Slashdot Mirror
Dell To Techs: Don't Help Customers Remove Spyware
Alien54 writes "Well, more exactly, be advised that if you are giving a Dell for Xmas, not only will it probably come preloaded with spyware, but their tech support lines will refuse to tell users how to remove it, and will not give people advice on where to find some good tools to remove it. As seen in the latest newsletter from SpyWareInfo, Dell sent an internal memo to its tech support minions which says in part: 'NOTICE: Use of spyware removal software may conflict with user license agreements of other applications installed on your system. Please consult your user license agreements for further information. Dell does not endorse the use of spyware removal software and cannot provide support on these products.' This means we do not take callers to download.com or doxdesk.com, nor do we recommend spyware removal programs, nor do we advise callers on the use of spyware removal programs. This includes using phrases "We don't support the removal of spyware, but I use..."'" (Read on below.Update: 12/03 06:36 GMT by T : And for an update, too.)
"Now isn't that just nifty. Several folks in the antispyware/antivirus community have signed an open letter to Dell Inc. asking them to retract this possibly foolish and misguided policy. That letter is located at here." Update: 12/03 06:36 GMT Mike Healan, editor of spywareinfo.com, writes "The original posting is misleading.
Dell is absolutely not installing or preinstalling spyware and the
headline gives the impression that it is."
*sigh*
Yet another example of corporate arrogance and stupidity.
Use of spyware removal software may conflict with user license agreements of other applications installed on your system.
Because i know when i buy a computer there is a contract I sign that says I want it fully loaded with spyware. Now granted when the computer boots up sometimes there are user agreements that needed to be clicked, but I just have one of my siblings that are under 18 click agree to those. So How did i violate a license agreement?
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
I sure can "blame" them. They seem to be the only computer company doing this, and who knows if they even install spyware on their computers at the factory. At the very least, they need to realize that spyware can seriously cripple computers, and is just as important an issue as hardware failures or driver problems.
Do you nuke windoze update? Media Player? Hit Box? These programs come with XP and they phone home with more info than you might expect or can even know. If you still run IE and Outlook, you will fight an intense and losing battle to keep garbage off your machines.
Given the nature of closed source, I don't recomend running spy removal software either. It never really works and it can't. Closed source simply sucks that way. If you hook it up to the internet, it's going to be broken soon.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Hey Dude,
You're getting a Dell!
Bend over though 'cause Mike likes to take customers from behind.
It may well be all that, but it also runs maybe 5% of the software you can use on the PC. (You mention two such apps yourself, in fact.) That's plenty of reason to not recommend it to most people.
If all you ever wanted was to surf the web and use PaintShop, and you don't play games either, well, ok, probably a Mac is all you'll ever need.
However, most of those "clueless" people actually want more from a computer.
Just as one aspect of the problem, you'd be surprised how many actually want to play a damn game now and then. And I don't mean the dozen games total that got ported to the Mac in the last 5 years. Even if they're not hardcore gamers like myself, they might actually want to go play Backgammon on Microsoft's site, or download some freeware remake of PacMan, or whatnot.
Or they might want to run their existing copy of MS Office, instead of paying another few hundred dollars for the Mac version.
Basically: just because they don't have a PhD in CS, doesn't mean that all they need is a box that can only surf the web and edit photos.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
I liked there comment about "getting a MAC", if you can 5 more to do that, that will make a total of 73 MAC users world wide.