HP quietly installs system-slowing spyware on its PCs

[steve2470]

https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/28/hp-quietly-installs-system-slowing-spyware-on-its-pcs/

Lenovo has only just settled a massive $3.5 million fine for preinstalling adware on laptops without users' consent, and now it seems HP is getting in on the stealth installation action, too. According to numerous reports gathered by Computer World, the brand is deploying a telemetry client on customer computers without asking permission.

The software -- first identified on November 15 -- is called "HP Touchpoint Analytics Service" and appears to replace the self-managed HP Touchpoint Manager solution. According to the official productivity description, it features "the tools you need to ensure all your managed devices' security -- and brings you greater peace of mind". The problem is, it's installing itself without permission and is wreaking havoc on customers' systems.

One complaint on the HP support site says: "It's been making my computer work so hard I can hear it like cranking away and the light in the back of my computer is flashing rapidly in-tune with the cranking. In Task Manager I can see it starting and stopping numerous applications."

It's not yet clear how the new driver is being installed. It may have come with the latest Windows updates, or via HP and its support assistant processes, but regardless, customers aren't happy. "I understand that it hoovers all sorts of telemetry data -- and I am not willing to share too much of it really, definitely not without my knowledge," says one user on HP's forums.

[Egnever]

1. Hp's should be avoided period.

they are bargain basement computers. They have the highest failure rate in the industry and the crapware they install has been legendary for years.

if you are interested Square trade did a study

https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

Hp comes in dead last of all manufacturers year after year and is consistently somewhere around the 25% mark. 1/4 of all hp laptops fail in the first 3 years...

[woodsprite]

2. We just bought our son an Apple rather than an HP or Dell.

If he had wanted a desktop, we probably would have built it ourselves, but he wanted a laptop (being a Sr. heading to college next year).

[Egnever]

3. I have other issues with apple and they are not on the top of the list for dependability

despite the hype apple comes in third or fourth consistently.

That said they are still at the top of the pack.

Building it yourself is always the way to go. I have several computers out there I have built still humming away after ten years.

[steve2470]

4. do you build laptops too ?

From what I've seen, they look pretty tricky to build.

[Egnever]

5. No building laptops is pretty much impossible

the cases are designed specifically to fit the design of the hardware on that particular model. There is really no standard for laptop boards as far as design like there is on desktops. Boards on laptops are made in all kinds of crazy shapes and sizes depending on how they chose to handle airflow and lots of other factors.

[steve2470]

11. thanks!

unrelated matter, dgibby has a problem with the rogue HP program in this thread.

[woodsprite]

8. I prefer building our own systems and running Linux,

but he wanted a laptop and from personal experience, Apple products tend to age better. One thing we weren't that happy with was that Apple now has done away with their USB ports on their laptops. Instead, they've moved to USB-C, which mean he needs to use a dongle/adapter to use his thumb drives or plug his iPhone in to sync.

[Faux pas]

6. Kickin' to bookmark.

Thanks!

[steve2470]

7. my pleasure! nt

[dgibby]

9. Thanks for sharing.

I noticed a marked slowdown on my HP desktop about mid Nov., but considering that I had been downloading lots of stuff, I thought maybe I was the problem. Nope, not me. Just found this mess (HP TAS) installed, but not by me. Considering how tech challenged I am, I would never have found it without this post. I am NOT a happy camper! Makes me wonder what else has been installed without my knowledge or permission.

Needless to say, I'm going to have to uninstall TAS, but what will prevent HP from reinstalling it?

[steve2470]

10. one strategy is to check your computer daily or weekly

There's probably an easier way. Egnever probably knows what it is.

eta: two more strategies off the top of my head - using Windows security settings to prohibit anything touching a portion of your filesystem






and also blocking certain ports that HP would use to install it with (no clue which ports those are).

Anyway, Egnever would be the person to ask.