Dell’s Spyware Response (73)
The response that I received from last year’s article discussing Dell’s pre-installed spyware has been overwhelming. I’ve received hundreds of emails and blog comments thanks in large part to the concerned readers at Digg. Thanks for helping me spread the news about how Dell has been treating their customers.
A number of the comments left on my blog were written by users with a Dell IP address. Although I doubt Dell management gave their blessing to the employees who left comments, since these are the only responses I received from Dell I’ll accept them as official company response until I hear otherwise. After all, a Dell tech support technician represents the company as much as Michael Dell does. In fact, some would argue that Dell’s customer support staff is the most important representation the company has. As the face of the company these are the people that Dell’s customers interact with when things go wrong. When was the last time you called Dell and had Michael Dell pick up on the other end? (Note: I realize Kevin Rollins is currently the CEO, but since Michael is still with the company, and since it still bears his name, he continues to be the most important person there in many peoples’ eyes.)
To protect the privacy of Dell’s defenders I won’t supply their full IP or email address unless they provided their email in the comment itself. However, I will say that all of the comments below originated with IP addresses that resolved to domains ending with “dmz.aus.amer.dell.com”. I’m quite confident this means they work for Dell and responded to my article on company time.
Let me begin by sharing with you the most official, professional and perhaps most misleading response received from Dell:
I wanted to post this information again as a follow up to Lionel’s earlier post.
The My Way Search Assistant is not spyware.
The My Way Search Assistant does not collect personal information upon startup or at any time as a requirement of use, nor does it monitor the sites a user visits. It does not monitor a user’s behavior on the Internet, and does not log or track keystrokes. It does not service or facilitate ads, and is completely spyware-free and adware-free.
For more information, or for instructions on how to remove the My Way Search Assistant, please visit the Dell Community Forum.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at Customer_Advocate@Dell.com
Sincerely,
GeoffDell Customer Advocate
email: Customer_Advocate@Dell.com
There has been a lot of debate as to whether or not My Way constitutes spyware. Based on what I’ve read I’m still in the category of people that believe that My Way Search Assistant is in fact spyware.
However, for the sake of discussion, let’s assume for a moment that Geoff is correct and My Way is not spyware. (On a funny side note, if you visit http://help.myway.com/searchassistant.html and perform a search for “Search Assistant”, the top two sponsored links are for SpywareBot.com and SpywareRemoversReview.com.) As I was saying, for the sake of discussion let’s assume that My Way does not spy on its users’ computing habits. I think we can all agree that at the very least My Way is crapware. That is to say, software pre-installed on Dell computers that none of their customers want on there. At the very least Dell should be smarter than to install and then defend perceived spyware.
Another Dell employee who calls him or herself “Tinlizzie” submitted the following:
I work for Dell, and the reason for all the software loaded or unloaded or whatever you want to call it, is because the majority of our customers (when this company was first started) was consumers, people who used their computers from home. Alot of those people aren’t as “techy” as some people (think they are) replying to this site. Alot of gramdma’s, buying computers out there, need antivirus and all the junk loaded to help them use their computer more effiectively. On the flip side, Dell is more than aware of our business customers needs and we value them. We want to try and accomadate everyone. With that said, if you actually call into Dell, and request no software preloaded on your system it can be built that way. But alot people don’t know that, because they uninformed, so consider yourself in the know.
If this is true, it’s nice to know that Dell at least offers the option of purchasing a computer without any junk preloaded on the system. Of course, this is the way I think computers should be sold by default. That said, pre-installing My Way on consumer computers because the average user isn’t “techy” is a horrible justification. My Way doesn’t help grandma it takes advantage of her. The only people it helps are the people at Dell and the companies they affiliate with that stand to profit off of My Way Search Assistant.
Finally, for the most colorful Dell response, I’ll share with you this Dell defense by an employee who goes by the name “Jack”:
Ya know…what’s dumber, the guy who hires a repairman to change his dead lightbulb or the guy who figures out how to screw the damn thing in himself. God what a bunch of morons you guys are. Mr Michael, if you weren’t such a dipshit you might actually learn something.
Let’s review what led up to me receiving this comment. 1.) I spend hard earned dollars on a Dell computer. 2.) I detect unwanted software on my computer 3.) I try to remove unwanted software on my own, only to discover it doesn’t easily uninstall. 4.) I ask Dell customer service for support and am asked to pay $49 to have it removed. 5.) I exercise my freedom of speech by truthfully complaining about my experience on my web site. 6.) Dell calls me a dipshit. Wow, what a way to win back your customers, Dell.
