BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service

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Grandpaboys
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BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service

Post by Grandpaboys »

Purchased new laptop from Dell. Used Dell tech service and about 10 months later discovered a second user on my computer. Could not be deleted because we did not have the password to do so. This second user had more administrative powers than I. Contacted Dell Tech service (India) and requested this user be removed. They did along will half of my operating system for os 8.1 . I then had to format the hard drive and recover 8.1 to my computer. I lost many files because of improper backup. I guess the second user was not a bad guy because all my financials have not been touched. But I sure could have been taken to the cleaners and had a major lawsuit against Dell. When removing the second user which had attached to my operating system was when my computer became useless. We are going to call the fraud dept. of Dell to see how we should proceed . I am posting this to make everyone aware how bad it is out there. My son is an expert on computers and is the one who found the second user. He will be the only one on my computer in the future for repairs.
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roymeo
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by roymeo »

What was the username of that second account?

Was there an actual user using the account? How did they get access to your machine?
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autonomy
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by autonomy »

There is absolutely no reason that deleting a user should result in deletion of OS-essential files. Yes, the user's directory may get deleted in the process, but it shouldn't affect the OS. What Windows requires though, is that there is at least one administrative account on the PC - so you'd need to give administrative privileges to your account, then delete the mystery user.

From the limited info you posted it sounds to me that originally you were set up to auto-login on an administrative account (mystery account). Then, Dell Tech Support for some reason switched you to a more restricted second user. Just because there's a username on your machine, doesn't mean someone is actively logging in.

In the future, you should store your files separate from your OS in a single directory and back it up regularly. Usually, most everything you save will go under C:/users/username/; anything on the desktop will be in C:/users/username/Desktop. If you ever have to format, you just copy that directory to a USB drive, reinstall Windows, copy directory back.
Also, don't be afraid to search for issues like "how to delete a user in windows" and follow the tutorials/videos.
azphx1972
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by azphx1972 »

autonomy wrote:From the limited info you posted it sounds to me that originally you were set up to auto-login on an administrative account (mystery account). Then, Dell Tech Support for some reason switched you to a more restricted second user. Just because there's a username on your machine, doesn't mean someone is actively logging in.
This is what it sounds like to me as well. In fact, when I help friends who are computer illiterate with computer issues, this is exactly what I do for them to keep them from damaging their operating systems. I change their user account to a non-admin account, and create a separate admin account that they do not normally use. Of course I inform them of all the changes I'm making (and why), I'm not sure why Dell would not do the same.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Grandpaboys »

Dell tech service (India) did not tell me when they did this. When I called the next day last summer the tech service (India) blew it off as not anything to worry about. They never explained what was done. My son tried every way there is to delete the second user and could not because he needed a password to get in and do it and the only one having that password was the tech service (India). The second user was password protected.
My computer was hijacked by Dell tech service (India). When the second user was deleted by Dell tech service (India) I got my computer back unable to get either browser IE or Chrome to be able to activate the internet. You all sound like Dell tech service did nothing wrong, think again.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by JohnFiscal »

I keep all my personal files on a USB thumb drive, backed up weekly or so to a USB hard drive. This way I don't really concern myself with what goes on with the computer, which computer it is, etc. I am always assured of having "my" files. The files are secure from any "onlookers" there might be.

I also use an encryption software to secure both drives (and the laptop's full drive as well).
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

JohnFiscal wrote:I keep all my personal files on a USB thumb drive, backed up weekly or so to a USB hard drive. This way I don't really concern myself with what goes on with the computer, which computer it is, etc. I am always assured of having "my" files. The files are secure from any "onlookers" there might be.

I also use an encryption software to secure both drives (and the laptop's full drive as well).

Exactly what I do. Anyone who ever asks me (dw) is told to imagine that someone takes your computer while it is on and logged in. Say, as you sit in Panera on their wifi. Are your sensitive files on a thumbdrive at home....and not in a file on your computer? If not, transfer your files to 2 thumb drives and delete them from your computer.

