HP and possibly other brand laptops are spying on users.

wkleem

A key logger may be found in certain HP laptops using the Conexant audio drivers. Very bad for HP to do this! How would this affect 1Password users with the affected laptops?

https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/05/hp-laptops-covert-log-every-keystroke-researchers-warn/

"The keylogger is included in a device driver developed by Conexant, a manufacturer of audio chips that are included in the vulnerable HP devices. That's according to an advisory published by modzero, a Switzerland-based security consulting firm. One of the device driver components is MicTray64.exe, an executable file that allows the driver to respond when a user presses special keys. It turns out that the file sends all keystrokes to a debugging interface or writes them to a log file available on the computer's C drive.

"This type of debugging turns the audio driver effectively into keylogging spyware," modzero researchers wrote. "On the basis of meta-information of the files, this keylogger has already existed on HP computers since at least Christmas 2015.""

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1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

AGAlumB

@wkleem: Frankly, I was surprised when it wasn't some of HP's own software that they tend to junk up their computers with (at least those I've seen) but rather a 3rd party driver.

People give Apple a hard time about not being open, but the flip side of that is that anything in the OS or built-in drivers is well-vetted. Not to let HP off the hook, but I can sympathize with how difficult it must be when you're getting drivers from all sorts of vendors. It's a small consolation that this doesn't appear malicious, but it could certainly be leveraged by malware now that this is known.

Anyway, HP makes some nice hardware these days, but this makes me glad I went with the Surface instead of their clone. :(

prime

@brenty one of the reasons I hate the the Window and even Android market. I had a Droid (original) when I was on Verizon and it was annoying seeing Verizon logo all over it inside and out. They should give me money for advertising lol
I know I can do stuff to remove it, but I shouldn't have too. The average person most likely doesn't know how also.

Rant off :)

AGAlumB

Indeed, it's a mixed bag: a more flexible platform makes it easier for both the user to add things they want, but also the vendor. And in both cases not vetting the 3rd party stuff can be disastrous. :(