Note to Dell: If a company representative is interested in Jack’s IP address I’d be happy to share it with you. I hope you’ll agree with me that this isn’t how your employees should be treating (albeit disgruntled) customers. 5-24-2006 Update: Dell has since contacted me requesting Jack’s information. However, in the end, I decided to keep his information private. After thinking it over I decided it is more important to respect the privacy of my web site’s visitors than it is to see Jack reprimanded. (I don’t have a privacy policy on my blog and I think privacy should therefore be the default assumption.)
On one hand, it’s pretty admirable for people like Geoff and Jack to defend their company. When a loved one gets into an argument with a stranger I’ll always defend the one I love no matter who I think is right. That’s just the way love works I suppose. Similarly, Dell must not be such a horrible place to work if its employees are quick to defend the company. Part of me wonders, though, if their paychecks might be blinding them as much as love does. Either way, I thought it only fair if I highlighted Dell’s response.
While I’m writing this follow-up, I wanted to take a moment and address some of the common responses I received.
Common Response #1.) Buy a Mac.
Look, I’m a big Mac fan. When friends and family ask for advice when computer shopping I urge them to go Mac. Unfortunately, the workforce often forces many of us to use at least one application that only runs on Windows. Such was the case for me last year when I bought a Dell. Today, thanks to to products like Boot Camp and Parallels it is now possible to run Windows on a Mac. Had this been available last year I might have gone this route instead of buying a Dell.
Common Response #2.) Use Linux.
I’m also a big Linux fan and have personally worked with and installed Debian, Red Hat and Gentoo. However, for the same reason as stated above, the workforce prevents me from using Linux at the office. Also, Linux is great for a techie like me but I just don’t think it’s easy enough for Grandma to be using at home yet.
Common Response #3.) Why didn’t you wipe the computer and re-install Windows from scratch?
I agree that this is practicaly the best solution. However, on principle, I think that I shouldn’t have to. (For the same reason that I shouldn’t have to pick the hair out of my food at a restaurant. It might be the best way to get the hair out of the food, but that’s not the point. The point is that it shouldn’t be there in the first place.)
Common Response #4.) Don’t be lazy. Build your own computer.
Most of the computers I’ve owned I built myself. In the past I did this to save money, but it’s really no longer going to save you money considering the cost of shipping parts from multiple vendors vs. the low priced machines that Dell sells. Today I would only build my own computer from parts for the enjoyment of it.
When a company needs to buy 100 new computers for their employees, you can’t expect them to build 100 computers from scratch. (It’s not cost effective for, say, a law firm to enter into the computer assembly business.) That would be like saying that Fedex should build all of their delivery trucks from parts rather than buying them from a vehicle manufacturer. Fedex is in the package delivery business. They’re not a car company.
One of the benefits of living in a consumer society is the ability to save time by using products that others have made. We no longer have to cut down trees and carve them into boats ourselves if we want to travel to a foreign land. As consumers, we put our faith in companies like Dell to make good products that are worth buying. It’s unfortunate that Dell is violating their consumers faith, but the solution shouldn’t be to go back to building computers by hand. The solution is to buy from a Dell competitor.
I too share your point of view on pre-installed software.
With my Compaq laptop, they have a nicely divided 2 disc set. One for the OS, and one for the applications and drivers. Unfortuneatly, they load all the software into the first boot image.
The best solutions a computer provider like Dell, HP, and Compaq to do would be to follow this same model, have the 2 disc set, and ASK to have the second disc inserted during their first bootup, or have the application installation files available on c:\ and then confige sysprep to run an application chooser program during first boot, allowing the user to decide which additional software they would like loaded.
And if any of the companies use this idea, for God sakes, make the default to install nothing. It’s completely pointless to have the default to install everything, and have Grandma call you 3 days later cause 30 different programs are popping up 101 messages asking to update as soon as it’s connected to the internet…
Except what you fail to address is that dell is getting paid to load that software. If you want them not advertising to you, you take the hit by making up the money they’re losing. Basically what YOU’RE saying is that nobody should have the ability to get a discounted PC, because YOU don’t like their pre-installed software.
Dell is competing on price, and as such, they’re doing what they can to offer the best price possible. Mom & pop jones don’t really care if there’s extra software on the computer. If it makes it 50$ cheaper, so be it. If you don’t want it, don’t have it, but don’t whine when you have to pay for the difference. Dell isn’t going to lose money because you don’t want adveritising on your computer. What they are doing is giving you the option to opt out, for the price it cost them to sell you a computer without the ads.
One last thing, it’s obvious you’re just trying to get more hits claiming that it’s Dell’s official response when some employee’s post from work. Why don’t you man up a bit and stop making shit up for the sake of hits on your little blog. That’s about as civil as I can be on that subject…
If you want to PROVE to Dell that MyWay is infact spyware and/or adware, I suggest running a packet filter on your computer, and catch all the data coming in and out of your machine, and all the nitty-gritty details. Try using something like Ethereal or tcpdump.
