Underhand moderation in The Guardian tech section

I'm an occasional contributor to the BTL comment in the Guardian's Technology section. I'm not overly sympathetic to the brown-nosing of anything and everything Apple by their Technology Editor, but by and large my posts are at worst mildly ironic. I've noticed recently that I've apparently been blocked from recommending BTL comment on tech articles (but not anywhere else on the site). But I've not had a comment disappear into the ether until now! Dan Crow's "We've passed peak Apple: it's all downhill from here" caught my eye this morning and I added one of the first comments (the article had attracted no comment at the time). My comment posted fourth, and quickly drew a couple of recommends.

Revisiting Dan's blog a little while later I found that two of those early posts had been 'moderated'. Mine however had disappeared entirely!

OK so these are the moderated posts.  First:
youngadam: But Dan, you prefer Android phones - I sense any other opinions you have aren't going to treated with much respect if you can't see iOS as inherently superior.

and second:
PPetteflet: Ass-licking example:

"The story of Apple Incorporated is far from over. It is the most valuable company in the world, by a large margin. Apple produces a range of exceptional and much loved products. It employs many of the most talented designers and engineers on the planet."

 I stopped reading the rest, knowing about the working conditions in the Chinese factories.


My own comment was deemed so offensive it didn't even get the usual "This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs." It just disappeared!

So here it is:

"The iPhone 5 is better, but it's really not that much better, and iOS 6 has had some decidedly mixed reviews. But you wouldn't know that listening to the hype from Bob Mansfield, Tim Cook, Phil Schiller et al."

I think we can include one Charles Arthur in the et al!

The Guardian's tech section is the source of a lot of black humour BTL as well as regular complaints from those who take such things a bit too seriously. But surely it's past time when Charles Arthur's lovefest with Cupertino's finest was given the order of the boot from King's Place once and for all.

Jack Straw, Facebook and his Hotmail account...

Yes Jack Straw (that Jack Straw) is on Facebook, liberal trendy that he is (what do you mean, he's just the oldest swinger in town?).

It's no surprise really since Jack Straw was so clued up on WMD in Iraq that he was similarly confident about combining his Facebook account with a Hotmail one. Jack should have remembered how Facebook trawled his address book as soon as he signed up, without so much as a by-your-leave. And now some Nigerian scammers have done the same.

I suspect that Jack has been relying on his beautiful colleague Harriet for computing security tips. Yes, that Harriet, the one who thought that username 'Harriet' and password 'Harman' would keep her blog safe from the unsolicited ministrations of her Parliamentary colleagues.

Sadly Hotmail is simply long past its best and hopelessly open to hackers; best to avoid.

Running Windows in 'Safe' mode

Windows offers users the option of running in 'safe mode'. With this, only the barest of essential components of the OS start running on boot up. You would never want to use this for normal computing (the very basic graphics would deter you for starters) but safe mode does have its uses. For example, if you install software on your computer that causes your computer to crash every time you boot up, you can start in safe mode and then uninstall the software in question (or use your system restore function to achieve the same result). It also means that you can delete files that otherwise won't let you, a problem that often catches people out otherwise.

So here are some instructions on how you can start your computer in safe mode. Screenshots were not possible so I've taken photographs. Be warned! The quality of these is not good - I could only handhold my camera and I couldn't use flash because of reflection off the screen. The black & white screens needed a very long exposure and are quite blurred as a result. Nevertheless, I think that they'll be visible enough to be helpful.

To access Windows boot menu, you have to press the F8 key just before your computer reaches the Windows 'splash' screen (that's when the flag starts displaying). So firstly you need to determine how exactly you use the F8 key. That may sound stupid as it is entirely straightforward on a basic keyboard, but some are more sophisticated and offer dual function keys, where the F is not the default. Here is a photo of the keyboard I use:



On the left-hand side of the picture I have ringed the F8 key, which by default acts as a 'Fwd' key for email. To make the keys function as F keys, I have to have pressed the 'F Lock'key (ringed at the right of the picture). This works the same as the 'Caps Lock' key, and once again there is a light to show its status. So check your keyboard.

