Computer company Lenovo recently disclosed that computers that it was selling came with a software called Superfish that posed huge potential problems for the users of those computers.  Superfish is the name of a type of adware that was bundled on to their computers when sold.  This software did not provide any benefit to the computer user, but rather was a source of revenue for the Lenovo because the makers of Superfish pay Lenovo to have the software installed.   Superfish would inject ads on to websites visited by the computer user as well as track the websites searched by the computer user unbeknownst by the computer user.  This type of software installed on computers before sale is known by such colorful and pejorative terms such as “crapware,” “bloatware,” or “junkware.”  Unfortunately, it was discovered that Superfish was easily exploited by hackers to steal user information of the computer user thereby endangering the user’s security.  Fortunately, Lenovo has come up with an automatic fix that will remove Superfish from your computer.

TIPS

The affected computers include Lenovo’s G Series, U Series, YSeries, Z Series, S Series, Flex, Miix, Yoga and E Series computers.  Here is the link to remove Superfish from your computer if you have one of the affected computers:  http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/superfish_uninstall

Lenovo is not alone in installing such programs without informing its customers.  It is incumbent upon all computer purchases to inquire as to specifically what programs are installed on our computers when we purchase them and what the software does.

Jessica Bennett, a Lenovo user has just filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Lenovo on behalf of herself and other affected customers.  I will keep you informed as to the progress of this lawsuit.