OK, How about Netropia Hot Keys?

[gwpriester]

I moved the program control in Xone Alarm up to High from Medium and now I am not able to get my e-mail through Eudora after saying No I did not want Netropia Hot Keys to access the Internet.

I set the program control to medium and I can get my e-mail but obviously Netropia Hot Keys must now have access to the Internet.

Is there no end to this spyware s**t?

I Googled Netropia and found a conference of HP Business Users discussing Netropia Hot Keys which is apparently a HP spyware application that sends messages back to HP every second or so about your hot key use? Maybe even about the content of your e-mail?

Sheesh! Give Me a Break!!!

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://www.gwpriester.com">
www.gwpriester.com </a>


The Xara Xone

[gwpriester]

I moved the program control in Xone Alarm up to High from Medium and now I am not able to get my e-mail through Eudora after saying No I did not want Netropia Hot Keys to access the Internet.

I set the program control to medium and I can get my e-mail but obviously Netropia Hot Keys must now have access to the Internet.

Is there no end to this spyware s**t?

I Googled Netropia and found a conference of HP Business Users discussing Netropia Hot Keys which is apparently a HP spyware application that sends messages back to HP every second or so about your hot key use? Maybe even about the content of your e-mail?

Sheesh! Give Me a Break!!!

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

<a href="http://www.gwpriester.com">
www.gwpriester.com </a>


The Xara Xone

[gwpriester]

After being passed from Privacy support, to scanner support, and back and forth, I am informed

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> We regret this is not a scanner specific issue. This is a system
configuration issue. If you need assist with this please contact your
System Administrator or Microsoft for assistance with the proper
configuration. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It will be a cold day in hell before I buy another HP product! http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/mad.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/mad.gif http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

Check out this page from the HP IT Resource Center!

Gary

[TimS]

off the subject but you got an old sore burning again, so I have to get this off my chest.

I worked for hp a few years back in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, city of Vancouver, Wa. it was an ink jet printer division. The ink jet's were designed and ramped up for production there. Then one day they called everyone into a meeting and told us that they were a 40 billion dollar company and they wanted to go higher. One way was to send this plant to Singapore. So just like that about 2,000 people were unemployed.

I have no respect for HP, I also don't want to start an HP bashing thread. I just had to get this off my chest.
Moderators, delete this if you wish, I'm not here to stir up trouble.
tim

[gwpriester]

Tim

While your comments may or may not be appropriate to my thread, they do shed some light on the company ethic.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

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The Xara Xone

[Soquili]

Hi Gary,

You may find a program called Backweb on your HP. If you do, you can uninstall that program and the spyware will be gone. I have an HP that is about two years old, the Backweb app came pre-installed. It was also re-installed when I did a complete restore a few months back. I promptly un-installed it again.

Soquili

[dalel]

I use a program called Web Ferret that is a freeware search utility from ZDNet. Because it is a sort of spyware I now only allow it access to the internet (through Zone Alarm) when I am actually using it, but it occasionally tries to connect when I am not using it. Who knows what kind of information it is pulling off of my computer.

I hate it when programs just spontaneously try to connect to the internet or try to connect every time you use the app. Thank goodness for Zone Alarm!

http://talkgraphics.infopop.net/1/Op...&ul=1101906325
Why, I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, sir, because I’m not myself, you know...
- Lewis Carroll

[gwpriester]

After a little sluething around the Netropa folder in Program Files, I was able to determine that the software/hardware solution was installed by DELL when my computer was assembled. Hence I suspect the Netropa Hot Keys is an OEM solution that is not affiliated with any one company.

Any company who includes the Hot Keys keyboard (you press various hot keys to launch applications such as IE and e-mail clients) with their system, has access to the information about how users are using the keyboard. (I should think this would be a rare glimpse into the obvious!)

DELL has configured the keyboard to use Eudora as its channel to send information back to (I assume) DELL and blocks my ability to retrieve my e-mail if I block Netropa from accessing the Internet.

HOWEVER - This only works when you use the Hot Key assigned to Eudora (could be any other mail client or even web browser).

If I use another method of accessing Eudora and not the hot key, the Start menu for example, then Zone Alarm blocks Netropa and I have access to my e-mail! Ha! Take that you e-snoops!

On the surface this sounds innocent enough. DELL, HP, Compaq, or any other computer manufacturer gains feedback from their users as to how they use their hot keys.

But what if other information is being transmitted back to the mother ship about other ways in which we use our computers? Where we go on the Internet? What we write in our e-mail? This softeware is connected to the keyboard (recording keystrokes?)

It is pretty scummy, and pretty scary.

Gary

Gary Priester

Moderator Person

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The Xara Xone

[This message was edited by Gary W. Priester on January 22, 2003 at 08:34.]

[lau3]

Gary,

When I receive any new PC from DELL (or any OEM), I don't even start the system. I reinstall the OS and reinstall the drivers from scratch. This wipes the crap they tend to load new PC's with (AOL and useless graphics packages). I may lose some neat stuff, but I avoid nonesense like this.

Milt

[RAMWolff44]

and built my own system. THAT was one of the reasons I built my own from scratch, I was tired of all the spy ware. Compaq was the company that was using the BackWeb software, little did I know that when I bought my first computer, lo those 5 short years ago.

Builing my first system was a bit daunting and it may be mind boggling at first but if you really turn the brain power on you can do it. You can also buy what's called Bare Bones systems that come in the case with the motherboard, processor and BIOS already installed. So it's just a matter of getting all the hard ware installed (hard drive(s), CD/DVD ROMS, Floppy and video and audio cards, modem and that's it for the most part) I have a very clean system here at work and at home. The system at work is a rebuilt Gateway, but I am running Win2000 with SP3, freshly installed.

HP/Compaq, Gateway, Dell, Sony, they all have it in for the consumer. Jens started a very interesting thread which I participated in and on page two I have supplied a link to a page that tells you all about the 'consortium', HP was one of the founders and Mircosoft is also heading their own version of it. So I would suggest going there and readin that page. I may give you a little insight to what's around the corner for most PC users in the near future, a little scary, doable but scary, none-the-less.

Here is the link:

TCPA and Palladium consortium info

I hope this supplies you with some information that may determine your next PC purchase. It's a fair amount of reading and you may have your blood pressure up a bit when your through but it is intersting, at least to me!!

Richard http://www.talkgraphics.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

---Wolff On The Prowl---