Now you boot your computer. As soon as the computer has started press your 'F Lock' key or equivalent if you need to, check that the light to show it as being in 'F' status, and now start pressing the F8 key repeatedly until the following screen appears:



Towards the bottom of that list, you will see 'Start Windows normally' highlighted. Use your up and down arrow keys (well, the up one) to navigate to 'Safe Mode' which is right at the top of the list.

Now press enter and you get taken to a second screen (sorry about the photo):



This simply asks you to confirm your operating system (Mine is Microsoft Windows XP Professional). Your Windows OS will be highlighted by default so you simply press enter again. Be aware that you may get taken to this screen ahead of the earlier one. If that happens, simply press F8 again to go back to the first screen.

Now your computer will start booting into Windows. This lacks nearly all graphics, and can take longer than a normal boot, but eventually you get to the login screen:



Note the unusually large graphics, and also that you can only log in to the (normally hidden) Administrator Account or your earliest user account that enjoys administrative priveleges (here it's the account 'Admin').

Now you're in; once again there are very large basic graphics - this picture shows the full screen width:



From this point you can use your computer normally to do whatever you had gone into safe mode for in the first place. Switching your computer off when you've finished is the same as normal, although the PC will not turn itself off after shutting down, you will have to do this manually.

Platte and privacy: user accounts and the winlogon.exe file

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.


Why did I ask Platte that question? I hope you'll bear with me while I give a little background since that will help in following this discussion. Although my computer expertise is somewhat limited, I do enjoy playing with them, and my 10 year old PC has been tinkered with primarily so that I can run a choice of operating systems. As a result it contains a stack of hard drives most of which are also partioned. My original 13GB drive is still my 'C' Drive though, even if it distinctly temperamental these days. Having more than one hard drive offers other advantages beyond easily being able to install a new OS if the fancy takes me. I'm able to store my personal files on a different drive to the one used by the OS which means they don't go down if my OS gets corrupted. Most importantly, it means that I can back up files (or entire disks) from one drive to another. If a hard drive were to fail completely, I can entirely restore its content onto a replacement (that's saved my life on a couple of occasions). That's the reason I'm able to switch between running Windows with Platte installed and running it without. I run Windows XP Pro (my main OS) on my C drive, which also has most of the other software I run, but it does not have personal files for any of the User Accounts; my own 'Stephen's Documents' for example is two hard disks further down on my 'G' drive.

When I installed the Platte software, I created a new User Account specifically for the purpose. That account, including its personal files is entirely on the 'C' drive, as is the Platte software. Since Windows, the Platte files and all the necessary user account files are on the 'C' drive, it should not be necessary for the Platte software to access any of my other disks.

Among the diagnostic utilities I enjoy playing with are several from the wonderful Sysinternals website (linked on my sidebar); it's such a useful site I'll put up a separate post about it in due course. Their 'Process Monitor' utility is probably definitive in that it displays a list of every action taken by the processor in real time; it quickly becomes a staggeringly long list.

I was running Process Monitor one day for some other reason (but when Platte was on my PC) and I noticed that Platte's main executable file, the pm_proc1.exe, was referencing the winlogon.exe file found in the System32 folder at regular intervals (approximately 1 minute apart). So what is the winlogon.exe file? It's part of Windows, and it's an extremely important one; it is Windows own security system. It stores the user passwords and is the file that controls the permissions; that means that it determines which user is able to access which files or programs, and which programs are themselves able to access other files. Essentially, it's the file that is able to grant 'access all areas' passes or not as appropriate; 'Guest' users get 'upper balcony, rear' and no more .

Since I didn't really understand why the Platte software should wish to access the file, I asked Platte about this when I sent them a list of queries recently. As you will have seen at the top of this post, their answer was unequivocal; their software "does not attempt to access Winlogon.exe".

