Dell has made a surprising announcement that it will provide a software in November for customers to deal with spyware including firewall, anti-virus software, and anti-spyware software. Dell has not announced a vendor yet and plans to educate consumers about spyware also.
This is a big change from Dell's position last year. Last December, an alleged memo circulated the Internet claiming Dell technicians were barred from even suggesting sites such as download.com where consumers could find anti-spyware software. Dell's position was that uninstalling spyware could invalidate licenses or hurt functionality of programs. Some alleged Dell was trying to protect the functionality of its own spyware.
But Dell has changed its tune since December. In April, Dell testified to the FTC Spyware Workshop that spyware was the top cause on customer support calls. Now, Dell claims 20% of calls are about spyware.