I doubt Dell employees are smart enough to know about packet filters.
Dear Conserned Consumer:
MyWay Search Assistant isn’t spyware, dipshit.
As stated by our “first line” technicians, you are a total tool. Plus, you smell bad. I would argue with you on the Interweb, but you already appear to be retarded, sir. I will just save my breath.
The drive that made me able to sell millions of units to braindead consumers like you will keep those pieces of shit in your hands if you ever try to send it back!
You are all looooosers, and I don’t need to sell anymore computers to carry out my master plan. Fuck you all.
Sincerly,
Michael Dell
(800) 624-9897
The Dell tech that stated you could request no software pre-installed is misrepresenting the facts, not aware of what really happens or is simply lying. At work we ordered three Dells and requested no less than three times that they have a clean install of Windows only. No third-party software pre-installed thank you very much we don’t want it. The machines showed up and still had various Dell software and McAfee installed which we had to remove. Plus the McAfee software would not uninstall unless we used a startup utility to prevent the processes from loading otherwise it was impossible to remove.
Don’t be fucking lazy. Build your own damn computer.
I used to lve in Austin. DELL seemed to be at every place I worked. My friends and I couldn’t stand being around DELL trolls. So we dubbed them as “DELLdos”. =D
If a Dell employee on company time uses derogatory language when speaking to a customer, then it should not matter if that employee was on a break, or even what method is being used to respond (in this case a website post). Being someone that has had their fair share of experiences with Dell tech support, I can assure you that if I knew a Dell employee was responding to me innapropriatly I would make sure that his or her employers were made aware.
It doesn’t really matter if you tell Dell not to preload system software. I did so on my XPS M-140 and was dissapointed when I had to uninstall shit from ESPN, Yahoo, and other companies. Not spyware…still annoying as hell.
hehehe….glad to see someone else getting yelled at for spyware.
-bill
Honestly I think this is too funny. I’m not sure which is funnier though, the fact that Dell employees lie, or the fact that people support them because it makes things cheaper.
This just made me remember the good old fact that Americans will buy a cheaper anything no matter the cost. My solution to this problem is build your own which still can be cheaper, but as mentioned by the article, if you run a business this may not be possible. In that situation buy from a local PC builder. I work for a company that does prebuild systems and you can even choose the hardware you want and then just pay the 60 dollars labor which gives you a 1 year warranty with it. These systems come with just windows (XP or Home) or even no OS if thats what you prefer.
Everyone complains about Dell but they still use them. If your companies weren’t guilty of trying to cut costs (like Dell is doing in this situation) then you wouldn’t be in this bind.
I tried to order a computer from dell, and called and specifically asked then to:
1) not install anything in my system, the guy on the phone actually went through the list and i told him what i didn’t want (everything)
2) give me the original windows OS disc.
Not only was all the crapware installed just like normal, but they didn’t send the disc either. I was pretty pissed, and called dell. they said they didn’t have a record of me calling, but they did send me the OS disc.
I agree with the commend re: Dell’s need to get compensation for selling computers so low. The price of having a computer that runs well and is made from good parts - AND cheap - is that somebody has to pay for the extra money that gets wasted on selling the computer so cheap.
Of course, Dell should definitely be more clear about exactly what they are doing…
Also, I totally agree with the other guy about using Ethereal or some sort of packet analysis to see what’s coming in and going out with that software.
And report those employees to supervisors. Yup.
The type of people who buy these PCs don’t care if their search bar may be reporting statistics to it’s head office. If they do care, then they are likely savvy enough to remove it. There is a big difference between this software, and something that loads random popups/changes your desktop permanently/slows your computer to a grinding halt.
P.S. If you’re ordering multiple systems and want Dell to preinstall each hdd with your own company image, they will do it for you for a price. Dell will bend over backwards to get you as a customer.
So weird, one of my friends, two years ago had trouble with his laptop and he sent it to Dell. In addition to repearing, they gave him a free second battery.
It’s spyware.
[…] responses are well written, one attacks the writer and calls him a “dipshit”. read more | digg story […]
that’s what I told the customers who bought a 99$ contract for the tech support :\
“With that said, if you actually call into Dell, and request no software preloaded on your system it can be built that way.”
Is that free or does it cost money?
I love the “tinlizzie” person who tried to both spin Dell’s practices and insult you at the same time.
I worked directly with the CEO of a (now) major OEM several years back, when they were first expanding into the US market. I got to sit in on several meetings between themselves and third-party vendors while they hammered out the details of what would go on the gold master for their Windows install.