Well, here's a screenshot, taken from a process log generated by Process Monitor. Look at sequence number 354571:

I have to admit that the process logs tend to be pretty much at the limit of my computing knowledge and sometimes slightly beyond it. More often than not I can follow a process through easily but not always. But even with my limited ability in this area it does look as though pm_proc1 is indeed accessing in some way the winlogon.exe file. I don't know why it should do so but it may well have a link with the following -

At present I have set my PC to start Process Monitor running each time I log in. I have put a filter on the logs, so that they only shows activity by the Platte software (this is an awful lot easier than trawling through a list that may consist of upward of a million actions, believe me). The following screenshots were taken a couple of evenings ago, all the accounts had already displayed billing reminders earlier in the day.

First I opened the account that I had installed Platte in. There is minimal activity (there would be more if a bill were to be displaying, but even then that is easy enough to follow):



Only 6 actions, two clusters of 3, and nothing to be concerned about. I had allowed the log to cover a full 10 minutes since I logged in, and those 6 actions are drawn from a total of 702,099 processor actions (displayed in the bottom left-hand corner of the window).

Next I re-ran the Process Monitor software, and went across and opened my own account. Much more activity; when I returned this is what I saw:



pm_proc1.exe appears to be checking out all my disks, C, F, G, H, I and J (look at the top half of the log). A couple of seconds later (that's a long time in computing terms) it's carrying out another check:



Then it moves on with Registry activity before checking out each partition individually:



And again:



Now we find it looking at the winlogon.exe (starting with sequence number 283927):



Now though, we come to the bit that concerns me. The Platte software shows an interest in my personal Documents folder (sequence number 611057 at the top, then 611067):



Now that I certainly don't understand. Why on earth should the Platte software want to show any sort of interest whatever in my Documents folder? Is that why it's referencing the winlogon.exe file?

I have to admit that I don't entirely follow what Platte is attempting to do here. But I do know that the other software I run on my computer hasn't shown any similar unexplained search round my computer, nor interest in my Documents folder. So why should the Platte?

It seem to me that Platte have some serious explaining to do if those who choose to install their software are to feel entirely safe in doing so. Hopefully they will read this and come up with an explanation.

(31st January): I have now taken a different route into my accounts and got slightly different results. I started this time by going into the account I administer my computer from and got a third sequence (I've adjusted column widths to help with reading all the full paths):



This time the route to the documents folder is significantly quicker (sequence number 199600) and no referencing of the different drives precedes it - there's predominantly registry activity. The Admin Documents folder is three disks down from the C drive. When I subsequently went into the account where Platte had been installed, there was merely the six lines of processing that turned up four days ago. So why does the Platte account not attract the same level of activity from the Platte software?




For those with an interest in such matters, the Process Monitor software downloads here.

These remaining screenshots follow on from the original sequence and show the activity when my account displays that repeat bill reminder; I find this entirely straightforward and easy to follow:








Comment on this post (particularly technically informed comment) is welcome. Please make it via my email, indicating any linkback URL you would like included.

Platte and privacy: user accounts and repeating bills

Following on from my previous post, I need to say some more about the frequency of Platte's bills, both adding somewhat to my earlier response to Platte's explanation that 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 and also returning to a point I made in my original post on Platte all those months ago, that the software throws up more than one bill a day.

I have taken a series of screenshots this morning to illustrate what actually happens.

At 08.55 I logged into the account where Platte was installed and got this bill:




At 08.58 I logged into the computer's 'Guest' account and this bill displayed:



At 09.01 I logged into my own account, and again I got a bill:




When I returned to the first account (the one I had used to install the Platte software) no further bill displayed. However, when I went back to the 'Guest' account at 09.16 a bill displayed once again:




Logging back into the same account 15 minutes later I got yet another bill:




So it is fairly clear what happens: if you install Platte's software into your account on a PC you will receive one bill a day. However other users of the computer receive bills every time they log in, regardless of how often a day they do so. Actually, it's slightly more complicated than that. The account I installed Platte into is an 'administrator' account, where my own account is a 'power user' account while the guest account is just that. There is another 'administrator' account on the computer and when I went into that I got no bill. So what actually happens seems to be this: The computer administrator receives one bill a day, but all other users receive bills every time they log in.

