From The Contest Queen

A few people had additional problems and Bob came up with, yet another, fix:

I found an old fix on the Companion site, (yes, it appears to be back). If you have any other folks looking for this problem cure have them do this….

Start regedit and go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\Roboform Companio\Settings” Find “EnableSubmitHistory”, double click it and change the value data to “0″. (without the quotes).

This worked “one time in a row” for me. Hopefully, it will keep on working. Anyway, this was just one, (of probably many variations) of a similar problem and fix.

Thanks Bob.  We appreciate your help.

Helping each other find contests, enter and win is one of the best, and least talked about, aspects of this hobby.

GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!!

There has been some confusion about the blog entry I posted yesterday regarding the fix for RoboForm Companion.

RoboForm and RoboForm Companion are two different programs.  RoboForm is an auto-fill program allowing a user to easily and quickly enter online forms.  RoboForm Companion works in conjunction with RoboForm allowing a user to auto-enter online forms.

So, a user would install RoboForm on their computer, create Passcards for each sweepstakes they wish to enter and then launch RoboForm Companion to fill and submit all those forms saving the entrant a lot of time.

The fix I sent out yesterday was for RoboForm Companion.  It did not work for some.  Karl kindly shared this fix for RoboForm Companion:

I think I found a simple way to make RoboForm Companion work!!

You must add an entry in the hosts file.
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Right click and open the file using Notepad.
Add the following line at the top:
127.0.0.1     www.cydrix.com
Save and exit.

It should look like this when you are done:
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a ‘#’ symbol.
# For example:
#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server
#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

127.0.0.1     localhost
::1              localhost
127.0.0.1     www.cydrix.com

NOTE: Several spyware and anti-virus programs put this file read-only, so you will have to right-click the file (before you open it in Notepad), choose properties and then uncheck the Attribute Read-Only.  Recheck it when you are done.

As I also stated yesterday, I am working with programmers to launch a supported and maintained replacement program for RoboForm Companion.  I will keep you regularly informed of our progress.  Like RoboForm Companion, will need to have, and be comfortable using RoboForm before using the auto-entry software.

Click here to download RoboForm.

Click here to take the free online RoboForm tutorials.

GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

Last year, Cydrix decided it was no longer in a position to support and upgrade RoboForm Companion. They removed their annual subscription fee and made the program free to anyone who wished to use it.

Yesterday, their website went offline and the software suffered a fatal error. Today, “watchman” posted the following on Cool Canucks as one solution to the problem:

For those of us that use this program to automate our entries, we have known for some time that the company has stopped supporting the software and is not creating any new versions.

Today you will notice that when it starts the Cydrix.com web site is gone and has been replaced with a generic splash screen that indicates to me that the URL ownership has lapsed.

If you depend on this software to enter your hundreds if not thousands of contests, you should start to get nervous until a suitable replacement is found.

I had a problem with the software yesterday and have just finished spending considerable time rebuilding my system (uninstalling and re-installing software and OS). I am happy to say that it is now working thank goodness.

But the experience has taught me some valuable lessons that I feel that I need to share. So this is for all users of RoboForm Companion.

1. Quickly go to Download.com and download and save a copy of the RoboForm Companion Setup.exe and save it or burn it to somewhere safe. Since the Cydrix.com site is gone, you can’t get it there anymore. You will need this should you ever have to re-install the software as I have.

2. Turn off automatic updates in Windows Update. Yes I know that this will also prevent security updates, but hear me out. You want to be in a position to know that you are going to install an update and take a snapshot of your system prior to doing so. This way if the update causes Companion to fail, you at least have a fighting chance of restoring your system to the prior version and hopefully Companion will work again. You may have to re-install it from your download from part 1.

Ask yourself how important is contesting to you and what is the value of prizes that you have won and potentially will win. Is RoboForm and RoboForm Companion a big part of that equation? If you answered yes, then the following is for you.

I strongly recommend that if you have a current system that is running your software well; lock it down and back it up. Do not use the system for anything else and do not let anyone else use it. Make it your contesting system and don’t upgrade or install anything else on it.

With the prices of computer systems or laptops today, get yourself another system for everything else other than contesting. Think of it as an investment in future contesting wins.

This episode scared me when it appeared that I might not ever be able to use RoboForm Companion again. Just imagine that you no longer could automatically enter all the contests that you have in there, what would you do?

Good luck and let’s hope for a RoboForm Companion replacement soon.

His advice is a good short term solution as there are currently no other auto-entry software on the market.

I have been working with programmers on a longer term solution. I hope to launch a new, supported, auto-entry software package on the market in the next few weeks. I will keep you posted on our progress.

In the meantime, you can enter manually using RoboForm to speed up the process.

GOOD LUCK & HAVE FUN!

As I stated in my last posting, for the most part, I liked the documentary. When I was asked to be in it, I knew all I could do was put forth my vision, state my message, and hope it didn’t end up on the cutting room floor. Frugal Shopper has had and interesting online discussion of the various aspects of the film. It seems that most people feel that our hobby has been shown in the worse possible light and, I agree, that my message of fun, excitement and fellowship did not come across as strongly as I would have liked. What was remembered by most was, how the hobby turned to an addiction and ruined a family.

Then (coincidentally?) yesterday ABC ran an online article Sweepstakes Addicts Win Big. I think Sandra at about.com (re)stated my feelings on the misconceptions of the hobby in her posting Why Are Sweepers “Addicts”?. To me an addiction is something that must be done no matter what and comes before everything else. I do not put my hobby before family or work. I only spend 1-2 hours per day entering, and on busy days 10-30 min. On my busiest the reason I can squeeze in 10 min. is because I use RoboForm Companion, otherwise on those busy days, contesting time would be zero. On those days I also affirm to myself, I win what I am suppose to win and it only takes one to win.

The day this hobby isn’t fun anymore, is the day I quit.