They were actually selling their computers at a loss when they began, because they were able to make up the profit through two things:
1) Service contracts
2) Vendor affiliations
There is no reason to put any pre-loaded vendor software on an OEM computer, except that it nets HUGE profits for the manufacturer.
If “tinlizzie” were right about “grandma’s” (sic) who need all that extra software just to make the machine useable, then what would he say about the Mac, which doesn’t come with any third-party software at all?
I got a dell laptop for a graduation present from high school about a year ago and I noticed the same thing, and I had the same initial reaction as you, even more so was I found a 3 gig partition that was apparently a “backup” I called the company and said ” I bought a 40 gig hard drive with this computer and I only have 29, I understand that hard drives can never be perfectly the number advertised, however I’m missing 11 gigs.” eventually I got so fed up that I had to get my xp key and grab my sisters copy of xp home ( thanks for the no touch install dell =\) and I reformatted. I couldn’t have been happier, I got back up to 37 gigs (35 after xp) and it was faster booting then my home built pc. I completely understand where you are coming from, and I agree that this my way search assistance is bad, maybe not spy ware, but defiantly bloat ware, and rather than install the Google toolbar( which I’m sure grandma would find just as great), they decided to install this my way which they are getting a kick back from. I think that now the only thing that can help is to make sure everyone orders their dell “my way” free. Thanks for bringing it up, I was wondering if I was the only one that had a problem with this.
What annoys me most is that Dell doesn’t give you the software you purchased with the machine. They used to send Windows install CDs, but now they don’t. Instead, they send an insulting “picture” of one to say you don’t need it, which is like your Grandma wrapping up a picture of the coat she bought you last February as a Christmas present.
True, they do send you the software overnight mail if you ask. It surprised me they send it so fast and at such high cost, until I thought “Wait a minute, they’re not giving me a key component of the equipment I paid for! Of course they’re sending it out when someone calls them on it! How is this even possible!?”
I’d like everyone–EVERYONE–who buys a DELL to call them and demand their software install CDs. Why do we have to FORCE companies to be honest with us? Does this annoy anyone but me?
I have requested no software be installed on prior Dell purchases and received a computer with just the OS on it. It can be done….
http://members.tripod.com/acls2001
I am more amazed that the people posted here don’t realize that you have the option when you buy the computer to have the CD (ex Windows) included with your shipment. I am not saying by default it doesn’t have that selected but it is always an option for me when I buy the computer (I average about 5 a month).
You should consider buying a Dell through a local reseller or working through the small business side of the business. If you did you would know that those systems (like an Optiplex) will come without all the other crap. IF you buy a refurb or a Dimension then you are probably going to get all the software under the sun to help them subsidize the cost of the PC.
I do think it is ridiculous that they do business with MyWay because it is definitely spyware or at least adware. However it is really not that hard to get rid of (not that you should have to do it yourself).
The main problem I see reflected by this article is that you have a bunch of people that buy 1 computer every 3-5 years and they are pissed when they buy one that it has all this crap on it. The people that purchase frequently actually understand why Dell does this and don’t buy the systems that would have it in the first place. Educate yourself before you buy or you only have yourself to blame.
Jayson:
“If “tinlizzie†were right about “grandma’s†(sic) who need all that extra software just to make the machine useable, then what would he say about the Mac, which doesn’t come with any third-party software at all?”
Mac’s not as cheap. The cheapest PC is far, far cheaper than the cheapest Mac. Mac doesn’t need to make it up.
Of course there are plenty of solutions out there, there is one that stands above all else.
A Macintosh. I know I might sound like a one sided enthusiast but up until very recently I was a hardcore windows fan. I had just purchased a new Dell, and I definately think it was worth it’s wait in gold. Yet, after about a month of having this Dell, I noticed something…XP gets clustered up with unwanted programs, spyware, virii, you name it.
So I was off to purchase a Mac, after a close friend has shown me his… I went to my nearest apple store and fell in love with the whole setup. It was simple, yet constructive…It came pre-bundled with programs that I use nearly everyday and unlike Windows…No spyware, no virii, no nothing.
It’s not up for debate anymore the most secure operating system, Mac OS X….
Dell has outsourced even its sales (on the 1-800 number). I called about their mp3 player to see if it came with any podcasting support (software etc), and the guy on the other line did not know what I was talking about and hung up on me! This was *sales.* Imagine how bad their customer support must be. Dells are turds. They make dell computers incredibly fast, and with that speed they sacrifice quality. On top of that Dell computers have no personality. They are ugly and staid. There is no inspiration in a Dell computer.
