Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Dell does not support the removal of spyware

reply to eburger68

Re: Dell does not support the removal of spyware

reply to eburger68

Re: Why bash Dell? ALL companies do the very same

reply to Mele20

Re: Dell does not support the removal of spyware

Don't feel bad...I didn't have a DVD player until I bought this new 8300 Dell Dimension three weeks ago.:) I haven't used it yet either. (I've spent all my time having Dell send me all new hardware as what was sent originally wouldn't work ...three times for the monitor)!

All I know so far about DSentry.exe is what I learned at
»www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pa···full.php

According to pacman the entry information for DSentry.exe was changed on November 13, 2003 because new information was found about what this application is for:

N DSentry DSentry.exe Anti-spyware from Dell. Seems that after Dell found out certain applications being installed from DVD's would report back information about what customers were watching, they decided to implement an anti-spyware service. Run manually before installation starts

As you can see, pacman suggests killing it in startup and just starting it manually if needed. I know I see it running on all Dells that post Hijack This. I don't know anything further about it. If it wasn't such a nightmare to get Dell tech support on the phone (very long waits and then disconnects and then more long waits before finally reaching a tech), I would call and ask about it. I will be calling the Dell supervisor in the Dell Customer Resolution Center, who has been working with me, on Monday and I'll ask him about this entire issue. I had pointed him to this forum last week so he may be reading this thread.
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"Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's destiny." Victor Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning

reply to dp

Re: Probably does more good...........

reply to 2kmaro

Re: Dell does not support the removal of spyware

said by 2kmaro:

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Now, if we could just get them to refer to BBR forums?

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reply to eburger68
Let me give you this from my POV.

I work as a phone consultant for a somewhat large, local university. I myself am a student.

The MAJORITY of our calls (read: 70%-80%) are spyware related. Lately, it's been those damn AIM "viruses". But almost all our calls are spyware/malware/hijackware related.

I walk more people through adaware a day than anything else. It's absolutely madening.

If we were to put people on hold for 5 min by default when they called us, and played them a repeating recording of how to get adaware, and how to run it properly (Joe Idiot doesn't know he has to update the "spyware definitions" before running it), the ammount of calls we would actually have to answer would be insanely reduced.

Now we are mainly here to do networking ("What's the problem sir? You can't get online and you're in the dorms? Ok, let's find out where the problem lies..."), and general consulting for servers that we maintain (some unix web servers, exchange servers, another type of email servers, etc, etc, etc {we have so many systems for so many departments it's insane}). But we spend most of our time dealing with viruses and spyware. Hell, we hired 4 new people before the year started because of the blaster virus. Just to be able to handle the calls. And even with the 4 new hires, all of us were still unable to handle the call volume.

So I can see why DELL doesn't want the hassle of all this. If I were DELL, I'd do the same thing. I'd tell my idiots (customers) that I will support their hardware in any way needed, but if they dick with the software, they do it on their own terms. Especially with all the shiat that can happen. Even I, a computer junkie, encounter problems, but I'm smart enough to head to the appropriate forums for my problem (for mobo type issues, nforcershq.com; for server issues, arstechnica.com; for networking and security issues, well, here duh ). But then, unlike Joe Idiot, I am constantly reading and putting in preventative measures. And most of the junk I see now, I know how to stop because I help end-users deal with it on a daily basis.

Oh, by the way, I've called DELL tech support ONCE in my entire being (with an actually inquiry). At the time, they had already been outsourcing to India. My question was just whether or not they used a proprietary pinout on the motherboard and power supply unit, or if they complied with industry standards allowing them to be interchangable with any mobo/PSU I could buy from, let's say, newegg. I called 5 times, got 5 different reps, spoke to 2 different supervisors and all told me it was ok. That there was no proprietary pinouts etc. My ass. I did my research beforehand. They knew nothing.

People who work on a Help and Support line and think that their customers are idiots for calling to ask for Help and Support do not deserve to have a job, they deserve to be on the unemployment line.

Are you an idiot for not knowing everything there is to know about every possible field of human endeavor?

No of course not.

On the other hand if you really believe that your customers, people who may be highly intelligent and competent persons in areas of knowledge completely outside of your experience are idiots simply because you have specialized knowledge on a particular subject of which they know nothing then maybe you should take a good hard look in the mirror, you might see someone who is not so very perfect in every way after all.

