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Vigilante · 10-16-2008, 01:05 PM

I wish everyone lived near me. These things would be gone in a heartbeat if I could sit down at the computer.

If I were you, I would go to the control panel and remove everything HP, except for system controls such as keyboard function key drivers and other hardware functions in software. I would remove any antivirus they installed, music programs, etc. Then I put everything necessary back, only I use what I like instead. This is what I do with OEM machines when they hit my desk - I remove everything OEM for a clean windows OS, or I simply format and start from scratch if the registry is buggered up.

You can find warranty info anytime you want through the HP site or through your original purchase contract, as you already know. You don't need them to tell you, again, that they want more money.

As for remote control, yes it is very possible, but unlikely. I don't think HP can legally affect your computer over the wire like that unless you ask them too, and I don't think they would. As for an email with personal info, never do it. It may not even be HP, but a clever ruse propagated by a virus. Not that I've heard of this before, but it's possible, just like remotely restarting a machine. Just go to the command line and run shutdown -t 0 -s and it shuts down, or run shutdown -t 0 -r and it reboots, just like that. If you know the admin password of a machine on the network, you can even shut down a windows machine without logging into it!

But anyways, I have a question. Are you behind a router? If not, you should be. Hardware firewalls are always safer than software firewalls, plus you can have several computers if you like when you have a router, all networked safely.

Just some things to consider...

10-16-2008, 01:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
Vigilante Broken Arrow Location: US	I wish everyone lived near me. These things would be gone in a heartbeat if I could sit down at the computer. If I were you, I would go to the control panel and remove everything HP, except for system controls such as keyboard function key drivers and other hardware functions in software. I would remove any antivirus they installed, music programs, etc. Then I put everything necessary back, only I use what I like instead. This is what I do with OEM machines when they hit my desk - I remove everything OEM for a clean windows OS, or I simply format and start from scratch if the registry is buggered up. You can find warranty info anytime you want through the HP site or through your original purchase contract, as you already know. You don't need them to tell you, again, that they want more money. As for remote control, yes it is very possible, but unlikely. I don't think HP can legally affect your computer over the wire like that unless you ask them too, and I don't think they would. As for an email with personal info, never do it. It may not even be HP, but a clever ruse propagated by a virus. Not that I've heard of this before, but it's possible, just like remotely restarting a machine. Just go to the command line and run shutdown -t 0 -s and it shuts down, or run shutdown -t 0 -r and it reboots, just like that. If you know the admin password of a machine on the network, you can even shut down a windows machine without logging into it! But anyways, I have a question. Are you behind a router? If not, you should be. Hardware firewalls are always safer than software firewalls, plus you can have several computers if you like when you have a router, all networked safely. Just some things to consider... __________________ We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill Last edited by Vigilante; 10-16-2008 at 01:07 PM..