Lenovo Again Accused Of Installing Dubious Software

Computer manufacturer Lenovo is again accused of installing dubious software on laptops. Previously, the company came under fire because the Superfish spyware bundled with laptops. Later it turned out that on some models a BIOS rootkit was installed to install the software on their own computers, even though Windows is installed from a clean DVD.

This time enables IT expert Michael Horowitz Lenovo tracking software to install so-called refurbished laptops. Horowitz had two such laptops purchased directly from IBM. The computers were provided with a clean installation of Windows 7 Professional. When analyzing the software on the computer expert saw that the program "Lenovo Customer Feedback Program 64" was performed daily.

According to the description of the program will send the data every day to Lenovo. In the configuration of the software he found a DLL file named Omniture, a company that deals with web analytics and online marketing. "While there appear no additional ads in the ThinkPads, there is something to monitor and track," said Horowitz. "On the one hand, it is surprising because the machines were refurbished and sold by IBM. On the other hand, it is in view of the past of Lenovo not at all surprising."

Lenovo has made ​​a separate page put on the software online. In it, the computer giant announced that Lenovo systems include programs that can communicate with servers on the Internet. It is non-personal and non-identifying information about using the Lenovo software are sent to the company. To avoid this, users with administrative privileges, the scheduled tasks of the Lenovo Customer Feedback Program off.

Lenovo BIOS Rootkit Installed On Laptops

Computer manufacturer Lenovo has a BIOS rootkit installed on many laptops, so that proprietary software was present on the system, even though Windows from a clean DVD reinstalled. This was reported by The Next Web by means of messages on the forum of Ars Technica and Hacker News .

A user discovered the rootkit in May when its new Lenovo laptop at every restart automatically writing a file system. Lenovo uses the Lenovo Service Engine, which downloads a program called OneKey Optimizer. The software should improve the performance of your computer and sends information about the system back to Lenovo. In the case of Windows 7 or 8 checks the BIOS of the laptop to the presence of a file called Autochk.exe, which then overwrites with its own version. Once the custom autochk file loads, two new files are created, which then additional files from the Internet.

In late July, there appeared an update to the Lenovo Service Engine. A vulnerability among other was discovered by the Dutch security researcher Roel Schouwenberg, would allow attackers to install via a malicious server malware on the system.The BIOS update was published for the Flex 2, Flex 3, G40-80 / G50-80 / G50-80 Touch / V3000, Yoga and several other models. Users need to install this update itself, as it is not automatically deployed.