Ham Radio Deluxe Support illegally disabled their software over a bad review

[sprite1741]

Timeline of events here in the mega thread. https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/5jf4i2/ham_radio_deluxe_mega_thread/

 

[Rred]

HRD's alleged responses sound like something from a Michael Connelly novel. The computer tampering was a spontaneous un-condoned idea by a third party support tech, who creatively decided they could revoke a license. Entirely on their own and without instructions from the owners. Ahuh. And the extortion (take back the review and you can have your software license back) was...yeah, someone else's independent idea too.

HRD could be stuck with the same problem that Richard Nixon had. You know, when he said "I am not a crook...I'm just surrounded by crooks." Or words to that effect.

Has anyone bought the movie rights options to this story yet? (G)

 

[Outerdog]

The story has also made the front page of Slashdot today:

https://radio.slashdot.org/story/16...acklisting-users-for-leaving-negative-reviews

 

[K3DRQ]

I haven't read it either but I don't suspect that it would apply in this circumstance since it doesn't involve a clause in a contract. Someone who actually reads the specific law would know for sure.

"With the new law in effect, any contract that attempts to tie in a clause calling for a fine or penalty for a review would be rendered void and legally unenforceable."

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5111

But is the law retroactive to when the incident happened? I'd imagine that would be ex post facto.

 

[Jimru]

Timeline of events here in the mega thread. https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/5jf4i2/ham_radio_deluxe_mega_thread/

Yikes, what a quagmire!!

 

[KD8DVR]

Did anyone else here read the "ticket" (PDF linked above by the OP)?

HRD basically admits to vindictive actions by telling the guy to download software which maliciously removed the existing software he had paid for (to use via the license, etc.). It's one thing to be honest and tell a customer up front that they are implementing section xyz from their contract, but to pull a stunt like that is amazingly STUPID for any business that expects to have customers. Wow.

Diabetes.....right.

73 HRD !

I read it. Definitely iron clad evidence presented. My wife is diabetic. Low blood sugar doesn't make you an *******. It makes you shake and weak.....you get some sugar fast....you don't busily type an email and revoke someone's access! Definite attempt at damage control..... They didn't expect this incident to go viral.

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.

 

[KD8DVR]

Ham Radio Deluxe Support hacked my computer | Page 37 | QRZ Forums

Actually, I recollect, this same thing happened to someone else before. Thus isn't the first time HRD screwed someone.

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.

 

[1234567890]

I never had any issues with HRD's tech support during the time that I used the program. I knew that there was some discontent out there about HRD even before I started using it. But, in my situation, I paid my money for a year of support and eventually stopped using it on technical grounds...not because I had heard of some guy who had talked to a guy who knew of a guy who had issues with HRD.

Note that synonyms for "rumor" are "gossip", "hearsay", "speculation", "scuttlebutt". In my book, first-hand experiences are a lot more valuable than rumors. If you haven't used the program yourself, are you reporting facts or just spreading rumors? As a moderator here, I'd prefer to see discussions of fact in the forums.

I'm really glad you decided not to moderate this thread with the heavy hand that you clearly would have preferred. Turns out HRD is full of **** and everything in the OP is accurate.

Does HRD advertise on RR?

 

[AK9R]

...everything in the OP is accurate.

My point was that the OP was second-hand information. It seemed that the OP's intent was to just spread around reports from other social media.

Does HRD advertise on RR?

Not that I know of. And, it wouldn't make any difference to me if they did.

If an authorized representative of HRD wanted to post here to address the concerns, I would welcome them to do so. I have no problem with hearing both sides of the story from the parties involved.

 

[DaveNF2G]

I'm really glad you decided not to moderate this thread with the heavy hand that you clearly would have preferred.

Hmm. You just attacked a Moderator for something he did not do, and you are still here.

Doesn't seem heavy handed to me.

 

[N0IU]

UPDATE: While this topic has slowed down over here, it is still very active on QRZ and to a somewhat a lesser degree on eHam. Where things stand right now is that Mike Carper, WA9PIE, one of the three owners, will be making an official statement tomorrow (12/30) regarding where the company goes from here.

http://forums.hrdsoftwarellc.com/fo...he-future-of-hrd-software-llc-coming-tomorrow

Another interesting piece of news is that Laurie, VK3AMA, the developer of JTAlert made the following statement:

To all JTAlert / HRD V6 users.

I will no longer be providing support for HRD V6 logging within JTAlert.
This comes into effect with the next public release of JTAlert (2.9.0).

Affected HRD users can continue to use the current version of JTAlert (2.8.7) for as long as they want.
I will not be able to provide any support for that version, however, if a future HRD release breaks the JTAlert/HRD integration.

