Beware of Driver Scams
Windows 10/Windows 11

You know what makes me angry? You know what makes me so angry, I could gnaw the bark off a Maple tree? Companies that stoop to fraud and deceit to lure and trick people into downloading, installing, or buying something… most of the time, something worthless. And few do this better than companies that make driver updater programs. One company, in particular, appears to thrive on it. It’s no wonder we find so many of those useless driver updater programs installed on so many computers.

Here’s a true story. This happened to my friend and colleague, Darcy. And I’m going to step aside and let her tell you her story.

I was looking up a Canon printer for a customer who was having a problem with her Canon printer. I searched for her printer model. Without giving it a lot of thought, and hurrying, I clicked the link that was at the top of the search results… before realizing it was NOT Canon.

The next thing I know… I am on the page for the driver download. Still not realizing that I was NOT on a real Canon page, I decided to check with support to see if there was an error on the site’s database. I came to a support page for a driver update program, and THEN I realized I am not on a Canon site at all, but am on Slimware’s Slimcleaner/driver updater site.

I have always considered myself careful when browsing the web. I am usually extremely wary when visiting pages with which I am not familiar. But the setup that Slimware devised for the driver updater scam was so real, I didn’t realize I was not on a legitimate site.

If I were Canon, I would demand they take this kind of trickery off the web… and sue them. However, that is probably very unlikely.  I’m sure that if they do this with Canon, they do it with many other common products. They are scamming so many people with their aggressive and fraudulent techniques, and making so much money, that they can afford to pay big bucks to be at the top of the search engines for all relevant driver searches. They do it for one reason: To make money by tricking people into downloading their driver update software. It is so unfair that any good, honest companies are struggling financially, or going out of business, while dishonest companies thrive by tricking unwary users into downloading (and buying) useless software.

I digress. After realizing that this company was not above using highly sophisticated trickery to entice users into downloading their software. They even go so far as to use brand names and logos… even the Microsoft logo.

To see how far this company would go to trick people into downloading and using their software, I decided I’d try other printer driver searches to see what happened.

My next search was Canon Printer Drivers. And guess who was at the top? You guessed it. And looking very official with the Canon Trademark logo? The URL? cannon.driverupdate.net. What a hoax! And if you think, well, “you spelled Canon” wrong, canon.driverupdate.net takes you right to driverupdate.net/articles/dl/canon-drivers, which is another Slimware scam site. This site imparts some seemingly good advice (NOT!):

About Canon Drivers:
This page discusses Canon Drivers and how to properly identify and download them. It also explains the importance of keeping your drivers up-to-date and some of the challenges with updating Canon Drivers. Note: You can automatically download the correct Canon Drivers by downloading the DriverUpdate™ Utility below.

I was getting very angry that this company has become so successful and is making so much money by using so much fraud and deception.

Here are some more results:

I searched for Dell Printer Drivers. Dell, who, of course, has tons of money, was at the top, but driversupport.com was second and filled the middle of my screen. The Slimware driver update ad was much more prominent than the real Dell site.

I also searched for HP Printer Drivers, and who won the 1st place blue ribbon? You guessed it: driverupdate.net. And, of course, they spent a lot of time and money making their deceptive site look very much like an official HP website.

Intrigued that a company would sink to this level of sophisticated deception to trick people and make a lot of money, I searched for Windows Drivers. We are aware of those ads that pop up on the Web and tell users that they need new or updated drivers. Guess who was in first place when searching for Windows drivers? Yes, you guessed right! Their trickery works again… driverupdate. They were right there at the top, and looking very official too!

I could go on and on, and do dozens and dozens of searches for drivers, and find Slimware’s driverupdate at or near the top. The ones I picked were at random, and this tells me they must be paying millions of dollars to have this many top spots (ads) for such a wide variety of searches.

As I said above, I am usually pretty careful, but I was trying to find something quickly. I was busy, it was early in the morning, and I’ll admit I darned near got fooled.

It’s such a shame a company can make so much money through dishonesty. They are making millions and millions of dollars and spending millions of dollars on deceptive ads, and paying enough for those ads to land them at or near the top of most search engine results. And they're not the only company doing this.

Life is not fair, and it’s not fair that so many honest companies go out of business every day because they refuse to take the low road. Yet dishonest companies use deception and trickery to play upon the trusting nature of people, thrive, and prosper.

I hope my experience helps you avoid falling for the deceptive advertising of Slimware and its driverupdate website and other driver trickery injected into search results.

Here are some screenshots to go along with my experiences outlined above:

Above: Using brand names and logos to trick you into thinking this is the real thing.

Using Microsoft logos and registered trademarks, Scamware companies will spare no expense and will stoop to whatever deceptions are needed to lure you into clicking on these ads.