But there's more... there's actually a significant difference between the bill displayed on the account where Platte was installed and all those other multiple repeat bills to the other accounts. The bill sent to the user who installed Platte simply tells them:

Invoice
Thank you for subscribing to a Platte Media Entertainment website. Your Platte Media membership is due for payment

Account Information
Your account is due for payment. To make a payment please select one of the payment options or contact us on 0845 017 8386.


However, the bill sent to the other users of the computer is not so polite:

Important Overdue Notice
Your account is overdue.
Please contact credit control on 0845 017 8389

Account Information
Your computer was recently used to subscribe to a Platte Media website and your account now requires payment

YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED UNTIL PAYMENT IS MADE

IMPORTANT: Your account is now overdue, failure to settle your account may result in us or our appointed agents taking legal action against you.

Please call our credit control department on 0845 017 8389

So clearly not only is Platte's software able to distinguish between the account that installed the software and those that didn't, but it only serves up threats of legal action on the bills to those that didn't (and are therefore more likely to be frightened by the bills and intimidated into paying). Note also that the two telephone numbers are different. This means that Platte can tell when you phone in whether or not you might have installed their software or are another user. I wonder if you get different responses depending which of the numbers you call?

Platte's contract (or at least the one I agreed to) clearly stated that I would receive only one bill reminder in any 24 hour period. Far more importantly, they have given specific assurances to the OFT that this is the case, although as I have shown, it is patently untrue.

I am inviting Platte to comment on this and will post their response when I receive it.


Go to my next post on Platte Media

Platte and privacy: user accounts and bills

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.

Once again, a response from Platte that requires some analysis. Sometimes the software requires synchronising...? I used Platte's downloaded utility to terminate my membership (I took the online option rather than dealing with it by phone). So why on earth didn't their cancellation tool synchronise the software? Actually there's a bigger question - why didn't it do the uninstall at the same time?

It's the (b) part of the answer that's of particular interest though. Firstly, I don't think it's clear whether the PC owner is responsible for the account, or whether it's the person who entered into the agreement. I'm inclined to think it's the latter and I'm not altogether sure that Platte are entirely certain. But it's singularly disingenious to claim that the software 'installs across all user accounts on the PC'. It doesn't. It installs to the user account of the person who installed it, where the 'Get Films Now' icon displays on the desktop and 'Platte Media' shows in the 'Start' menu. In the other accounts, there is no trace of Platte to be found whatever. So it doesn't install to all user accounts at all, but what it does do is bill to all user accounts (and display that wretched 'Platte' desktop icon as well) when the software thinks that money is owing.

All this has very serious implications for the privacy of those who sign up for Platte's service. Consider this scenario: A married couple share an account on their computer, and it's password protected. Their young children have separate accounts and are not able to access their parents'account. One weekend the parents decide, long after their offspring have retired for the night, to try the 'Get Films Now' service. They're quite cautious since they obviously don't want the children to be able to access that sort of material, so after installing the software they go into their childrens accounts to check that it is not accessible in any of them. It isn't, so they don't worry. They are not that impressed with what they find Platte has to offer so they cancel their membership online later that night. The next thing they know is when their children are the first ones to get the pop-up bills; even worse, the children have Googled 'Platte Media' and know that their parents signed up to an online porn service.

Platte are big on privacy. They make much of the privacy that comes with paying by Postal Order. They have a 'Privacy Policy'. Unfortunately that 'policy' has nothing whatever to say about privacy, or the total lack of it, between user accounts on the PC, although there is a catch-all that seems to fit. Platte International Limited (company no.1391058) is committed to preserving the privacy of all visitors to www.plattemedia.com. Committed? Not that committed by the look of things. It's not as if they even bother to warn you about this when you sign up.


Go to my next post on Platte Media

Using Platte's uninstaller

I get quite a few emails complaining that people can't work out how to use Platte's uninstall software (Not able to access it? It downloads from this link). It's not my fault, I have no connection whatever with Platte, and I'm no apologist for their software! Nevertheless, here's a series of screengrabs to guide you through using it:

1. This first screen is what seems to catch most people out. The figures you enter in the four boxes are not any part of your uninstall code, nor are they the PIN you gave Platte when you signed up, they are just the four figures displayed directly above the boxes. Quite why Platte include this step is beyond me, it seems to serve no other purpose beyond confusing people.

