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Lenovo Laptops Contained Dangerous ‘Superfish' Hacking Software

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Customers and computing professionals have demanded an explanation from computer company Lenovo, after it was revealed that laptops from the company were shipped to the UK with potentially dangerous software that forced ads on users, leaving people potentially vulnerable to hacking attacks.

The ‘Superfish' software was found on the laptops, which were sold in the UK from around mid-2014 until last month.

The software pushes extra ads into web browsers of affected users. However, as the ads were coming from unidentified sources, some sites would slow down and would show unwanted results.

On top of the extra ads, the Superfish could also be used by hackers to look into the Internet browsing activities of some users through what is known as a ‘man-in-the-middle' attack.

The man-in-the-middle attacks use fake certificates, which then allow companies to intercept information between a user's computer and a website.

As a result, many different types of antivirus software identify Superfish as a virus.

Online Outrage

After the presence of the Superfish was revealed, many people have turned to Lenovo's online forum to demand answers from the company, and to try and find ways to rid their laptops of the software.

Many people have tried to spread the message to those who may be affected by the software, because as Superfish runs discreetly, many people may not be aware that they have it installed on their laptops.

It's thought that the only way to confirm that Lenovo laptops aren't carrying the software is completely delete Windows and re-install it.

Lenovo has confirmed that the Superfish software was installed on some laptops, but has since said that it has been removed as of January 2015.

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