Problem is, we get what's called "frequent flyers". These are the same people who call in all the time.

My latest call from one of our frequent flyers was about him needing help putting a smiley face in an email he was sending. You may see this as innocent, but when calls like this, from the same group of people, become daily, sometimes multiple times a day, then it's a problem. I hope you can understand my dislike.

But you also don't realize how naive these people are.

"Yeah, all of my friends had this link in their profile, and so I clicked it to, and now I have a virus. Why?"

"I don't know why my machine is having so many problems, I mean, all I do is use kazaa and stuff. What? Kazaa has spyware?"

"Yeah, I got this email but I didn't know who it was from, so I downloaded the attachment and now I have a virus."

"Hi, I got an email from the IT security office saying that I was blocked from the network. Why was I blocked?" (when the email clearly states why they are blocked, who they are blocked by, and what they need to do to be unblocked... in fact, every time we get this question, we even ask them, well, "what does the email say exactly")

You have no idea. NOOOOOOO idea. We give these people resources such as a thorough knowledge-base, while they are on hold before getting to us, they are given a recording to check the knowledge base for FAQs. Almost none do (we check traffic for the KB and almost all the traffic to it comes from us when we need to look up a phone number or a specific email address for a department). We have a very small drop rate (users that hang up before getting to a consultant).

And no, I don't expect people to know everything about everything. I certainly don't. But I don't take my car into a mechanic and say "It doesn't work" and that be it. I tell them that it makes funny noises, or that there's lots of fire coming from the trunk, or that there's SOMETHING. Do you know how many people call in and only say "my computer doesn't work"? I'm so tempted to just go out and say, "well, I'm sorry for you, but I just can't help you. Why? well, all I know is that your computer doesn't work. maybe you should get a new one"

I mean, there are so many things that go wrong with computers (and cars) that you HAVE to tell me more than that. I'm not psychic. I'm not the only one who wonders how these people get through the day without inadvertently killing themselves. Guess it's all those warning labels on everything.

But the fact remains that we only see a percentage of those attending here. THat is a somewhat reasurring thought, that the majority of people here can handle themselves and have enough common sense to figure it out. The last time I called tech support, it was because Netgear had uploaded the wrong drivers to their website. Purporting that they were of the 2.0 revision when all the files, inf, sys, etc were all labeled 1.0.

Any other problems I have, I research it, I use common sense (hrm, my sound doesn't work... instead of calling the university support phone line, maybe, just maybe, I should visit the manufacturer's website and see if there's anything there for me {drivers, faqs, etc}).

reply to BingoBingo
I installed Firebird just to check this out. Tools, Options, Web Features, uncheck "Enable JavaScript". The Mozilla folks have a bizarre habit of calling it by its actual name, not a made up word taken from a piece of unrelated technology (e.g. GeckoScript or somesuch).

reply to eburger68
Open Letter To Dell Inc. From The Security Community

quote:

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For Immediate Release. Please distribute as you see fit

December 2, 2003 -- We in the antispyware, antivirus and security communities would like to express our disappointment with the new technical support policy in place at Dell Inc. Dell's new support policy does a disservice to its customers and puts everyone on the internet at risk, including non-Dell customers, by discouraging the removal of malicious software.

We call upon paying customers of Dell Inc. to contact Dell and ask them to retract this policy. One day it may be you asking for help and being told "Sorry, removing the virus popping up pornographic ads in front of your children might violate the license of other software".

Dell Inc. should be more concerned for their paying customers than for persons who would distribute spyware and viruses. We call upon Dell Inc. to retract this misguided policy and allow their support technicians to refer infected customers to web sites that can help them.

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reply to eburger68
Dell partners with Pest Patrol:

»www.spywareinfo.com/newsletter/a···php#Dell
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Monkey, monKEY

reply to eburger68
At least they are doing something. That software being offered costs $45. I hope the Dell users are also told that they can get free software if they do a search. I have nothing against Pest Patrol or the other two items in the software package Dell is offering but many users may have spam control and pop ad control already so Dell should mention that the user can find free software just for the spyware problem.
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"Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's destiny." Victor Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning