Lenovo Has Installed Software Without The User's Permission On Clean Installations Of Windows
|
Droidever - Several Internet users have seen how in some laptops of Lenovo was installed software unless they realize it. The problem comes in that clean installations of Windows were doing and as much as formatted and reinstalaban had a series of applications and processes that were always there. The problem is quite serious but little dangerous for the user.
At the beginning of this year jumped with Lenovo and Superfish controversy: the Chinese company had exceeded the measures and amount of bloatware in their laptops as well as practices to install them. They reacted, but have not tied all the ends as shown by a recent discovery.
Bloatware on clean installations of Windows
Each installation of Windows, users observed that system overwrote a series of system files allowing you to then download program updates from Lenovo and a series of applications to "improve" the performance of the portable. The problem was that installing was clean, i.e., with a DVD of Windows that has nothing to do with the version that offers the manufacturer.
Not only that, as well as allowing you to install software without the user's permission, software made a call to Lenovo servers for, according to the company, "help them to understand how customers use our products". They clarify, Furthermore, that not is collected "personal and genuine information".
Lenovo knew when had to do this modification: the late enough to have permissions and soon enough to avoid the security tools.
The process is rather ingenious because BIOS of the laptop is able to check whether or not "C:\Windows\system32\autochk.exe" is a Microsoft file. If it is of the first type, the overwrite by one modified by Lenovo and so be able to install everything you need. Very subtle since it runs at a time where the system can make modifications and execute some actions but all at the same time makes it soon enough to avoid being detected by the system of Windows security or any other tool that we use.
When autochk is modified, then when it starts and creates two new files: "LenovoUpdate.exe" and "LenovoCheck.exe" download updates and One Key charge Optimizer application, explains Lenovo, "improve the performance of the computer updating firmware, drivers, and applications pre-installed as well as scan garbage files and find factors affecting the performance of the system".
Lenovo has reacted and has posted a patch to update laptops affected by what the manufacturer has called vulnerability. A bad movement for its part but have not been alone and, as explain some users, Microsoft has some of the blame since they left the hole to be able to be modified.
Microsoft knew of the problem but did not meet him at all
In November 2011, Redmond published a document called "Windows Plattform Binary Table". A document that makes mention of an engineer of Lenovo who asked in his day working with tables ACPI on laptops. Starting from there was discovered a bug that allowed you to install 'critical software' and as a result the document mentioned to pick up this case modified.
The problem is that with editing the document wasn't enough since it was still so lax that computer manufacturers were not required to notify the users that this was happening. Microsoft did by covering it and Lenovo took advantage of the situation to do what today we explain.
Which computers are affected and we need to update? On the one hand, the following laptop models: Flex 2 Pro 15 (Broadwell), Flex 2 Pro 15 (Haswell), 1120 3 Flex, Flex 3 1470 / 1570, G40-80/G50-80/G50-80 Touch, S41-70/U41-70, S435/M40-35, V3000, Y40-80, Yoga 11 3, Yoga 3 14, Z41-70/Z51-70, Z70-80/G70-80.
On desktop computers, we have the following: A540/A740 B4030, B5030, B5035, B750, H3000, H3050, H5000, H5050, H5055, 2 27 Horizon, Horizon 2e(Yoga Home 500), Horizon 2S, C260, C2005, C2030, C4005, C4030 C5030, X 310 X 315 (B85), (A78).
With Superfish Lenovo showed that it did things wrong with the management of the bloatware and information giving users but with this problem opens an even more disturbing question: doesn't matter to do a clean install of Windows, companies have forms (and they do) to continue installing applications and submitting information to your servers without our consent.
At the beginning of this year jumped with Lenovo and Superfish controversy: the Chinese company had exceeded the measures and amount of bloatware in their laptops as well as practices to install them. They reacted, but have not tied all the ends as shown by a recent discovery.
Bloatware on clean installations of Windows
Each installation of Windows, users observed that system overwrote a series of system files allowing you to then download program updates from Lenovo and a series of applications to "improve" the performance of the portable. The problem was that installing was clean, i.e., with a DVD of Windows that has nothing to do with the version that offers the manufacturer.
Not only that, as well as allowing you to install software without the user's permission, software made a call to Lenovo servers for, according to the company, "help them to understand how customers use our products". They clarify, Furthermore, that not is collected "personal and genuine information".
Lenovo knew when had to do this modification: the late enough to have permissions and soon enough to avoid the security tools.
The process is rather ingenious because BIOS of the laptop is able to check whether or not "C:\Windows\system32\autochk.exe" is a Microsoft file. If it is of the first type, the overwrite by one modified by Lenovo and so be able to install everything you need. Very subtle since it runs at a time where the system can make modifications and execute some actions but all at the same time makes it soon enough to avoid being detected by the system of Windows security or any other tool that we use.
When autochk is modified, then when it starts and creates two new files: "LenovoUpdate.exe" and "LenovoCheck.exe" download updates and One Key charge Optimizer application, explains Lenovo, "improve the performance of the computer updating firmware, drivers, and applications pre-installed as well as scan garbage files and find factors affecting the performance of the system".
Lenovo has reacted and has posted a patch to update laptops affected by what the manufacturer has called vulnerability. A bad movement for its part but have not been alone and, as explain some users, Microsoft has some of the blame since they left the hole to be able to be modified.
Microsoft knew of the problem but did not meet him at all
In November 2011, Redmond published a document called "Windows Plattform Binary Table". A document that makes mention of an engineer of Lenovo who asked in his day working with tables ACPI on laptops. Starting from there was discovered a bug that allowed you to install 'critical software' and as a result the document mentioned to pick up this case modified.
The problem is that with editing the document wasn't enough since it was still so lax that computer manufacturers were not required to notify the users that this was happening. Microsoft did by covering it and Lenovo took advantage of the situation to do what today we explain.
Which computers are affected and we need to update? On the one hand, the following laptop models: Flex 2 Pro 15 (Broadwell), Flex 2 Pro 15 (Haswell), 1120 3 Flex, Flex 3 1470 / 1570, G40-80/G50-80/G50-80 Touch, S41-70/U41-70, S435/M40-35, V3000, Y40-80, Yoga 11 3, Yoga 3 14, Z41-70/Z51-70, Z70-80/G70-80.
On desktop computers, we have the following: A540/A740 B4030, B5030, B5035, B750, H3000, H3050, H5000, H5050, H5055, 2 27 Horizon, Horizon 2e(Yoga Home 500), Horizon 2S, C260, C2005, C2030, C4005, C4030 C5030, X 310 X 315 (B85), (A78).
With Superfish Lenovo showed that it did things wrong with the management of the bloatware and information giving users but with this problem opens an even more disturbing question: doesn't matter to do a clean install of Windows, companies have forms (and they do) to continue installing applications and submitting information to your servers without our consent.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Add a comment if there are needs to be discussed in this article and please comment politely without spam. Thanks!