@lidliving
Same here I’ve ordered Dells before and got exactly the specs I requested including installed software. Not sure what the other yahoos are talking about to be honest…
FeedBoy
http://www.bigloveboards.com
I’ve been working in the computer industry for 23 years. I’ve seen all kinds of shit fly by, and what dell is doing is nothing new, but it should be a wake up call for the rest of you. All companies do this, albeit some methods are more subtle than others, and yet we accept these bits of annoyances in small doses until we have swallowed the bottle. The problem is not the companies, but ourselves. Take a look at the last 15 years in software and hardware trends. Some of you even said it yourselves. They put this stuff there to make it easier to use. By doing so, it eliminates the need for us to learn how to do it ourselves.
I work for a small business doing computer repair, custom builds and general advice regarding systems, and at least 80% of our repairs can be attributed to Dell. I have heard so many bad stories about dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway and e-machines I have simply started tuning it out because its the same old song and dance.
Rather than bitching about the fact that they put it there, learn what you system does, understand the nature of the language that gave rise to it and use that knowledge to further your own understanding.
And for all those who say its too hard or time consuming to do that, all I can say is that you have let them win. They don’t want you to understand the technical aspects of computer technology and they definitely don’t want you fixing their systems, because then you will realize exactly what those machines are.
I mean not to preach or talk down to those who are not “computer literate” as I hear so often. I simply sick and tired of hearing whining of a lazy bunch of people who have given up are and will to take it up the ass.
for all opinions, dissenting or otherwise, please e-mail me at:
ruiner@nuvox.net. I welcome all discussions, debates and questions regarding this and other subjects like it.
Dell has by far the worst customer service I’ve had to deal with. Our company just switched to IBM due to their terrible support. I don’t have an hour to waste teaching their employees in India how to speak English, just to get a new slimline CD-ROM or hard drive. And that’s the business support number too.
Ryan,
I agree with you that the Compaq (and later rebadged as HP) notebooks with the two CDs are the way to go. It’s also why I standardized on the DV1000 series for my company.
However, the latest iteration now comes with some crappy image buidling software (13 CD’s required) to do a restore back to the factory crap-loaded stage. So, don’t count on HP anymore, they’re just as bad now.
Isnt Dells Warrenty Service in India or some shit, DELL SUCKS! Build your own PC
Dell suport has gone from some of the best I ever used about 5 years ago, to an absolute hell hole of wasted time, language barriers, shitty phone quality WHILE trying to overcome the accents (although, I have to say, the assumed Indian people have been very polite) and waiting ‘just a few more moments, sir’..I spent 1 hour and 20 minutes last week to get a replacement for a DEAD LCD MONITOR. (Sir, can you connect it to the tower for troubleshooting purposes) (umm, it has NO lights, tried multiple power plugs, 3 cables and 2 separate machines…it is dead…it is an EX-MONITOR…I filled their tier 2 (?) survey, and told them under no foreseeable condition would I recommend ANY dell product to any one for any reason. THAT is being pissed.
I feel your pain for difficult-to-uninstall applications pre-installed on your PC. I have an eMachine computer that came with Windows XP Home. One of the pre-loaded programs is for a built-in media reader that my computer does not have installed. However, the uninstaller says, “Please install the media reader to uninstall this application. Exiting.” Uh… what?!
Simple solution: wipe the hard drive and load it up with a fresh copy of XP. oh, wait, they don’t give you that cd!
i disagree with dell about their policies about preloading the computers with crap and not shipping XP CDs.
But, their warranty is still incredible nevertheless. Complete Care has saved my behind many times!
I wonder how many people bought DELL’s that were made by prisoners? That jew will do anything to save a buck.
@Aaron: Your problem was that you bought an eMachine. They’re utter CRAP.
I also bought a notebook and had to delete a lot of Deel-ware and McAfee software. I emailed Dell Support asking about how to get the next machine without the add-ons and was told to call sales. Since the notebook was purchased as a online special and knowing that sales has the option to honor the online or ignore it I was a little put off. If Dell was serious about their no software offer, they should include a checkoff box on their online ordering screens to do it. By the way the Wordperfect word processing software that they say is included on the machine is counting down from 30 daily. I really don’t consider that as being included on the hardware deal.
Hahahaaaa Dell (and Windoze) are both of teh sUck, and all of you are sheep lamer idiotz. go apple (or linux, or whatever… anything but dell/microsoft)
“For the same reason that I shouldn’t have to pick the hair out of my food at a restaurant. It might be the best way to get the hair out of the food, but that’s not the point. The point is that it shouldn’t be there in the first place.”
