Lenovo slapped with lawsuit over dangerous Superfish adware

[Victorious Secret]

 

 

I don't feel sorry for Lenovo on this, on any level. They damn well knew what they were getting into when they agreed to have Superfish on their machines and they should've known that sooner the chickens would come home to roost. 

 

Lenovo, you didn't mess up. You shit the entire bed, flipped it over, and shit all over the place again. You don't get mercy in this. 

 

Plaintiff Jessica Bennett said her laptop was damaged as a result of Superfish, which was called “spyware” in court documents. She also accused Lenovo and Superfish of invading her privacy and making money by studying her Internet browsing habits.

 

The lawsuit was filed after Lenovo admitted to pre-loading Superfish on some consumer PCs. The laptops affected by Superfish include non-ThinkPad models such as G Series, U Series, Y Series, Z Series, S Series, Flex, Miix, Yoga and E Series.

 

Lenovo has since issued fixes to remove Superfish applications and certificates from PCs. Microsoft’s Windows Defender and McAfee’s security applications also remove Superfish since Friday.

 

Lenovo earlier admitted it “messed up” by preloading Superfish on computers. The software plugs product recommendations into search results, but can hijack connections and open major security holes, thus leaving computers vulnerable to malicious attacks.

 

Bennett, a blogger, purchased a Yoga 2 laptop to conduct business and communicate with clients. She noticed “spam advertisements involving scantily clad women” appearing on her client’s website when writing a blog post for the customer. After seeing pop-ups on other websites, she assumed her computer had spyware or had been hacked, but then scoured the forums to notice similar behavior on other Lenovo laptops. She then rooted out the problem to be Superfish, which could intercept secure communication and leave computers vulnerable.

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887392/lenovo-hit-with-lawsuit-over-superfish-snafu.html

[Trik'Stari]

Now, why hasn't samsung been sued for doing the same thing with their smart tv's?

 

Yes, it's in the EULA which you agree to, but wouldn't Superfish be in the same category?

[Victorious Secret]

Now, why hasn't samsung been sued for doing the same thing with their smart tv's?

 

Yes, it's in the EULA which you agree to, but wouldn't Superfish be in the same category?

 

Probably easier to gut Lenovo since they admitted fault and the issue is disastrously dangerous for more people. 

[Nup]

Wow.... 

 

 

I do hope samsung gets it too, like Trik'Stari was saying. 

 

EDIT; oh and thanks for sharing. 

[Trik'Stari]

Probably easier to gut Lenovo since they admitted fault and the issue is disastrously dangerous for more people. 

True, but it's still, basically an invasion of privacy. But then all someone has to do is bring up the Human-Cent-ipad from south park....

[OCing Noob]

True, but it's still, basically an invasion of privacy. But then all someone has to do is bring up the Human-Cent-ipad from south park....

 

Wow.... 

 

 

I do hope samsung gets it too, like Trik'Stari was saying. 

 

EDIT; oh and thanks for sharing. 

Few days back 80% denied me when said HDD manufacturers are spying us. you can't trust anyone now in business. they can do anything to earn more and more .

[AlexGoesHigh]

Now, why hasn't samsung been sued for doing the same thing with their smart tv's?

 

Yes, it's in the EULA which you agree to, but wouldn't Superfish be in the same category?

just being in the EULA is good enough to dismiss the suit, if superfish was behind an EULA, this suit would be dismissed immediately, EULA are the literal counter part of the great wall of china, unless you found a hole in it, you can't do shit about it

[Trik'Stari]

just being in the EULA is good enough to dismiss the suit, if superfish was behind an EULA, this suit would be dismissed immediately, EULA are the literal counter part of the great wall of china, unless you found a hole in it, you can't do shit about it

Yeah EULA's really need to be gotten rid of, or changed so that they can't be 8 years long.

[Mightyinvader]

Article curtousy of Cnet.com Please go check it out there

http://www.cnet.com/news/lenovo-hit-by-lawsuit-over-superfish-adware/

 

 

Lenovo may find itself in a courtroom over its Superfish adware fiasco.

 

 

One lawsuit filed in federal court last week charges both Lenovo and Superfish with violating wiretap laws and trespassing on personal property, Ars Technica reported Monday. In another case, a legal firm has launched a class action investigation over potential claims against Lenovo's actions.

The Chinese PC maker has found itself in hot water following last week's revelations that many of its PCs include a software program called Superfish Visual Discovery. Considered either adware or spyware, Superfish tracks your Web searches and browsing activity to place additional ads on the sites you visit. But the software also installs its own root certificate that leaves affected PCs more vulnerable to malware attacks.

Lenovo has apologized for the problem and has begun work to resolve it. "We messed up badly," said Peter Hortensius, Lenovo's chief technology officer, said last week.

The world's biggest computer maker, Lenovo has managed to earn a hefty profit and significant presence in the sluggish PC market. The company's laptop lineup has garnered generally good reviews. But the fact that Lenovo installed such software on its PCs could do a fair amount of damage to both its reputation and sales. Legal defense could also cost the company.

The individual suit filed February 19 in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California by blogger Jessica Bennett charges that the Superfish software tracked her Internet use, invaded her privacy and damaged her computer. Specifically, Bennett said that she was writing a blog post on her PC when she noticed ads involving "scantily clad women" on her client's website. Later, Bennett said, she was working on a different client site when she saw the same set of ads, making her realize that it was her own computer that was infected by some type of spyware.

Her lawsuit, which seeks a class action status and jury trial, charges Lenovo with the following:

Meanwhile, the class action investigation launched by the New York-based Rosen Law Firm is looking for consumers who purchased the affected Lenovo PCs and want to participate in a class action lawsuit. The firm charges that the Superfish adware "exposes the computer user to serious security vulnerabilities that could result in the theft of users' login and passwords, and other sensitive data that a user transmits online, as well as a degraded internet experience caused by it downloading and injecting third party ads and pop-up windows."Defendants' Spyware and popup advertisements decrease productivity by requiring that hours be spent figuring out how to get them off of a computer, closing advertising windows, and waiting for a slower machine to operate. Furthermore, computer users are forced to keep their computers running longer (due to the slowed performance) which utilizes more electricity, decreases the useful life of a computer, and causes increased Internet access charges. The cumulative impact of not only multiple ads, but also the threat of future ads and monitoring, impedes computer usage.

Lenovo PC owners can determine if the Superfish software is installed on their machines.

[Mightyinvader]

This however is a class action suit so we all know that the only people benefiting from this are lawyers...

[jrfox87]

I wonder what other manufacturers will got for similarly horrible practices, guaranteed other PC makers are doing similar things in order to survive.

[geforceftw]

I used to like Lenovo but now I'm staying away from them. I will never buy a Lenovo computer or phone or whatever else they make, but it's not like I was planning to anyway. Screw Lenovo. 

[Aniallation]

[connorpiper]

*Sips Iced Tea while reading on Lenovo laptop*

 

Yea, Lenovo fucked up, but so did the people who actually left it on their computer!