Researcher Discovers Keylogger In HP Keyboard Driver

A researcher with the alias ZwClose has discovered a keylogger in an HP keyboard driver that malware could use. The keylogger was in the SynTP.sys file. This is part of the Synaptics Touchpad driver installed on hundreds of HP laptops.

Although the keylogger was turned off by default, it could have been enabled via an adjustment to the Windows Registry. The investigator warned HP and the manufacturer confirmed the presence of the keylogger. It was code that was actually meant for debugging the driver and was left behind. HP has now released an update to remove the code.

The update can be downloaded from the HP and Windows Update website , the researcher says. All affected models are listed on the HP website. It involves almost 500 different laptops. According to HP, the presence of the keylogger did not ensure that the self or Synaptics had access to customer data. Earlier this year, a keylogger was also found in an HP audio driver .