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>Lenovo's malware scandal should certainly give you pause, but do note that it was only installed on its consumer laptops. Thinkpads were unaffected. And would
by voidlogic 10y ago
>Lenovo's malware scandal should certainly give you pause, but do note that it was only installed on its consumer laptops. Thinkpads were unaffected.
And would not matter if you were installing Linux per this thread...
- vardump 10y agoOperating system doesn't matter much when the malware is in BIOS or firmware code.
- voidlogic 10y ago>Operating system doesn't matter much when the malware is in BIOS or firmware code. Are you insinuating that was the case here? Source please, I'd be interested to read about that.
- voltagex_ 10y agohttps://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150812/11395231925/lenovo-busted-stealthily-installing-crapware-via-bios-fresh-windows-installs.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150812/11395231925/lenov...
- Figs 10y agoHere are three news articles on what happened: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/lenovo-used-windows-anti-theft-feature-to-install-persistent-crapware/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/lenovo... http://www.techrepublic.com/article/windows-and-uefi-anti-theft-mechanism-makes-systems-less-secure/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/windows-and-uefi-anti-th... http://www.pcworld.com/article/2969365/security/lenovos-service-engine-marks-yet-another-bloatware-blunder-for-the-company.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/2969365/security/lenovos-serv... This should really only affect Windows systems as far as I know -- Windows is running an executable stored in the firmware at boot (a rather dubious feature, in my opinion, but it's intended as an anti-theft measure). Lenovo used that feature to try to circumvent removal of their crapware when someone reinstalls the OS.
- betanumerical 10y agoIt gets copied from the firmware and runs pre OS. But the executable only runs on windows from what I can tell, so its technically its cross platform but it wont run on both platforms.
- pritambaral 10y agoThe executable runs on Windows because Windows loads it and runs it. The executable doesn't force itself on Windows.
- vardump 10y agoFor example SMM (system management mode) code is certainly loaded and executed under any operating system. You have to just trust the mainboard vendor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Management_Mode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Management_Mode I'm not insinuating anything. All I know is that Lenovo broke our collective trust before, thinking they can get away with it.
- tinus_hn 10y agoThe 'malware' used a Windows misfeature that allows the BIOS to supply an executable that is run during startup. So the malware was in the firmware but only runs on Windows.