2. Clicking 'Next' takes you to the second screen, where you click the link at the bottom of the
page saying that you have received an update letter. The number above serves no purpose whatever unless you are being talked through the uninstall.

3. Now you can enter the codes that Platte have sent you.

Click 'OK' on the pop-up which warns you to close down any open windows.

Clicking 'Next' finally starts the uninstall

And that's it!

Quite where you are supposed to request the confirmatory email I haven't worked out yet. If you know, please share the secret.


Go to my next post on Platte Media

Platte: not much of a choice.

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.

Platte's response to my question deserves some examination, and I'd like to start by showing a screenshot of the relevant section of my agreement with them taken at the time of my signing up:

It is section 17.4 that is of interest:
To cancel your Subscription and uninstall the Software You must either:
(a) Call 0800 051 6664 quoting your Account number and request an uninstall.
(b) Click on the 'cancel Subscription' hyperlink and follow the uninstall instructions as provided in the cancel confirmation email which will be sent to you.
Once your subscription is paid and the software uninstalled we will send you an email to confirm this. Please note that where payment of your Subscription Fee is outstanding, the Software will only be installed once you provide us with evidence of your identity and a correspondence address in order that we forward your uninstall code. If you have not paid your bill by the conclusion of the reminder procedure detailed in clause 2.5 or, the elapsing of 6 weeks from the date the Subscription Fee became due for payment we will cancel your access to the Website. We can use your IP address to identify your residential address details and have the right to commence proceedings to recover the money owed to us in respect of an unpaid Bill.

As someone who planned to end my membership as soon as the software had installed on my PC (I had only originally intended to test the sign-up procedure) it was the first part of the above that was of interest. I particularly didn't want to have to phone for instructions, and I believed (quite reasonably) that I was being offered an email alternative providing I terminated my membership online and owed no money.

However, what Platte now say is that the choice should in reality have been this:
(a) Call 0800 051 6664 quoting your Account number and request an uninstall.
(b) ...call our uninstall line FREE on 0800 051 6664 for instructions.

So where's the choice? You tell me...

What's particularly interesting though is that I did phone, to find out what happened. Firstly, I was asked for my address, and then told that they wouldn't be able to send me my uninstall instructions without it. It took repeated refusal before the person I was speaking to offered to 'talk me through' the uninstall, an offer I declined since I had been offered emailed instructions in our contract. Finally they promised an email within an hour, but they never sent it.

If they can post out instructions to residential addresses, why on earth do they resist emailing the same instructions to people who don't owe them money? You tell me...

What struck me at the time was the way that Platte seemed to be maximising their chance of obtaining my phone number and residential address, although they had no contractual need for either. And I never received the promised email confirming that the software had been uninstalled either although that is not surprising given that their uninstaller didn't actually uninstall it.

Even when you get your uninstall instructions sent they are not as straightforward as they might be. Firstly they direct you to www.plattehelp.com to download their uninstall tool. However, you can no longer get it from that webpage. I first became aware some months ago when I started getting a stream of visitors to the blog who had put plattehelp.com into their search engine. On checking the page, I found that it had been taken down; instead you are taken to http://www.plattemedia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=10 - where there is no sign whatever of the download you need. The page they should be sending you to (but don't) is http://www.plattemedia.com/help.php. This change was as I said made some months ago but given the number of visitors who still arrive here as a result of searches for www.plattehelp.com (just check my 'Latest Visitors' in the sidebar) it would seem that Platte have not yet amended their instructions. It's hard to tell exactly why they changed the page in the first place; after all plattehelp.com is still registered to Platte Media International at an address in Soho. They certainly know about the problem since they're this blog's most regular visitor and I first highlighted it ages ago. Perhaps we should be kind and just put it down to 'human error' again, but it is certainly another element in delaying the removal of Platte's software.

Even then it's not as straightforward as it might be. From the number of emails I get, many people find Platte's uninstall utility less straightforward to use than it might be. That at least I can address here; my next post will go through the necessary steps for using it.

