I got this email today with a very legitimate looking NDA. REAL or FAKE???
Hello WD® Community Member,
We would like to invite you to join the WD private Beta programs.
WD’s Mission
WD’s mission is to ensure the products released to the public meet a high level of quality, functionality and usability. We do our best in laboratory conditions to identify quality issues; however, our “expected use case scenarios” do not always identify what the public prefers or what is considered “not user friendly.” Our experience has shown us the best way to highlight these hidden quality issues is to conduct Beta tests.
WD systemically conducts Beta tests on various products. You were selected to be part of our Beta programs with the expectation that you will provide feedback. You may be invited again to participate in other programs depending on the quality and quantity of your feedback. We encourage you to take advantage of our upcoming Betas and get a chance to preview our exciting products. We invite you to share any of your constructive criticism and your ideas with as much detail you can provide.
Ultimately, we would like you to enjoy your WD product. We look forward to your input and hope that you will enjoy this experience and others in the future.
What you need to do to join
Please print the attached file: ELA_LastName_FirstName.pdf
Sign your name and print legibly the remaining information on the form, including the date.
Scan the entire document and rename the file with your last name and first name. For example: ELA_Smith_John.pdf
Reply directly to this email (XXXXXXXXX redacted - @wdc.com) with the completed form attached.
Once you have been added to our database, you will receive an auto-generated email with your assigned user name, a temporary password, and a link to the i nternet W estern D igital I ssue T racking R eport (iWDITR) system.
User Profile: - Edit Profile
Please update your profile with accurate contact info, preferences and test environment.
Opportunities for participating in future WD Beta programs will depend on how thorough you are in filling out your information. Please make sure you fill out the WD products section in your profile; this will enable us to invite you to ongoing beta programs for those products, such as bug fixes and new features.
An independant statement from WD may help with concerns. As I undestand it Beta test material needs to be returned to WD. Now if you undertake the testing seriously then a restricted right to retain the material for personal use would be an incentive.
FWIW, there are TWO people specifically named in this email and attachment that are allegedly associated with the program. I did some searching for those names in association with WD - and came up blank - though I did find some references to the program on an extranet site.
I’ve done product development and beta for a number of companies. The “random” shotgun selection process for this seems odd - and even stranger that a seemingly large number of other forum users have also been getting this. Let me ask - are the others all (also) Mac/iOS users perhaps?
The form for entry into the program asks for - Signature, Name, Address, Employer, Email and Date.
I submitted it to “test it” - with an “alternate” signature - as all of this other information is easily available… they already had the email.
I scanned the attachment for viruses/trojans etc. and it came up clean.
Links were also clean and the reply address was not a redirect and\ came back to an @WDC.com email address.
Since responding - I have never received an “auto-response” as of yet, but remain optimistic. It appears legit.
Tony, I don’t necessarily think it is a scam but… email addresses can be manipulated and they are asking us to download and open an attachment. That is dangerous. Confirmation is required before proceeding.
I’ve received an invite too, wasn’t sure if it was genuine. The T’s & C’s seem to suggest, that if my device develops a fault due to the beta, WD aren’t to be held liable. Did I read that right?
I spend all day at work managing a team of firmware engineers, often working daft hours when we have a major release imminent. So why would I want to spend the rest of the day testing WD Beta software that may actaully destroy my equipment that is currently functioning in an acceptable manner?
Many of us here, I’m sure, are willing to help improve the quality of the products we have, but what is currently on the table appears to be WD trying to get something for nothing.
This was actually an older thread from when we sent out invations about 5 months ago. This is invitation that you received is legit. However…
@ AndyA,
Can you specifically quote to me what part you think is telling you that if we brick your device, we’re not liable.
@ WHS_User,
We’re not trying to get something for nothing, but we are asking for help in order to improve our testing ability. We cannot replicate in our labs what is going on out in the real world. It’s totally understandable if you don’t have the time for something like this, or if you’re concerned about your setup being destroyed. Just ignore the email.
So, what exactly does this involve? Just putting beta firmware on devices we currently own, or is WD going to ship us a device to play with for a given amount of time before we have to mail it back?