I think the better analogy would be you ordering a dish at a restaurant that let’s say includes peanuts. The restaurant (in fine print) says the dish has peanuts, you order it, and then ask for the the peanuts to be removed after they serve your dish. Should they charge you? I don’t know where I stand on that, but it would make for a more satisfying experience with the restaurant (i.e. Dell) if they did it for free. The thing is, most “in the know” people buying Dells know that they come with tons of prepackaged software, and you can’t expect the product to be produced exactly the way you wished. Otherwise, you’d have to basically cook it yourself.
***I Apologize for the use of curse words in advance, they truly reflect my state of mind when I think of this company and working there***
I work at Dell in their DOC department, and I refuse to defend them. They jam pack these peoples computers with filth, trial versions of bullshit software, unnecessary “support tools” and a gang of un-needed apps, that bog these already sub par computers down to a working condition of 99′.. people then call in and ask why their computer runs slower than the neighbors whose computer is 3-4 years old.. well because more apps load at start up on a new dell then baskin robins got flavors.
Dell then charges people “per-incident” to solve their software issues, this could be anything from copy and pasting a line of text in word to cleaning out a computer completely of viruses and spy wares.
They tell their employees not to use the word “spy ware” because they could face problems with current business partners. (THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMMMMM)
All these assholes who are so fucking brainwashed by the bullshit whoreporate culture need to look in the mirror and realize that THEY ARE NOT THE COMPANYS MOST VALUABLE ASSET!! THEY DON’T GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT YOU!! And your non lateral movement in the company proves that.
Bottom line, when you order a computer from Dell
1. Demand they send a null hard drive
2. Demand they send you the OS cd and the Drivers cd, so you can save yourself a horrible experience to one of the call centers.
3. Don’t take no for an answer.
4. Please do research before phoning into sales half the time these asshole couldn’t tell you the difference between ram and a power cable.
5. If you can, avoid buying a computer from a big name company, support your local small computer businesses, they 9/10 offer excellent support and actually listen to what you want to do with the system, unlike Dell who sell bottom end 299$ promising people they can play Battlefield 2 no problem.
Your kind of a tool to talk about 100 computers. A company should not rely on the vendor for their computing environment. Therefore, they should have IMAGING. If you’re not aware as a system administrator of even a small firm, or can’t figure out there may be a solution, you don’t deserve your job.
Altiris
Ghost
Learn.
I totally agree with you man.
I was just thinking. If dell can sell computers for less money because of the advertising (all the crap that comes with them), and people have the ability to remove it. Just like they want to (haven’t they already?) force TiVo users to watch the commercials (I’m not up to date on TiVo) how long before they want us to sign an agreement waiving our right to install another OS?
Or, using trecherous computing to stop us from doing so?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacherous_computing
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.html
I have no idea whether Dell’s search engine is spyware or not, but it does remind me of Microsoft and their insistence that they prepackage Internet Explorer with Windows for “our own good”. I ordered a Dell PC recently, and they do not even include the OS discs anymore so that you can reformat your drive to erase all the pre-installed junk. They only allow you to restore the original files, which means re-installing all the junk that comes with it.
In Dell’s defense, there are grannies and non-techies who would be lost if they had to perform clean installs and start from scratch to configure everything. These people do exist as evidenced by the millions of people who still use AOL. But for the rest of us, there should at least be an option to avoid all the bloat that comes with a pre-configured Dell PC.
[…] that program in the first place. After that horrible experience with Dell, and stuff like this, I will never, ever buy or recommend anything from Dell again. […]
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There are so many ways to deal with Dell’s My Way Search Assistant. Recently, I have been dealing with Search Assistant Spyware being installed into computer systems, and it’s really TOUGH to remove them.
Nonetheless, I did a hacks on the registry plus a couple of “intelligent move” to beat the stupid Search Assistant, to have it removed.
Come on DELL, you can do better than THAT!!
Tinlizzie is lying or just doesn’t know what she’s talking about…but that would be par for the course for Dell Support in my experience.
The business I work for is a 100% Dell shop. We have purchased about 300 systems from them in the past 2 years…from mid-grade desktops to high end systems to Latitude laptops. We have a Microsoft Select license and do not need any OS installed on the machines when shipped…and have asked Dell to ship the systems without an OS load. They, however, have refused every time and insist that we must purchase a new license for Windows XP with every system we order. This is a waste as we burn our own image onto any new computer we get to avoid all of the bloatware that Dell deems “essential.”