Deliberately stalling? Stalling certainly, whether it's deliberate or not I'll leave to others to decide.


Go to my next post on Platte Media

Exposing hidden files

It is not difficult to display the hidden files on your PC, but unless you are reasonably experienced with computers it carries a very considerable risk, since you may unintentionally delete a file that is vital to the operating system. Sometimes it can be helpful though, since it makes it possible to delete files that unwanted software has installed which are not visible otherwise.

It is not difficult to change the settings on your computer to do this, but it is safest to do this in a separate user account that is not in regular use; instructions on how to set up such an account can be found in this post. Exposing the files in one account does not expose them in the others, hence my encouragement that you use an entirely separate one.

This is how you change your settings to expose those hidden files:

1. Via Start open My Computer.


2. Go to Tools on the Menu Bar (at the top of the window) and select Folder options.


3. Select the View tab in the applet (small window) that has now opened.


4. Scroll down slightly so you can see Do not show hidden files and folders, Hide extensions for known file types, and Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).


5. Now you need to change those three settings. Using the radio buttons, switch to Show hidden files and folders. Untick the boxes for Hide extensions for known file types, and Hide protected operating system files (Recommended). When you untick the last of these you will see a warning; read it before ticking Yes.


Her's what you end up with, just click on OK


To reverse these settings just go through the same procedure, restoring those ticks and buttons to how they started the first time round.

I must emphasise again that deleting files while you have the hidden files exposed is very risky; you should never do so unless you are certain of what you are doing.

Platte Media - a response

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.


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Platte: the uninstaller

Today I've had two emails from the helpful people at Platte International Customer Relations. The first told me that they are now downloading their installer from the link I provided for the uninstall utility in earlier posts; but no sooner had I put up this post to flag it up than they email again to say that they'd got it wrong. So it appears that at this point in time the uninstaller is still available via this link. If you use it and find it doesn't work, please post a comment here to that effect, and I'll look into it.


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Basic computer security

Anyone who works in an office where there is a computing network will know that it is impossible to install software on the computers there, not just because it is against company policy but because the computers themselves won’t allow staff to. The same is true for those using a PC in such locations as a public library. This is because software installation rights are restricted to the computer administrator who accepts the responsibility for the system. Although many do not realise it, Windows XP and Vista both offer the same facility, and if computer owners want to keep unwanted and potentially dangerous software off their machines (such as the Platte software that is the current subject of so much debate) they should avail themselves of the facility. And each user of the PC should have their own account; if there is a problem it makes it far easier to determine who was responsible. I’m giving specific instructions on how to do this at the end of the post.

Nobody (not even the administrator) should be routinely browsing the internet through the administrator’s account, so owners will need to set up a second account for themselves (this is advice from Microsoft, not just me). It is very important that the administrator account is protected with a safe password that is never shared with other users of the PC under any circumstances. It takes two people to put Platte or similar software on a computer; the person who carries out the install and the owner who has been foolish enough to let them do it.You should not rely on any antivirus package to protect you either; they can do no more than flag up a warning against a deliberate installation of software by a determined user with administrator privileges.

Children often represent the biggest problem, not least because they often know far more about computers than their parents.But this is all the more reason to stop them having any access to an administrator account. Children's approach to the home computer is simple - they’ll download anything they like without any regard to the consequences of doing so, whether it’s screwing up the computer or seriously compromising the security of the information stored on it. The parents job is to pick up the bills and little more. Sound familiar? Nor should parents underestimate the likelihood that their children will seek a site such as getfilmsnow out, not because they want to watch a tired old Popeye cartoon but quite specifically because they want to watch material with a sexual content.Boys are genetically programmed to have an interest in such matters, and links to such sites will be circulating among them by email, creating peer pressure to view such material even when the child doesn’t particularly want to. In my youth it was ‘Health & Efficiency’, a publication which appears laughably innocent in this day and age. But of course even without downloaded software there is a lot of sexual content that can be viewed on the internet. While you can limit a young child’s exposure to such material by adjusting the settings for the browser, the most effective way to keep an eye on what the child is viewing without intruding too much is to keep the computer in the regular family room, not tucked away in an office.This can be inconvenient for the adults, but it does enable them to exercise reasonable control over the computer's use. I'm afraid that it is simply not possible to protect a child from the irresponsibility of their parents. You wouldn’t give them unrestricted use of your car, would you?

