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Superfish? Really Lenovo?

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lenovo-superfish

It’s it bad enough that we have to be conscious of every little thing we do on our computer; now we could be potentially infected before we spend day 1 with our shiny new computer. Grrrrrr!!!!

If you haven’t read the backstories on Lenovo and Superfish I’ll catch you up. From the factory some Lenovo units had Malware loaded already. What does this mean? It means that your new computer is infected before you even turn it on. Crazy, I know.

Lenovo is scrambling to fix the problem. “We messed up badly,” said Peter Hortensius, Lenovo’s chief technology officer. He claims Lenovo was unaware Superfish put consumer’s Internet traffic up for grabs. “The intent was to supplement the shopping experience.”
Chances are you’re infected, you just don’t know it. Just like the walking dead, some of these software programs live inside your computer, waiting, till it’s time to turn your computer & more specifically your browser into its own private little zombie. Collecting shopping data so that it can customize your ads for things that you do or might want to buy. Sounds great, right? Wrong! This is a huge security hole. So what can you do? While I don’t suggest stabbing your screen with a steak knife and I seldom suggest you shoot it point blank in the monitor. There are some things you can do.

  1. Remove the unwanted Superfish blot ware. CNet has a nice little tutorial on removing Superfish from your Lenovo.
  2. Don’t believe the hype… er link (see what I did there?). I’ve seen studies from all over the web stating that about 45% of the URL links are fake. Even worse, about 60% of us don’t even know which ones are real links and which ones aren’t. Chances are even if you get the link from a trusted friend the link itself might have the cute kittens playing, but the ads and other links on the page are malicious and they are hoping you’ll click on those.
  3. Scan your PC frequently. Scanning for infections is truly not sexy; however neither is seeing your most private monements up on YouTube next to Kim Kardashian. So run you scans often and keep your programs up to date. Even with a brand new computer right out of the box.
  4. The least sexy of all – Passwords. Yep these little babies are still going to help. All day long as you sit at your desk trying to hide the fact that it’s Monday and you’re tired or Friday and you can’t wait to leave these little monsters are looking through your files trying to figure out what you got. They don’t care what time it is. They want your stuff! Strong passwords will keep them out. Use Alpha/Numeric/Symbol based passwords

The key to staying safe on the Internet is having strong encrypted passwords, don’t save your passwords in your browser program, and don’t click on links. Doesn’t that sound simple?! If you get infected chicken soup is totally not going to help. The only cure is to change your habits and live with it. By changing passwords frequently, resisting the temptation to look at cute kittens and Kim K’s butt, you’ve got a chance. Be vigilant stay positive and don’t click links like your crushing candy. You might just make it out alive!


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