Dell has decided that spyware and other malware infections is not convered under their warrant and will charge customers to help them.

Dell has decided not to include spyware and malware infections as part of their warranty coverage. Those users who need help removing these types of infections can pay 39 dollars to Dell for help in these situations.

And rightly so, too.

If I remember right, Dell has joined a consortium that has opened a new security website (not very impressive) to inform users of best security practices. This was done, not as an altruistic move, but because Dell's customer service was being inundated with problems related to spyware and viruses to the point where their customer service for actual Dell problems was suffering. And customer service has always been a selling feature for their systems.
One would think that manufacturers would be smart enough to include, along with a colourful how to set up your new computer brochure, a flashy how to make your computer secure foldout, and make setting up security a part of their getting started manual.

Cheers,
John

That would require, effort, on their part.
Too much work. LOL

Penny wise and pound foolish. Think of all the calls to the support desk this would save. Considering most new computers (see the thread on these boards)are compromised twenty minutes after first using the Net, a simple security fold out, with some easy first steps (like setting your browser security) would certainly benefit everyone.
Better yet would be if MS installed a splash screen on each Windows so that when first booted, it directed to user to their security site. (Knowing MS, the splash screen would have to be patched becuase of a critical security flaw in it).
Cheers,
John

Boy John, that would have been grand if I had a nice security info bruchure to warn me.


I have a Dell and so far I haven't had to call their tech support help. For security reasons or any other. When I got my computer 2 years ago it came with Norton AV . I didn't have a firewall. Inside of three months or so my IE was hanging. Basically it was my own fault for DL'ing Screensavers and themes and letter backgrounds. But if I had been a bit better informed about spyware and general Malware crapware he he ... well, maybe I would have known to be more careful.

I had to learn on my own and from advice from forums like BC here.

by the by Grinler. I love your new avatar.

Ahh we tell dell to send em all here! Thats would take more mods eh? LOL

So many people who get their first PC believe the NET is like a farm town under Eisenhower, where you could leave your doors unlocked at night and you knew everyone in town.
Before long, they happen on all sorts of happy/fun/cute programs to download, and, having 120GIG hard drive, blithely proceed to gunk up their system with every program they trip across. Toolbars R US. They immediately find the benefits of E-Mail, and sign up for everything imaginable. Before long, they begin to complain about SPAM, and click the "opt out" link, and then complain about how slow and troublesome their computer is to their friends at the church pot luck supper.

Finally, they end up posting a hijack this log, hopefully here; after they get help and clean up the mess, I suspect half of them return to the bad habits that got them here in the first place.

Cheers to all,
John

I love that "farmtown under IKE". However, I can tell you that this problem is quite recent--4 years ago I worked for an ISP--customer service-tech. The situations we are having now were then close to non-existent. We were just starting to hear about E-Mail SPAM-but nothing hardly about Malware & Spyware. And the Anti-virus programs were apparently working OK.