Help Fud

FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.
 
   It is a marketing technique used when a competitor launches a product
   that is both better than yours and costs less, i.e. your product is no
   longer competitive. Unable to respond with hard facts, scare-mongering
   is used via 'gossip channels' to cast a shadow of doubt over the
   competitors offerings and make people think twice before using it.
 
   In general it is used by companies with a large market share, and the
   overall message is 'Hey, it could be risky going down that road, stick
   with us and you are with the crowd. Our next soon-to-be-released
   version will be better than that anyway'.
 
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hills/9267/fuddef.html