Lenovo, the largest PC manufacturer in world, admitted to pre-loading the Superfish adware on some consumer PCs. Lenovo has been accused of fatally compromising user security by installing an adware application on all its Windows computers as they leave the factory.
Unhappy customers are now dragging the company to court on the matter. A proposed class-action suit was filed late last week against Lenovo and Superfish, which charges both companies with “fraudulent” business practices and of making Lenovo PCs vulnerable to malware and malicious attacks by pre-loading the adware.
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. 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. 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.
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. Superfish also used memory resources and took up Internet bandwidth, according to the court document. Damages from Lenovo and Superfish are being sought as part of the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. A Lenovo spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit.
