The recent malware outbreak brought huge impact to Dell. People were going to think about leaving this company. people were thinking about purchasing another brand. Luckily, Dell quickly responded to the outbreak. The company finally released its official guide to remove the eDellRoot digital certificate. With this guide, anyone can avoid from being hacked.

Dell: Yours is Here

eDellRoot: A “Hackable” Support Tool

It was never meant to be a malware. That’s how Dell told the press about its ‘hackable’ certificate. This certificate, despite the wrong path it went, was meant for something different. It was made to help Dell boost it’s customer service. So, how did it went the wrong way?

Well, many people tried to confirm this to Dell itself. But, not even Dell is certain about how it went wrong. Laura P. Thomas, Dell Chief Blogger, delivered the following statement to the press.

“That certificate is neither malware nor adware. We made it to help us identify a computer model quickly. No personal information collected through this certificate.”

Despite the reason on how it went wrong, there is one thing we must appreciate from Dell. They did their best to provide the removal guide as soon as possible. It was on Thursday, November 26, 2015, when Dell released it’s official removal guide. This guide will lead users to remove the certificate safely. However, the company also realizes the side effect of this process. If not done cautiously, the process might invoke side damage. That’s why, in the future, an automatic removal software will be provided to users. When it’s available, you only need to run this software to completely remove the certificate. This tool will become Dell’s ultimate solution to fix this problem.

So, what do you think? Should you just wait for the software? Or should you just remove the certificate by yourself?Well, if you can’t wait for it, we have some steps that can help you.

How to Remove eDellRoot certificate from Your Dell Laptop

1. Open Task Manager on your laptop.
2. Choose “Services” column.
3. Head towards the lower part of the tab. Choose “Open Services.”
4. Find “Dell Foundation Service”. Choose this item, then click “Stop the service.”
5. Open your “File Explorer.”
6. Browse to: C:\Program Files\Dell\Dell Foundation Services.
7. Inside the folder, find “Dell.Foundation.Agent.Plugins.eDell.dell.” Delete the file. Ignore any warning that might appear during the attempt.
8. Press “Windows” button on your keyboard.
9. Open “Windows Search” function.
10. Enter “certmgr.msc” on your “Windows Search” function. Then, press “Enter.”
11. A pop-up dialog will appear, asking for permission to make changes on your komputer. Choose “Yes.”
12. A new certificate manage page will be opened. Double click at the “Trusted Root Certification Authorities” at the left panel.
13. Double click at the “Certificates” folder.
14. Head towards the “eDellRoot” certificate at the right panel. Delete this data. (NOTICE: Please carefully remove ONLY eDellRoot certificate. Removing other certificates might damage your system)
15. Once you removed it, check again the certificate manager page. Make sure the “eDellRoot” certificate does not appear on the page.
16. Return to the service page.
17. Choose “Dell Foundation Services.”
18. Click “Start the Service.”
19. Congratulations, the certificate has now been removed from your computer. Safe and sound.