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Lenovo Collects Usage Data On ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkStation PCs

Posted by samzenpus on from the fool-me-once dept.

New submitter LichtSpektren writes: Following up Lenovo's blunders regarding the Superfish malware and altered BIOS, Michael Horowitz at ComputerWorld reports that a refurbished ThinkPad he bought includes Lenovo spyware under the guise of "Customer Feedback". After some digging around, he found the following in a support document: "Lenovo says here that all ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkStation PCs, running Windows 7 and 8.1, may upload 'non-personal and non-identifying information about Lenovo software application usage' to 112.2o7.net."

7 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Windows? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Didn't we all agree the other day that ThinkPads are for running Linux?

    1. Re:Windows? by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

      For the same reason they ship in styrofoam. You want something nice and bloaty with no real substance to keep it safe.

  2. Outgoing White Listed Firewall by OzPeter · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While I don't have a Lenovo, this sort of thing is why I have set a firewall on my MacBook to block all outgoing requests unless they are whitelisted by me. It was a real eye opener when I first saw the number of applications that were phoning home without me knowing.

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
  3. Not on my laptop! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Lenovo Collects Usage Data On ThinkPad, ThinkCentre and ThinkStation PCs

    See, this kind of crap is why I always wipe new laptops and install a fresh copy of Windows 10.

    What?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Re:Peoples (I)Republic(A)ofChina(Y) by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Funny

    You can take the laptop out of China, but you can't take the Chinese out of the laptop.

    The main problem with Chinese laptops is that an hour later you want to buy another one.

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    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  5. Abandon all hope. by devslash0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The worst part is that they like to switch back to their 'preferred settings' once in a while, ex. during updates, without you knowing. You may think that once you follow that clever removal guide you are done. You are not. It requires constant vigilance. The first law of IT Security: "If someone can run his program on your computer, it's not your computer anymore." Will we live to see the day when we are back in control of our data and devices?

  6. Re:Who's left? by FranTaylor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Somehow, we got into a discussion of the responsibility of management. Holden made the point that management's responsibility is to the shareholders – that's the end of it. And I objected. I said, 'I think you're absolutely wrong. Management has a responsibility to its employees, it has a responsibility to its customers, it has a responsibility to the community at large.' And they almost laughed me out of the room."

    - David Packard