[…] ters, which you cant uninstall and have to pay $49 for Dell support to remove it. Oh God! Michael writes 1.) I spend hard earned dollars on a Dell computer. 2.) I detect un […]
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You should close your blog. Get a life and spare people your total and utter stupidity. SO WHAT that DELL installs crap on your pc when you BUY IT from them. They’ve been doing it for years and so does everyone else. DUH even WINDOWS has what 1gb of crap installed in it. Whats next your going to start a blog on how windows shouldn’t install so much spyware and crap on your computer. WTF is wrong with you. Oh and don’t one 1 second claim to be a tech. If you were you would have never called dell in the first place. Oh and you are a dipshit and so are many of these people leaving comments. Are you just bored with your life cause there is always suicide. What moron goes about commenting on what other people have said about your article. Are you trying to get this people fired. SO what if - which i highly doubt - a dell tech laughs at your stupidity and calls you names on a public blog. Who the FUCK are you to post this. Don’t like the critism, don’t right the article.
I own a small repair shop, and can tell you Tier 1 OEM’s all deploy unwanted software to some degree. Some is quite helpful, but insane resource hogs in many cases. Customer support in India is the norm. Call MS to activate. I offer a service for $60, to tune a customer system to optimal performance. A large retail outlet (THAT ACTUALLY SOLD THE COMPUTER), offers essentially the same service for $118. Sadly, I don’t see the first time buyers, until they’ve trashed their systems. My customer base is primarily small business, and moderately knowledgeable home users.
It’s a sad fact that the computer you buy, is not properly tuned. There is tons tweaks needed, and things to remove. Thousands of shops remain in business because of this practice.
I can’t build a system to compete with an E-Machine on the basis of price. I can recommend purchasing options from various local retailers. I can perform my normal services to these systems. I can have a satisfied customers who paid less, than I can build it for them, including my serivce.
You take your car to a professional for a tune-up. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your computer?
PS. You shouldn’t have to. There is a time requirement involved, that OEM’s are unwilling to pay for.
… Haha weird. yeah Dell is no longer really the way to go. All the techs I know no longer buy from them; they’d sooner buy from HP or Gateway and just whipe the harddrive since a) they get better components to start with and b) they normally get a lower price and a better machine- AMD Athlonâ„¢ 64 X2 dual-core processor 3800+; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 250GB hard drive; 1GB PC3200 DDR memory; Windows XP Media Center 2005; 9-in-1 media manager plus a 17″ lcd is 800 bucks, whereas the most comperable dell is 1000 bucks with similar specs, and it has an intel dual core 800 series instead, which i would not rather have.
Bull, I asked Dell not to put specific things on my new computer and they said it could not be built that way. Whoever said that they would accomadate anyone who asks is full of shit!
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Regarding the ability to ask Dell not to install extra stuff.
I don’t buy it.
First, is the customer uninformed because they didn’t ask about it? How was the customer supposed to know about it in order to ask for it? Hmmmmmmm.
Second, I tried this tactic some time ago. With Dell and many other manafacturers. Granted, I wasn’t asking for them not to install spyware, AV, or whatever. I was telling them to not install Windows and not ship an OS. I was told they couldn’t do that. I told them I didn’t want/need Windows because I would be running OS/2. They still said no.
Needless to say I didn’t buy from them.
Michael:
Thanks for adding to your original post. We appreciate feedback from you and your readers. Just so we’re clear on this issue, our intent has never been to install software on customers’ systems and then charge for removal. We respect your opinion and those of all of our customers.
Due to customer feedback, we have not shipped systems with My Way Search Assistant installed since late last year. Also, I wanted to make you aware that Dell does offer minimal install options on gaming XPS desktops and notebooks at www.dell.com/gaming. Besides the operating system, the only software included is a 15-month subscription of either McAfee or PC-cillan security software. We did this as a result from customer feedback. In many cases, enthusiast users told us that they either already own software or have a preference as to what they wish to install.
We also offer Latitude notebooks and OptiPlex desktops with no software other than the operating systems to customers at www.dell.com/smb
A reminder to any of your readers seeking instructions on how to remove the Search Assistant, please visit the Dell Community Forum.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_virus&message.id=42328&c=us&l=en&cs=&s=gen
Sincerely,
Geoff
Dell Customer Advocate
Email: customer_advocate@dell.com
After buying Dells for over ten years now (approximately 20 for family, friends, and business), I purchased my last Dell a couple of months ago. It was a D820 laptop - $2600. It was the biggest POS computer I ever purchased; blue screens and various crashes and lock-ups right out of the box. As I installed third party apps it just got worse to the point of being unusable. I called Dell support, and after getting the *complete* run-around for 4.5 hours, with no resolution in sight, I insisted upon returning the computer for a refund.
Since then, I purchased an 20″ Intel iMac; best computing decision I’ve ever made..