The “Unsubscribe” Trap: Why Clicking the Unsubscribe Link in Unwanted Emails Might Be the Worst Thing You Can Do
For everyone who uses email

We’ve all been there. You open your email, and there it is: another junk email message about a miracle drug, discount vacations you never asked for, a “once-in-a-lifetime” investment opportunity, or something equally spammy. Your first thought is clicking that tempting “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of that email. But hold on a minute. What if I told you that clicking that seemingly innocent link is often the worst thing you can do?

Why You Should Never Click the Unsubscribe Link or Button In a Spam Email or Other Email You Didn’t Ask For

1. You’re Confirming You’re a Real Person (and that your email address is active)

Spammers send out millions of emails hoping to find any active email addresses. When you click that unsubscribe link, even if it doesn’t unsubscribe you, you’ve just told the spammer, “Hey! This email address is real, it’s active, and someone is actually reading your emails!”

Now you’re no longer just a random address on a list; you’re a verified spam target. And guess what? And you can bet the spammer will probably sell your “active” email address to other spammers, meaning you’ll likely get even more spam. It’s like saying, “Yes, please, send me more junk!”

2. It Could Be a Trap! (Phishing and Malware)

Here’s something even scarier. Not all “unsubscribe” links or buttons are just trying to confirm your email. Some are malicious links designed to harm you. Clicking the link might take you to a fake website that looks legitimate (like a bank or a well-known online store). It might then ask you to “log in” to confirm your unsubscribe request, and wham! You’ve just given your username and password directly to a scammer. They can then use that information to access your real accounts.

Also, clicking an unsubscribe button or link can silently download harmful software (malware, Trojans, spyware) onto your computer or phone. You probably won’t even realize it’s happening until it’s too late and your device is compromised.

Spammers are sneaky. They know you want to clean up your inbox, and they exploit that natural desire to trick you.

3. Spammers don’t play fair. They don’t have any rules. The unsubscribe button or link might not even work!

Legitimate companies, like us, are legally required to provide an unsubscribe option, and those work. But spammers? They don’t care about rules or laws. Their goal is to get your attention and potentially your money or data. So, even if you click their fake “unsubscribe” link, it’s highly unlikely they’ll actually remove you from their list. They’re just looking for you to confirm that your email address is active or to trick you.

So, What Should You Do with Spam Emails?

Instead of clicking the unsubscribe button or link in spam emails, here’s the safer approach:

Mark it as Spam/Junk

Every email service (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) has a “Report Spam” or “Mark as Junk” button. When you use this, you’re not just deleting the email; you’re teaching your email provider’s spam filter that this kind of message is spam. Over time, your email provider’s spam filters get smarter and will automatically send similar emails straight to your spam folder, where you’ll never have to see them.

Delete It

Once you’ve marked it as spam (or if you just know it’s junk without even opening it), delete it. Out of sight, out of mind.

Block the Sender

Most email services also allow you to block specific senders. This is a good option if you are getting messages from the same annoying address. One caveat, however – Blocking email addresses used by spammers may not often work because most spammers send from forged email addresses and rarely send from the same email address more than once.

And we know that keeping your inbox clean often feels like a never-ending battle, but by avoiding that “Unsubscribe” button or link in those suspicious emails, you’re protecting yourself from more junk mail and potentially harmful scams. Play it safe, don’t use the spam button or link on those spammy emails. You’ll be helping to keep your inbox a little cleaner and a lot more secure! 

What is the quickest way to access all the following Windows features?

Apps & Features, Mobility Center, Power Options, Event Viewer, Device Manager, Network Connections, Disk Management, and Computer Management.

A. Settings
B. Control Panel
C. Start Menu
D. The Windows Hidden Start Menu
E. None of these

Who said D? You’re right! Yay!

The hidden Start menu, also known as the right-click Start menu or the Power Users’ menu, is the fastest way to access Device Manager, Power Options, Event Viewer, Disk Management, and other important Windows features.

You can access this menu by right-clicking the Windows start button, or, if you’re a keyboard shortcut fan like us, you can open this menu by holding down the Windows key and tapping X. In Windows 11, the way you access the menu makes a difference.

Above: The right-click or hidden Start menu (Windows 10). It appears when you right-click the Start button or use the Windows Key + X shortcut.

Below: The right-click or hidden Start menu (Windows 11). It appears when you right-click the Start button.

But wait, Windows 11 users, there’s more!

If you’re using Windows 11 and you use the Windows key + X shortcut to access the hidden start menu, you’ll get a slightly different menu. Look out below! Do you see the difference? Do you see the underlined letters? The underlined letters let you use shortcuts to select an item from the menu. For instance, with the menu open, tap the Y key to access “System”, tap “M” to open “Device Manager”, or tap the “P” key to access Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

That’s the Windows hidden start menu, and now you know how to use it. It is an easy way to access important Windows features with just a click or a Windows Key shortcut.