Dell installs self-signed root certificate on laptops, endangering users' privacy

PC World ^ | 11/23/15 | Lucian Constantin

[Gene Eric]

Yup, good hardware. And a data center won’t get metal with pre-installed OSs.

[Stentor]

My two year old dell 1500 series laptop does not have the cert

Inspiron 5558. There it sits in the console like a turd in the punch bowl.

[Qiviut]

I bought a Dell fall a year ago with Windows 8.1. Now, I have the option of converting to Win 10 at no expense & had signed up to do it, but then started reading about all the privacy issues. I use Classic Shell to make Win 8.1 look like 7 (which is what my old laptop was on before it crashed) & I've gotten used to it. I decided I wasn't going to 10 & cancelled out. Evidently, you can disable a lot of the Win 10 features that affect privacy, but it's not an easy thing to do and not all in one place. Here's the article that changed my mind about going to 10:

Everything You Need to Disable in Windows 10

[TChad]

Thanks for that link. Good article.

[dayglored]

Dell security error widens as researchers dig deeper (Earlier problem is worse than was thought)

Duo Security researchers found a second weak digital certificate on a new Dell Inspiron laptop

The fallout from a serious security mistake made by Dell is widening, as security experts find more issues of concern.

Followup thread on the expanded problem:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3364271/posts

[grey_whiskers]

That's Obama-level stupid.

[dayglored]

> That's Obama-level stupid.

Yeah, but give the man credit for effort -- it takes a lot of hard work to consistently be that stupid.

[maine-iac7]

fl

[Fresh Wind]

Dude, you’re getting a cell!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/10/dell.dude.arrest/

[ImNotLying]

bfl

[ShadowAce]

[TomGuy]

FYI

Majorgeeks.com has an eDellRoot Certificate Fix, apparently released by Dell:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/edellroot_certificate_fix.html