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Lenovo Installed Software On Laptops That Persisted After Complete Wipes
An anonymous reader writes: The Next Web has confirmed reports from owners of Lenovo laptops that the company used a BIOS feature to install its software on the laptops even if a user wiped a device clean and reinstalled the operating system. "If Windows 7 or 8 is installed, the BIOS of the laptop checks 'C:\Windows\system32\autochk.exe' to see if it's a Microsoft file or a Lenovo-signed one, then overwrites the file with its own. Then, when the modified autochk file is executed on boot, another two files LenovoUpdate.exe and LenovoCheck.exe are created, which set up a service and download files when connected to the internet." Lenovo has published a patch to remove this functionality. The article notes that this technique seems to be sanctioned by a Microsoft policy. "Manufacturers are obligated to ensure that the mechanism can be updated if an attack is discovered and should be removable by the user, but the rules outlined in the document are fairly loose and don't require the OEM to notify the owner of the laptop that such a mechanism is in place."
Sorry, but this is what happens when you let a country under the sway of a totalitarian government build you computers.
But isn't Lenovo based in China these days, not America?
Tell me your thoughts on the NSA and FBI please
Do NOT buy an NSA or FBI laptop.
... install Windows ...
I think I just found how to fix it. Don't install Windows!
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
You must be newer. He was making a sarcasm.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.