A those pictures you store? Consider all in your computer gone.
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azphx1972
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by azphx1972 »

Grandpaboys wrote:You all sound like Dell tech service did nothing wrong, think again.
On the contrary, I think this example illustrates that their tech support is incompetent at best. I learned a long time ago (after a similar incident) not to rely on third party tech support, but to take it upon myself to acquire sufficient knowledge about computers and operating systems so that I can troubleshoot issues on my own. It's one of the best non-financial investments I've ever made. Sorry this happened to you.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (PC problem).

Please stay factual and focused on the OP's situation. General rants are off-topic.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by SmileyFace »

It's possible it was unintentional. The first Tech could have set up an Admin account 10 months ago and then created another non-Admin user account for you and then forgot or failed-to-clearly-let-you-know that there was a separate Admin account on the computer. What was the account name and do you know if it was ever actually used since your computer was set up? Did your son look at the logs and see if the second account you weren't aware of was ever used (since the set-up 10 months prior)?
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

When I had HP laptops, their tech support seemed to be mostly in India. Occasionally early on I would reach someone (praise be) in Canada. HP tech support in India is completely incompetent. Not only can you wait an hour or more to talk to them, all the while they play horrible music(sic) at you, but they are incapable of doing anything other than telling you to reformat your hard drive or ship the laptop back to HP.

It's beyond me why companies have tech support in India. I guess saying We Have No Tech Support would not look good, but it would save the customers time and the result would be the same. Also the company would save whatever they are paying the clueless tech people.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Grandpaboys »

We did not look at the logs in that there was no activity in my financial sites except mine. After Dell support (India) got thru and the computer was dead we had no recourse except to reformat and reinstall.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Rob5TCP »

I have avoided Dell's standard support like the plague.
However, I have found the domestic pro-support to be helpful and competent. Yes, it costs extra.
When I had a major project and had a system crash, pro-support found the issue (11:30 at night).
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by CAMEL »

I don't understand why companies with lots of customers in the U.S. outsource their tech support and/or customer service functions.

It appears that cost minimization is the most important factor and customer service may be the least important one. I used to own Dell computers and their U.S. based tech support was very good. However, they decided that the cost of good tech support was not worth the benefit of customer retention and it went downhill from there. I got frustrated with advice from their far away tech support personnel and never bought another Dell system again.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by rothnroll »

I had to call Dell Customer Service for my Desktop recently. Very.. frustrating with the language barrier.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Novine »

What was the user name of the second user? Are you sure that this account was added by Tech Support? Or had it been there all along?

By default, the first account created on Windows is an administrator account. Not knowing how your computer was set up, it's possible that the account you've been using isn't the account that was used to set up the computer.

Also, as was noted, removing a user account doesn't remove system files nor will it prevent your browser from accessing the Internet. It sounds like you're placing the blame on Dell support for a series of problems that may have nothing to do with what they may or may not have done on your laptop.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by TFinator »

I used Dell tech support on 4 different PCs in the last month. Computer issues are annoying, so it wasn't fun. They were nice, though, and pretty matter of fact.
If ya'll want to save yourself the time, then just reinstall every driver known to man and restart. If that doesn't fix it then just reset your comp.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Grandpaboys »

The second user name added was "test'. It was added by Dell tech service (India) as I stated earlier I noticed and called tech to find out what it was and they told me not to worry about. My computer worked just fine before they removed "test". Afterwards I could not do a thing on the computer. The hard drive had to be formatted and 8.1 installed. They had no right to hijack my computer which is what they did. I will add that "test" was not on my computer when received from the factory. It was only on the computer after Dell tech service (India) worked on it and I questioned it at that time. It was protected by a password so they were the only ones who could remove it.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by TX_TURTLE »

