Lenovo users read this please.

[RussB]

How to remove the dangerous Superfish adware preinstalled on Lenovo PCs

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2886...e-presintalled-on-lenovo-pcs.html#tk.nl_today


Yes, I know there is always lots of "c r a p" on a new PC, but this one is worse than most and harder to remove.

 

[TheWaterboy]

MS Defender (in windows 8) or Security Essentials (MSE in win7 and older) has added this to its hit list and should remove it. Its supposed to remove the bad cert as well.

 

[nonuke]

Lenovo has just released an automatic Superfish removal tool.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/20/8079933/lenovo-superfish-removal-tool-uninstall

 

[TheWaterboy]

Lenovo . . . releases a tool to remove malware installed by . . . Lenovo.

What could possibly go wrong with this scenario?

I would have thought they all learned a lesson from the Sony Rootkit debacle.

Now we will forever wonder what else is installed that we didnt know about, and if done well we may never know.

On a related note. . . I dont know if this is true or not, but rumor was that NSA put backdoors into all hard drive firmware too. If true, everything else is moot now.

... wheres my tinfoil hat. . .

 

[The Plc Kid]

Just a tip but when buying a new laptop or PC buying from the Microsoft store either local or online is a good way to go.

Buying a signature PC from the Microsoft store means it only comes with windows and the drivers needed to run the hardware

So no bundled crapware or added craplets.

Here is a link to explain http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...me&pbPage=MicrosoftSignature&ThemeID=33363200

 

[geniusintraining]

Just a tip but when buying a new laptop or PC buying from the Microsoft store either local or online is a good way to go.

I buy mine from MS or Dell, I have had good luck with both of them, when I lived on the west coast there was a company that would build you one with just what you are for... I think it was COMP USA (I think)??? anyway they would also not load a bunch of **** (stuff), when I moved to the east I started buying mine from Dell and they seam to be good also

I like my phone but hate that is has a bunch of **** that you can not remove, this came from Verizon and Galaxy also just got a Google Tab that has the same issues... can't delete the ****... I hate ****

 

[harryting]

It's only a problem on their consumer line of computer. In order to make $ on low margin computers they need other revenue sources.

It's also a bigger problem than Superfish which uses a tool from Komodia. Everything that uses that tool set from Komodia got this security flaw.

http://techreport.com/news/27849/the-rest-of-the-story-komodia-lenovo-and-superfish

Even JAVA update now installs Ask Toolbar and FLASH installs McAfee unless you specifically un-select them. One of my friend got infected by something he downloaded from ZNet because some of the download link are actually advertising disguised as download link. Sigh, got to be super careful these days.

 

[dmroeder]

I buy mine from MS or Dell, I have had good luck with both of them, when I lived on the west coast there was a company that would build you one with just what you are for... I think it was COMP USA (I think)??? anyway they would also not load a bunch of **** (stuff), when I moved to the east I started buying mine from Dell and they seam to be good also

I like my phone but hate that is has a bunch of **** that you can not remove, this came from Verizon and Galaxy also just got a Google Tab that has the same issues... can't delete the ****... I hate ****

Root your phone and use es file Explorer to remove the unwanted apps. The reason you cannot remove them is because they are installed as system apps. Es file Explorer can remove system apps if you give it root access.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

I bought a Lenovo several months ago - to try it out ... I'm quite happy with it ... if I don't retire soon I plan to buy at least 8 more of them to use in my classes ...

I ordered it by phone directly from Lenovo headquarters (wherever that is) and they shipped it to me from China ... they were happy to preload Windows 7 Pro on it - instead of the run-of-the-mill junk - and as far as I remember there was ZERO bloatware ...

the company was a genuine pleasure to deal with - all the way through the entire transaction ...

thanks for the tip though - I'll certainly keep this in mind when (if) I place another order ...

quick question: was the unit that started this thread purchased directly from the factory - or through Best Buy, etc. ... maybe that's what made the difference ??? ...

 

[ASF]

One of the factories I do a lot of work at has probably 50-100 lenovo machines, so I had a chat to their IT guys about it. Apparently (they say) it's mostly the low-cost, consumer-grade, entry level machines that are affected, not the higher end business/professional ones.

Which backs up harryting's comment...

It's only a problem on their consumer line of computer. In order to make $ on low margin computers they need other revenue sources.

 

[cjd1965]

Yes they said no THINKPADS were affected.. which is the typical business laptop.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

mine is a ThinkPad - E440 ...

 

[Geospark]

I have two HP's for programming, but my office PC is a Lenovo ThinkPad T440s Ultrabook. It's docked to a 23" Lenovo monitor. Our multi-national pushed these out last year, replacing their HP contract. Thousands of them in use by now, but all business range, thankfully. So glad it isn't on that list!

It's all a bit "China Cheap", in my opinion, compared to other leading brands. The dock is a bit buggy, monitor not coming on, etc. I've had one BSOD last year, which required it to be sent to the UK for "repair", of which I had to start from scratch again, getting lots of drivers and re-installing, etc. But that's as much an IT Support issue as Lenovo's fault.

It does the job, but I'm kind of nervous of it. I don't think I would like to be using it for programming, but that's just my experience thus far.

Next they'll be telling us something "neural" was implanted in someone's head while under the knife for some procedure or other!

Yeah, where's that roll of tin-foil?

G.

 

[geniusintraining]

Root your phone and use es file Explorer to remove the unwanted apps..

Thank you very much... I will give it a try

 

[Ron Beaufort]

from a satisfied customer ...

since we're talking about Lenovo here – I'll mention this little experience ...

the first thing that I did when my new ThinkPad E440 arrived was to update Windows 7 on the Microsoft website ... about halfway through the "critical" updates, the unit locked up TIGHT ... pressing the on/off button would turn the little red "power" LED on and off – but NOTHING else ... no screen – no hard drive activity – no nuthin' ...

my old-faithful 600X ThinkPads have a tiny paperclip sized "reset" button to take care of things like this – but not the newer E440 ... I called tech support – and got two or three friendly (and really trying to be helpful) technicians who each told me to "hold the on/off button for ten seconds – etc. – etc." ... that didn't work – and since that was the only prescribed "fix" in their book – I was told I'd have to ship the unit back for a replacement ...

just on a hunch, I pulled the cover off the bottom and disconnected the CMOS battery for about a minute ... when I plugged it back in, all was well ... totally fixed it ... Windows 7 updated with no problem - and everything has been working perfectly now for months ...

point of the story: when all else fails, try yanking the CMOS battery ...

I called tech support back and passed along this little nugget of information – but I have no way of knowing whether the tip ever made it into their play books ... incidentally, they had heard of the Windows 7 update process "hanging up" their systems before ...

anyway ...

about a week later, the delivery man knocks on my door – and hands me a brand new replacement unit ... I didn't even open the package – just called up and got an RMA number – and sent the new unit back ...

personally, I'm quite favorably impressed with a company who is willing to ship me a brand new replacement unit – just based on a phone call - without even requiring that the defective unit actually be returned first ... as I said earlier, when I need eight more computers for my student stations, Lenovo is the company that I plan to buy them from ...