Beware the Driver Update Scam - Comments Page 2

I second the position of Stuart Berg. First, not only are there any number of free driver scanners, I find that the paid versions usually or often seem to add very little more to the core task. I run one or another of these probably every two months; then check the Device Manager, then research online comments or critiques of new driver versions before updating. I try not to be the first to install any new driver (by a few months)! However, newer drivers are often helpful, especially following operating system upgrades. Many drivers were 'improved' for a year or more following Windows10 release, for example. The free softwares typically automate: telling the age of the current driver; making the prudent backups; retrieving and installing them; logging the installation; and rolling back where necessary. I would NEVER turn the softwares loose to update drivers on their own - and in this respect the free versions, which require manual intervention, are superior to the paid versions, which can be set to act independently (shivver). While driver updating is probably not for the utter newbie, it is not brain surgery, and it can be educational in itself to review the range of drivers on which the PC depends.

January 17, 2014...The day I downloaded a "driver update" from..."AskBobRankin." I knew to do a System Restore but made the stupid mistake of thinking that this update from "AskBobRankin" would be OK. Big mistake. Now I type the characters for "little" but usually get "lititle", e.g. I have always been an excellent typist & speller but am frustrated with stuff like "afater" for "after" and "abuot" for "about" even when I know I typed it correctly. Not Bob's fault but mine because I *assumed* that the "update" was honest and also because I failed to use my brain & do a "System Restore." Live & learn. A Dell-assisted restore of my Windows 7 still left fragments of the "rogue" update lingering in the background.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Butch, there are no downloads hosted on the AskBobRankin.com website...

Is it deliberate irony that the advertisement at the beginning of this article is "Install Windows 10 Driver Update"?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Nope, that's algorithmic contextual ad relevancy at work. :-) And the ad may be different for each user.

Hi Bob,
Why have you stopped sending me your daily updates? I have signed up again several times since you stopped.