Grandpaboys wrote:The second user name added was "test'. It was added by Dell tech service (India) as I stated earlier I noticed and called tech to find out what it was and they told me not to worry about. My computer worked just fine before they removed "test". Afterwards I could not do a thing on the computer. The hard drive had to be formatted and 8.1 installed. They had no right to hijack my computer which is what they did. I will add that "test" was not on my computer when received from the factory. It was only on the computer after Dell tech service (India) worked on it and I questioned it at that time. It was protected by a password so they were the only ones who could remove it.
I have a Mac but I maintain my kids Windows 8 computer. Regardless of the operating system, if you have an Admin account you can reset other users' password (that's how you would help them if they forgot). As an Admin, you are also able to delete a user and all of his/her information (no need to know their password). On the other hand you absolutely need an Admin account when installing a new program... Perhaps you have a normal (non Admin) account and were relying on Dell's support for all Admin tasks? That would be pretty dangerous.
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bertie wooster
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by bertie wooster »

Instead of calling it "Dell tech service (India)" you could just call or Dell tech service.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by autonomy »

Grandpaboys wrote:The second user name added was "test'. It was added by Dell tech service (India) as I stated earlier I noticed and called tech to find out what it was and they told me not to worry about. My computer worked just fine before they removed "test". Afterwards I could not do a thing on the computer. The hard drive had to be formatted and 8.1 installed. They had no right to hijack my computer which is what they did. I will add that "test" was not on my computer when received from the factory. It was only on the computer after Dell tech service (India) worked on it and I questioned it at that time. It was protected by a password so they were the only ones who could remove it.
Look, none of us have a horse in this race, we're just trying to explain to you on how things work in the Windows OS. I seriously doubt that Dell wanted to hijack your computer (if someone over there really wanted your information, they would've had it for sure at this point given they had administrative access) and I doubt you'll get anywhere with their 'fraud' department. Most of the time users on Windows are protected by a password on creation for obvious reasons. It really sounds to me that someone incompetent at Dell did something they didn't know much about and somehow that resulted in loss of data. Never attribute to malice what could be explained by incompetence.
As mentioned, you should encrypt any sensitive information either with BitLocker or Truecrypt.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by azphx1972 »

autonomy wrote:As mentioned, you should encrypt any sensitive information either with BitLocker or Truecrypt.
If using BitLocker, be sure to backup your recovery keys! As far as TrueCrypt, be sure to use the correct version (7.1a): https://www.grc.com/misc/truecrypt/truecrypt.htm
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Go Blue 99 »

bertie wooster wrote:Instead of calling it "Dell tech service (India)" you could just call or Dell tech service.
+1. It's very odd that OP is doing that.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Rob5TCP »

Go Blue 99 wrote:
bertie wooster wrote:Instead of calling it "Dell tech service (India)" you could just call or Dell tech service.
+1. It's very odd that OP is doing that.
Let's give the benefit of the doubt that he means their outsourced support (which is Dell's regular) vs. Pro support (which is US based).
I have to admit to flinching when I get a call from an unknown number and the accent is Indian. Frequently it's a scam.
That said, much of my main line products (cable, c.c., etc) are Indian based and they are usually a pleasure to deal with.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by slbnoob »

Go Blue 99 wrote:
bertie wooster wrote:Instead of calling it "Dell tech service (India)" you could just call or Dell tech service.
+1. It's very odd that OP is doing that.
+2, the '(India)' must be at fault here.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by SmileyFace »

Grandpaboys wrote:My computer was hijacked by Dell tech service ...
You keep saying they "hijacked" your computer - but you still have not stated what makes you say this? Existence of a second user-account on your computer doesn't necessarily mean it was hijacked - especially since you had tech support working on it. There are a number of reasons to create a "test" account - perhaps their appeared to be a problem with your user-account profile and the tech support wanted to create a second profile to see if had the same issues. There are also numerous things that could have corrupted your computer OS. The existence of the account - and the issue you had with your account and trying to remove the "test" account may not be related.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Grandpaboys »

confused
In hindsight you are right on.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by LLTF1836 »

Does anyone know in which country Dell tech support is based?
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Rob5TCP »

LLTF1836 wrote:Does anyone know in which country Dell tech support is based?
Regular Dell Support is based off shore; primarily India. Dell Pro support is domestically based and is
generally of a much higher caliber of technicians. This is their business support (though anyone can
purchase pro support).
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by ieee488 »

