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software upgrade assistant launches IE

Please help! Everytime I plug my phone into my computer, the Verizon Software Upgrade Assistant starts Microsoft's Internet Explorer and loads a verizon web page. I can't find any way to stop this from happening. I don't use IE because it's too great a security risk. I don't appreciate Verizon malware loading this program without my permission. I also don't need and don't want to see Verizon's web page everytime I plug in my phone. I tried removing the Software Upgrade Assistant, but then I get the "Software available for your phone" pop-up instead. How can I prevent my system from starting IE everytime I plug in my phone?

Comments

Ann154

For which phone model?

Mrdubyah

Hi Ann,

Thanks for your response. The phone is a Samsung Galaxy SIII. This behavior started after the recent upgrade. The software update assistant scans my phone, reports that the software is up to date (in a task bar pop-up window that doesn't otherwise identify itself) and then it opens Internet Explorer and jumps to Verizon's web page. I can live with the task bar pop-up (although it should at least display that the messsage is from VZW) but I definitely don't want IE running on my machine. I would prefer that the Software Update Assistant not open any web page at all, but if it must, it should at least use the default browzer rather than IE. How can I make it stop launching IE?

Mrdubyah

SOLUTION FOUND!

It turns out there is an easy fix to this problem. All you have to do is disable Internet Explorer using the simple instructions available at: http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_disable_internet_explorer.htm

This effectively prevents any program from connecting to the internet using IE. Since Verizon's update seems to only use IE, this stops the Verizon spam completely. It also appears to have the added benefit of preventing Verizon from screwing up your perfectly good smartphone by applying poorly thought out and semi-functional patches. It's very easy to reverse too so, in the unlikely event that Verizon and Samsung ever do bother to actually listen to our complaints and fix the upgrade problems, we can temporarily turn IE back on and allow the patches to load. Easy peasy!

Mrdubyah

NOTE: Some browsers use the IE settings to connect to the internet by default. After you take this action you may have to tell your real browser how to connect to the internet. If your Chrome or Firefox browser starts saying it is unable to connect, just go to the browser's network settings and, instead of "use system settings" check the box that says "auto detect proxy".

bearone21

are you talking about your pc?

after 4.3 i never installed the upgrade assistant when connected to the computer...uninstall "upgrade assistant" in add remove programs.

my chrome browser had no issues connecting to the internet after the s3 was disconnected from the pc.

Mrdubyah

Bearone21,

Thanks for your message. My PC still connects to the internet

just fine, but everytime I plug the phone into the USB port, the new

software launches Internet Explorer (on the PC) and loads Verizon's

Consumer Products web page. There are two problems with that. First, I

don't use Internet Explorer because of it's inherent security risks and

I don't want it running on my machine. Second, I don't care to be

spammed with the Verizon Consumer Products page every time I plug my

phone in to sync it or charge it (several times a day). I was hoping

there was an option to turn this "feature" off. A simple options menu

box that would let me choose between "on connect launch browser." and

"on connect do nothing" would be sufficient. I've reviewed all the

options and this choice doesn't appear to be available, hence my question.

Note that this never happened until I did the 4.3 upgrade, so I

have to assume it is another one of the several defects in the upgrade

package. There are a couple of simple ways to fix this defect. The

first, and best way, is for the software to give me the option to

launch, or not launch Verizon's consumer products web page on USB

connect. That would solve the problem completely. Failing that, the

Verizon software should use the system default browser instead of

launching IE. That might still be annoying, but at least it would

resolve the security problem.

I appreciate your response to my inquiry and hope that Verizon and

Samsung will continue working together to fix the many problems with the

4.3 upgrade. Hopefully Verizon will recognize that the browser market

has changed and IE users account for less than 23% of the browser market

today (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_wars). Verizon needs to

adapt to the new browser climate and stop writing software that is

dependent on IE.

Thanks again,

Dave *

>>Personal information removed to comply with the <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Mrdubyah

Bearone21,

I hear what you're saying. Unfortunately, uninstalling the upgrade assistant will solve the problem, but it then gives me an annoying pop-up that tells me that new software is available for my phone (the upgrade assistant) every time I connect the phone to the PC. I tried to stop that from happening but was told the only way to prevent the pop-up from appearing is to install the upgrade. (See https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/695657#695657) It's like catch 22. Either way I get an annoying pop-up message. The only solution that has solved both problems is to disable IE completely as per the above. No more IE, no more pop-ups.

Mrdubyah

Just for the heck of it, I turned IE back on this evening and plugged my phone into the PC. I received a new version of the software upgrade assistant from Verizon and Samsung that appears to have corrected the problem. Thank you for listening and fixing this perplexing problem.

AsherM2

OMG thank you so much for this solution, my browser popping up everytime I plug in my phone was the most annoying software Experience I have had in a decade!!!!.

-and I fix PCs all day long.

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