You should wait for Staples to have the product on their site (SKU 501352) and then use one of the $15 off $50 to buy it. Just add another $10.95 of products to your shopping cart).

There's no need to wait for Staples if you're in a hurry. OD has a $15-off $50 coupon too (check the Deals page.)

I bought Taxwiz Deluxe last night at Staples for $22.00 + tax.

I rec'd a mailing from Taxwiz showing that I could order it for $22, I took the paper to staples and they pricematched it. I am gonna send in for the $5 rebate too.

They made a mistake...didn't take into account the rebate like they normally do.

You can also have them pricematch the Taxwiz website price of $24.95 which includes shipping.

Read this and weep...

Leader in tax software just got bigger

The leader in tax preparation software for consumers has gobbled up its leading competitor. The move creates an effective monopoly, at least temporarily, in packaged software for personal computers other than Macintosh. U.S.-owned Intuit Canada Ltd., the Edmonton-based supplier of QuickTax and QuickTax Web, purchased Taxmatic Inc., the Richmond Hill-based marketer of TaxWiz products, last November. No announcement was made at the time, but rumours began to circulate this week. ...

Can't seem to find 'Quicktax' on OD. Do you have the direct link?

Originally posted by Mr_Ding Can't seem to find 'Quicktax' on OD. Do you have the direct link?

type in item number 565948

Originally posted by Twilight Thanks for the info Is there any way to file more returns than the limit? Trick the system...perhaps? lol

I only needed 2 returns myself, so the limit wasn't important, however apparently their was a file with the extention .d11 that could be removed ( or something like that ) and it would reset the counter. It wasn't really obvious as most people just thought it was a .dll ( not the "els" and not the "ones" ).

I never tried it, so I can not personally confirm it worked.

I bought Quicktax last year, but the method to bypass activation involved...

1. Obtaining a valid user code from someone who had bought it and activated it
2. Obtaining same user's C:\ volume serial number

You would then:

1. From above, use a third-party utility to modify your C:\ volume's serial number to be the same as the one in (2) above
2. When installing Quicktax, enter the user code as (1) from above
3. Delete RCPDF.DLL from your hard drive's Windows hierarchy for more than 5 returns

This would of course contact Intuit's system, but they would see that you were the original user from the volume serial number.

I expect they will use something more sophisticated this year.

I'm having serious doubts about purchasing Quicktax this year.

It's not the product activation thing, I understand they want to ensure that only legit customers are using their software.... it's the fact that you cannot reinstall on a new machine (or a new hard drive if yours crashes) without going through a whole process with their customer support.

PLUS .. apparently it installs C-Dilla, a copyright-protection scheme from Macrovision. I wouldnt mind if this C-Dilla crap was only running to check if the Intuit CD was genuine, but they dont even tell you it's being installed, AND it runs FULL TIME, eating up over 1Mb of memory as it checks EVERY cd you use.

Even if you uninstall quicktax the C-Dilla stuff is left behind.

Intuit just updated their software to provide a "full" uninstaller for the program (including C-Dilla) but the point is that it took some pretty vocal customer complaints to get them to do it. To me that says "thanks for buying our software, but we're going to treat you like you stole it just to be safe. By the way this copy-protection software is needed to let Quicktax run and it's going to stay on your computer".

And apparently Intuit already bought taxWiz so you dont even have that option. Anyone know of any other Canadian tax software that's pretty comprehensive?

I know H&R Block makes Taxcut, but I think it's only for the US. Are there any others?

Originally posted by Rackemup PLUS .. apparently it installs C-Dilla, a copyright-protection scheme from Macrovision. I wouldnt mind if this C-Dilla crap was only running to check if the Intuit CD was genuine, but they dont even tell you it's being installed, AND it runs FULL TIME, eating up over 1Mb of memory as it checks EVERY cd you use.

There's been an awful lot of stuff posted on the web about this (Google on "turbotax c-dilla") but it's conflicting.

According to http://www.extremetech.com/article2...3,826594,00.asp

Actually, TurboTax is the second Intuit product to contain the SafeCast/C-Dilla software; Intuit added the DRM software to its QuickTax software for the Canadian market last year.

Well I used QuickTax last year and from what I could see with ZoneAlarmPro, there was only one Internet access to validate my copy (apart from checking for updates and doing Netfiles.) There was no activity associated with my CD burner or player.

So I have to wonder why didn't Canadian users experience all the side effects of C-Dilla when we installed QuickTax last year? It's possible that this year's version of C-Dilla is "more functional" or perhaps user in the US have overreacted based on reports of problems that have been erroneously attributed to C-Dilla.

At this point I really don't know what to believe.

Originally posted by Rackemup I'm having serious doubts about purchasing Quicktax this year. It's not the product activation thing, I understand they want to ensure that only legit customers are using their software.... it's the fact that you cannot reinstall on a new machine (or a new hard drive if yours crashes) without going through a whole process with their customer support.

This is my #1 concern as well. Tech support is only available during business hours. Very difficult to solve a problem on your home computer when you're at work! Not to mention the call is not toll-free unless you're in the area.

I know H&R Block makes Taxcut, but I think it's only for the US. Are there any others?

H&R's logo is on the QT website, so I doubt they'd work on a competing product in Canada anytime soon.

I'm going to look into using ufile.ca this year. Anyone tried it? I'm hoping it handles self-employment related forms like T2032 or T2124 (Stmt of prof/business activities).

Does QT have these forms available in the standard version (without having to pay $60 for the small business version with the "enhanced business interview")?

I'm also wondering if they put C-Dilla in Taxwiz too.

TIA

Just installed the newest quicktax. Runs just like all the rest. Ran adaware afterwards and came up with no spyware. And since I have zonealam pro running. nothing else is trying to ccess the internet.

So as is the case for the last 5 years I would recommend buying quicktax..

Originally posted by Rackemup And apparently Intuit already bought taxWiz so you dont even have that option. Anyone know of any other Canadian tax software that's pretty comprehensive? I know H&R Block makes Taxcut, but I think it's only for the US. Are there any others?

Sure, there are other software programs out there, but nothing for individuals. Profile, Cantax T1/T2, and other software geared towards accounting firms and professional tax preparers such as H&R Block or your local tax prep cubicle. These programs start at $499 and their interface is brutal... you either know how to use it or you don't.

So, for consumers, we are left with 1.5 choices... taxwiz no longer counts as a whole choice since it's owned by Intuit. I fully expect it to be pulled from the market next year since it's the same product at half the price.