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Honestly Dell shouldn’t call you a dipshit, personally I work for a computer company, and anyone here that spouted out with that line would be fired on the spot, the heart of our business is our customer service, but , on a different side I have found that even here we install things like Bigfix per say that customers will not like and don’t want. And removing these programs like Norton Anti-Virus can be a pain my only advise to someone who is buying a dell (I’m shuddering at the thought of it) or just plain uninstalling any software suite from a PC. Do your reasearch first then act only then will you know what problems will arise from your doings
Get real, of COURSE you’ll get crap software when you buy a Dell or any preloaded box from ANYONE. DUH! Just blow it away dude and install your own OS and your own crap. If you really don’t want ANY crap, then you’re gonna wanna splistream Windows without IE and all the other Microsoft crap which is WORSE than anything Dell can install. Any 6th grader can make a Windows slipstream disc. Better yet, install Linux and be done with it… I just bought a Dell server and requested no OS. It came with, guess what?… NOTHING! Woohoo! Now where did I put my Linux discs…
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I don’t know how old this is, but I just found it now. My suggestion is to get a ThinkPad ;-). The only junk/trial application that came on it pre-installed was Norton Antivirus with a 3 month subscription and that was the first and only thing I had to un-install.
It however does come packed with a dozen wonderful applications, which togather form the Thinkvantage tools and for me these tools constitute 50% of the ThinkPad advantage
Did you know that UPS builds it’s own trucks…
Dell sells computers with nothing but a Free-DOS OS, can’t remember what they call it, but if you ask, it can be done. I saved a about $100 and installed Linux a few years ago.
Remember when you call you are dealing with SALES. They make more money the more they sell you, imagine that. So just like the car dealer that lures you in with the low price then starts upselling the undercoating, “Free” oil changes for life for a nominal fee, they are going to sell you as much as they can.
While I did not bother to read every single post on here, and probably wont post again. I wanted to say as a web designer, and graphic designer that I use a computer everyday and have to go on many- many notorious websites. I have 7 programs that catch 99.9% of all malicious software before it gets a chance to breath. But for that .1% I still end up receiving 6-7 programs a month that slip through.
What I am getting at is somebody everyday is targetting you for mailcious software. They want your information. So regardless if dells not washing their hands before they make your burrito, your still eating at a bertos, and will get the shit at some point whether you like it or not.
I built my computer, i spend alot of money on good software. I designed some of my own. You bought a computer, your on the internet, your at risk. You can either complain about it, or fix it. Pick one.
Hey.
I just bought a inspiron 640m from dell. After less then 2 months of usage some spyware takes over my computer. I can’t get on the internet with internet explore without it redirecting me to some website that tells me that i can’t use the internet without removing the software. So i click the link to remove the virus and then it wants me to type in my American Express, VISA, or Master Card. I won’t pay the 45.00 their charging because there probally jsut going to steal the info.
A NOTE TO ANYONE THAT GETS THIS!! DON’T ACCEPT IT. CALL DELL AND JUST KEEP COMPLANING. YOU MIGHT JUST GET THE TOOL TO REMOVE THE SOFTWARE AND A GIFT CARD FROM DELL!!! NEVER GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD TO ANY UNKNOWN WEBSITE. JUST GIVE DELL CRAP!
HEY DELL CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE, THAT INCLUDES YOU JACK! E-MAIL ME AT PROCPUARIE@AIM.COM AND TALK TO ME IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS!
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This should be ILLEGAL to preinstall operating systems WITHOUT shipping the reinstallation supports .
In France, the L. 122-1 article of trading code makes illegal the obligation of purchasing software when an object buying is asked.
I am a pc tec and have repaired and used the gamet of names and custom builds I think your right its principle and what they should not do and all also its to a point where the person who told you to build a custom pc is unfortunately very very very wrong I love custom pcs and hate most brands BUT custom pcs have a very big problem most brands dont they are high end with very very High power requirements no not your electric bill but the power into your house I have blown up my 800 doller custom pc 4 times now and now it just sits because I am tired of blowing power supplies due to bad power from elec company but brands they dont have high end power supplies or the picky ness of what kind of power my wifes dell 933 is still running on the same outlet never blew once DAM I hate brand names beating the good ones but its a fact my cousin lost a few too so its around and yes I have used ups systems it blew the shit out of them too but lil dell just keeps running dam no more dvd burning for me because I sure am not going to buy a new brand name I just got the last one a year or less ago and have you ever noticed if you use the sticker on the side of the pc on brands the microsoft oem sticker they put on is not valid wrong etc found craploads of those trying to reinstall for customers just more crap dell and everyone else pulls to get money out of you
Hey you little mother fuckers, quit trying to bash my name and my company, I own you little fucks, and you all know it. I can do whatever I want because I am rich, quit complaining about your Dell computers, of course they suck ass, people just keep on buying them though, so fuck you all!