There are other sources of information on how to manage your computer, not least of which is Google. If you’ve got a problem, someone else will have had the same and there’ll always be plenty of helpful advice. If you’re asked to install software make sure that it’s you who does the download after googling the software you plan to install (since that will flag up any obvious concerns). If a few more people had googled ‘Platte Media’ before installing it there’d be a lot less grief right now. Do check any small print in licence agreements even when they’re written in difficult to follow legalese. If in any doubt, don’t put it on. Very little software is really needed on a computer beyond an office suite and an antivirus package other than the supplied software for your other hardware, printer, camera, scanner iPod and the like. The less software you load on a computer, the less likely it is to go wrong.

The children will moan of course, starting with ‘none of my friends parents...’ (you should just tell them to go and install their software on their friends computers in that case). Don’t give in, not even once. Because once you do you’re on a slippery slope and soon you’ll find yourself right back where you started. The ubiquity of the games console means that it is not even necessary to install games any more and it’s best not to. At least then you’ll no longer have to endure your child playing ‘Rape and Pillage III’ while you’re trying to get on to do your online banking.

Sooner or later you’ll no doubt feel your child is responsible enough to have administration rights. But he should be administrating his own computer, not yours, and accepting the full financial responsibility for doing so – repairs, upgrades, and all the bills that arise from injudiciously downloaded software. If he wants to let passing pornographers access his computer that’s up to him, at least they won’t be accessing yours. Nor do PCs require regular replacement. Mine has lasted 10 years and it is quite reasonable to expect the same of his. If he wants to replace it, let him shell out for the privilege.

So, how do you set up an administrator account? I’m going to give you detailed illustrated instructions here. Take your time, don’t allow any distractions, and read the instructions through carefully to make sure you understand them before you start. You will want to use your existing account as your day-to-day account since it has all your passwords and personal settings, so I am going to call the new account ‘PC Administrator’ – you can’t just call the account ‘Administrator’ since Windows already has a hidden account of that name. These instructions presume that your existing account is set as an administrator account already; if not you will need to log in to one that is. You should note that I will shortly be putting up full instructions for removing all the files left behind by Platte's uninstaller, and these will be written on the assumption that you have followed the advice in this post. So here we go...

1. Open the control panel (click start, 'Control Panel' is in the right-hand column):

Where it invites you to pick a category, select 'User Accounts':

Click on 'Create a new account':




And insert the name for your new account (I've called it 'PC Administrator':




Now you are asked to pick an account type, you should pick 'Computer administrator', before clicking 'Create account':

Now you can set the password. Click on the new account:



From the list of options, select 'Create a password':

Now you have to choose a password. It should not be one you use elsewhere, nor one that will be easily guessed. I've used the registration number of my parents' first car, and put up 'Austin 7' as a clue. Then click on 'Create Password':

If the other users do not already have separate accounts, you should create new ones for them now, repeating the sequence above, but setting the accounts as 'limited', not 'computer administrator'. Now you can log off, before logging in to your new account:

This will take some time to set itself up, but once it has, exactly as before, open the control panel. Now select your original account:




And select 'Change the account type' from the list:

Select 'Limited' and then click on 'Change account type'

Now you repeat that, changing all the original accounts on the computer bar the 'PC Administrator' account to 'Limited' accounts. If you take the time to do this, and keep your password secret, other users will not be able to install any software that poses any risk to the computer.

It's best to insist that all the accounts use passwords (these are set up in User Accounts via the control panel) but each user can set their own. By default, Windows leaves the Guest account turned off, and it is best to leave it that way, unless you want to run the risk of visitors having (limited) unauthorised access. You can set up a separate limited account called 'Visitor' that has its own password for people to whom you allow occasional access.

No computer is impregnable, but these precautions minimise the risk of uninvited software being installed. Owners who prefer not to take them should be prepared to shoulder some responsibility for the consequences of that decision.