Now that Platte had finally made contact with me (see my last post), I invited them to answer some questions that addressed this blog's concerns about both their contract and their billing software; here are their responses:
Why, in direct contradiction of the agreement we entered into, did you repeatedly decline to email me the uninstall instructions for your software after I terminated my membership? It appeared that you were deliberately stalling, and I can only speculate as to the reason. Is this a matter you have now addressed, and if you have, how have you done so?
Firstly, we would like to apologise for the delay. We have a dedicated freephone uninstall line which deals with uninstall enquiries and it is our policy to use this line to carry out uninstalls. Our customer service advisors were not 'deliberately stalling' but rather following company policy.
However we recognise that in line with our terms and conditions, you should have been provided with uninstall advice in the first email which you received. Your case brought a discrepancy between the automatic email about cancellation and the terms and conditions of sign-up to our attention. Having chosen option b of the terms and conditions, the email which you received confirmed that your account was cancelled. However, it should also have provided the following uninstall information: "If you would like to uninstall the software from your PC, please call our uninstall line FREE on 0800 051 6664 for instructions". We can only suggest that this discrepancy was due to human error and we have now amended the automatic email to include the above statement.
Again, we would like to apologise for the inconsistency between our terms and conditions and the email, and for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank you for highlighting the issue.
Why did your software install further files on my computer even after I had used your utility to terminate my membership?
Cancellation of membership is not the same as un-installation. When a user cancels their membership their license will be updated by the cancellation utility to reflect the cancellation. This is not the same as un-installation. An un-install will remove the software completely from the users' machine and should ensure that the software cannot be re-installed further down the line.
Why did your software display your bill on my computer after I had terminated my membership, owing you nothing? And why did it do so across all the user accounts on a shared computer?
(a) Sometimes the software requires synchronizing after a cancellation to ensure that the license on the user machine has been updated. To do this the user should either call customer services or open the platte utility and select the "synchronize" option.
(b) When you install the software it installs across all user accounts on the pc. This is because it is the pc owner that is responsible for the account.
Why do you provide an uninstall utility that does not fully remove your software? The last time I tested it, it still failed to do so. This is despite repeated comments from yourself on other less technical blogs claiming that it achieved a full removal. Is this a matter that has now been fully resolved?
Sometimes anti-virus software interferes with the uninstall process and prevents a full uninstall. This is particularly the case with ESET and AVG software. We believe that our software removes all elements of the install, but if this is not the case on some machines then, given the correct information, we will update the uninstall. The latest uninstaller should remove all files including the inert html/images used to display the embedded bill and the two hidden files. There is however the possibility that some files could not be removed due to being locked as in use (e.g. if the customer had the file open while uninstalling).
In reference to the hidden files, although they carry the .sys extension they are not system files belonging to Windows - they are created by our software. As such they do not constitute alteration of Microsoft's software or violate any third-party software developer license.
Why does the pm_proc1 executable continually try to access the Winlogon.exe file while it is running? I can think of no legitimate reason why it should do so; perhaps you could enlighten me.
Our software does not attempt to access Winlogon.exe.
I shall be discussing these responses in separate posts, but (after further testing for confirmation) I did take up the question of the uninstaller with Platte:
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm not going to respond to all your points right now, but I should say that when you first emailed me last week I downloaded what was at that point your latest uninstall tool (digitally signed to 23 July 2008).
I have now run this on a computer where all anti-virus and security software had been entirely removed (and what little protection Windows XP offers was disabled). Despite this, several files still got left behind, including the hidden 'system' file (the one located within the System32 folder; on my PC it's 1550355105.sys but the number is unique to the PC). I have examined a full process log for the removal; this shows that these files were left behind not because of any software conflict but because your uninstaller did not attempt to remove them.
It is not my intention to become an unpaid software tester for Platte but I would be grateful if you could let me know as and when you are offering a tool that achieves a complete removal.
That elicited a helpful response from Graham Foster, Platte MD:
In response to your recent email, I have spoken to the technical team and they have advised me that the files left behind flag the uninstall process and allow us to ensure the uninstall was successful and all active files are removed.
I shall be returning to this, as to the other matters raised, in due course. In the meantime, it is good to know that Platte do finally accept that their uninstaller does not offer a full removal of their installed files.
Go to my next post on Platte Media
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