The free V5 of HRD will continue to be supported.

Moving forward, all future JTAlert versions will not support HRD V6 logging.

I will not be participating in any public or private discussions regarding the reasons for this decision".

I sincerely apologise to the affected HRD users.

He went on to say:

After some "soul-searching", I now feel I owe the community an explanation, even if brief, regarding my decision to abandon HRD V6 logging support in JTAlert, especially to those users directly affected by this decision.

"Bottom-Line", I don't want myself or my software to have any sort of association with HRDLLC the company, their policies or their products.

This decision was a long time coming. The draft for the announcement had been sitting in my email draft folder for over 12 months. I came close to making the announcement on two other occasions in that time, but chose to "back-off", primarily because I knew this would affect a large number of JTAlert users and I felt uncomfortable with that.

The "die was cast" when HRDLLC released HRD ver 6.3.0.435 in October 2015. That releasecontained malicious code that deliberately shutdown JTAlert on a users PC without warning or message to the user that HRD had performed this unauthorised act. Details of this are publicly available within this groups message archives.

There have been several other events and interactions with HRDLLC over that time that are not publicly known, contributing to this decision, and I will not be discussing them here or privately.

While the association with HRDLLC was simply that my software had a feature that extended the functionality of HRD in providing a JT65/JT9 logging bridge, I am no longer comfortable supporting (by association) HRDLLC the Company, their policies or their products.

Again, I sincerely apologise to the affected HRD users.

de Laurie VK3AMA

Things do not bode well for HRD Software, LLC.

 

[AK9R]

Rick Ruhl W4PC, one of the owners of HRD, will "step down to pursue other interests".

Ruh-roh! Rick Ruhl rolled out of Ham Radio Deluxe in software kill-switch aftermath

 

[N0IU]

I honestly don't think that Dr. Carper will be making any official statements here regarding the future of HRD Software, LLC. He has taken what he believes are the necessary steps to put the company back on the tracks and has made his official announcement. The threads on both QRZ and eHam have both been closed and with all due respect to W9BU, that might not be a bad idea to follow their lead.

I think that what needs to happen now is to see if Dr. Carper can keep his promises.

 

[AK9R]

I see no reason to close the thread as long as legitimate questions and factual information is posted.

 

[N0IU]

The only reason I suggested closing this thread is because we are not likely to hear anything else from Dr. Carper or his partner on this issue. They do not deny that this "blacklisting" took place which resulted in the departure of Rick Ruhl W4PC from the company. As far as they are concerned, the issue is closed and they intend to move on and attempt to repair their damaged reputation.

Of course it won't hurt anything to leave it open but I don't think that there will be any new earth shattering information come to light at this point. While there may be people out there with "legitimate questions", they are best answered by contacting HRD Software, LLC directly through a trouble ticket or on their support forum. As far as "factual information", that can also be found on the HRD website.

I guess I don't ever have to worry about becoming a moderator here, huh?

 

[N0IU]

As long as this thread is still open, Dr. Carper has issued another official announcement regard what happened and where things stand: Open Letter to Our Customers - Ham Radio Deluxe Peer to Peer Support Forum

 

[mikewazowski]

Good thing the thread wasn't closed. Looks like things weren't quite done yet.

 

[K4EET]

As a HRD software user, I would say that was an honest letter and an honest attempt to regain customer confidence and loyalty. There were two software releases very close to each other in December 2016 with the second one being released on 7 December 2016 as Version 6.3.0.613. Quite possibly that release was the one that removed the blacklist capability by callsign from the source code. As for me, and after this open letter of laying it all out on the table, I will continue to support HRD Software, LLC and their software, Ham Radio Deluxe. I believe that the open letter is genuine and accurate. As for the Ham Radio Deluxe Software, it is probably the most complete suite of software modules for the Radio Amateur on the market. And for those that do not know, you can try the full suite free for 30 days at Ham Radio Deluxe and they are currently offering a generous 15% discount for new purchases; quite possibly as a result of this fiasco.

73, Dave K4EET

 

[Jimru]

I agree, Dave!

 

[AK9R]

DX Lab Suite has most of the same features as Ham Radio Deluxe and it's free. The user experience is not as good as HRD, by some opinions, but a lot of the functionality is there.

I started out with a paid version of HRD. I was pleased with the function, performance, and look of the program, though I did detect a bit of an arrogance from HRD Software, LLC. I was happy to stick with HRD until I discovered a lack of capability in DM780. At that point, I switched to DX Lab Suite and I can do everything I was doing with HRD and more.