Rob5TCP wrote:Dell Pro support is domestically based and is
generally of a much higher caliber of technicians. This is their business support (though anyone can
purchase pro support).
I just went to Dell.com and selected a consumer-grade Inspiron laptop. I don't see the ability to choose Pro Support.
I see it with their business-grade Latitude laptop.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by Rob5TCP »

ieee488 wrote:
Rob5TCP wrote:Dell Pro support is domestically based and is
generally of a much higher caliber of technicians. This is their business support (though anyone can
purchase pro support).
I just went to Dell.com and selected a consumer-grade Inspiron laptop. I don't see the ability to choose Pro Support.
I see it with their business-grade Latitude laptop.
I stand corrected, I thought it was an option for all models. For my work, I only buy the business models.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by rakamaka »

--Hold on. You are shouting at wrong tree. Was it hardware or software problem? Dell is in business of hardware of laptop. Microsoft is in business of operating system. User admin, resetting pw, access control are all functions of operating system. You should have called microsoft for a better answer.
--Dell creates a guest type account when installing new operating system. But once you create user account other account gets automatically deleted or crippled. Even though it stays there there is no harm.
--Did you install any software during these 10 months? how did you do that without admin rights?
Do you have any proof that Dell tech support deleted any files? or even they made you to delete anything? Did you give remote admin control access to your laptop when talking to tech support?
--India has nothing to do with quality of tech support. You can get same crappy and worst support from American local vendor also(Try to repair it at geek squad and you will have same experience)
--Dell or HP cannot afford to provide free tech support for a $500 laptop or $100 printer. It cost them $20-50 per call to talk to you. Dell created USA customer service site(pay extra)
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by CountryBoy »

Re: Dell and fraud and whether it was intentional:

http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/cuom ... -consumers

I was a party in this fraud case against Dell and as a result got money back.

They have a Long history of fraud; just Google the topic.

Anyone believing Dell is faultless is really clueless.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by SmileyFace »

CountryBoy wrote:Re: Dell and fraud and whether it was intentional:

http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/cuom ... -consumers

I was a party in this fraud case against Dell and as a result got money back.

They have a Long history of fraud; just Google the topic.

Anyone believing Dell is faultless is really clueless.
So this s from 2009 and references marketing and support practices - I could see nothing in it about "hijacking a computer" so not sure of the relevance to this discussion. I don't think anyone here is saying Dell is perfect - we were just looking for additional information to substantiate a claim that a Dell Technician actually hi-jacked a computer. Do you really think that Dell itself has a "hi-jack a computer" conspiracy going on?
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by CountryBoy »

We all know that Dell has a
Long history of fraud
.

Their track record is what it is. Like the Dead Parrot sketch in Monty Python, they have a history.

If you disagree you are certainly welcome to your own opinion. If you are happy then by all means stay happy, but their track record is what it is.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service

Post by LadyGeek »

FYI - I removed "(India)" from the title as the question is about Dell's tech service. Focusing on India (the country) as an indicator of the quality of support is not the intent here.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service (India)

Post by ieee488 »

CountryBoy wrote:We all know that Dell has a
Long history of fraud
.

Their track record is what it is. Like the Dead Parrot sketch in Monty Python, they have a history.

If you disagree you are certainly welcome to your own opinion. If you are happy then by all means stay happy, but their track record is what it is.

You made a long leap from poor technical support to fraud.

Sorry, no dice.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service

Post by Novine »

The issue isn't whether Dell is "faultless". Based on the totality of information that the OP shared, it appears that Dell support did something that perhaps they should not have done. But much of what the OP is pointing the finger at Dell support for causing likely isn't from anything that support did unless there's more that happened that hasn't been shared.
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Re: BEWARE-Dell Computer Tech Service

Post by roymeo »

It sounds like we're pretty sure tech support deleted the account, but I've never had tech support create test accounts like that...

I'm going to have to try that next time I'm working on my parents/in-laws computers and screw up:
*Deletes the wrong files while 'cleaning up'*
*Spills beer in air inlet*
"Uh, Mr. King, you better call tech support, I'm not sure what's going on."
*things happen*
*symptoms occur*
*smoke billows*
"OMG Mr. King! Tech support completely ruined your computer! They even made it smell like the floor of a bar!"
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