Microsoft should charge Lenovo $100 extra for installing windows. After all Lenovo's shenanigans are ruining Microsoft's market.
Tangent: supposed Microsoft decided to do just that. Would the anti-monopoly rulings from the 90's stop it?
FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
51–60 of 99 posts
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#52Personally, they've lost my business. I used and loved Thinkpads for many years, but I no longer use them and now recommend against their purchase. Lenovo has a huge trust gap to repair.
While I agree that Superfish was a disaster, keep in mind that it did not affect the ThinkPad line at all. From what I heard, the consumer and business lines have strong separation inside Lenovo. I have lost all trust in their consumer division, too. But it seems silly to me to discount ThinkPads based on the malware bundled with Lenovo's consumer offerings.
I would, however, recommend against using Thinkpads as they are simply no longer a quality line. It's sad to see how far they've fallen as they were my goto for many years.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same deal for me. Although I'm likely moving back to Linux for work once this Macbook bites the dust.
My problem is open source linux on laptops (for me anyway) has always been a freaking train wreck. Issues with Wifi, battery life is shit, etc.
I'd recommend getting a laptop that is built from the ground up to support Linux. System76 and Purism seem to be doing a decent job (though they are still far from working flawlessly)
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#54For people wondering why there was no hefty fine, it's probably because the FTC had no authority to impose one. Except with regard to children, the FTC isn't specifically empowered to protect "privacy rights." The FTC brought a complaint against Lenovo under Section 5 of the FTC Act, which addresses "unfair competition" and "unfair practices." Historically, that meant false advertising or other abusive practices set…
Fine, why wasn't another agency involved too then?
Maybe the Department of Justice? I don't know if they go for that sort of thing. The only other option I can think of off the top of my head is the FCC.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#55Buying a windows laptop these days seems like putting your hand in an Alligator Gar filled bog (also see the other post about the Synaptics driver) And restoring from the OEM copy is no guarantee it will be clear of all the preinstalled crap
I use the windows firewall to block all apps' out going tcp connection except firefox and chrome. It works well.
All apps includes IE, Edge, svchost etc.
"netstat -nbt" is the command I used to monitor all outgoing connections. Anything I don't like, I block it with firewall.
Windows 10 is usable after that. CPU usage go from normally 30-50% to 5-15%. The Laptop CPU fan doesn't kick in anymore.
Windows also doesn't wake up in the middle of night and doing P2P network to provide network bandwidth to update my neighbor's computer anymore.
It is even more stable and faster than the latest MacBookPro I used at work.
If someone know a similar method to block Mac's App's outgoing TCP connections, I love to know more.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#56Buying a windows laptop these days seems like putting your hand in an Alligator Gar filled bog (also see the other post about the Synaptics driver) And restoring from the OEM copy is no guarantee it will be clear of all the preinstalled crap
Your best bet is to buy a laptop from Microsoft (no 3rd party software) or buy an extra Windows license and do a fresh install.
this reminds me of the android marketplace, where, in order to get a nice, clean, stock android installation (as opposed to an "enhanced" OEM android flavor), some consumers are eager to buy a device directly from Google.
interesting that a significant (supposed) advantage of separating the software company (e.g. MS, or Google) from the hardware company (e.g. Lenovo, Samsung) -- of making the software generic and capable of running on a broad universe of devices -- also became a powerful source of FUD.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#57Headline should be: FT allows Lenovo to sell computers with secret hardware again, should they choose to. No one went in jail (try intercepting someone's Https connections) and no crippling fine. Just an agreement that requires consent...you can drive trucks through the loopholes. "Yes, I want to speed up my internet" is one and 90% would click yes /install.
It's really crazy, isn't it??? The company that makes/sells me a couch doesn't currently install a microphone in the couch, so that they can analyze my conversations and sell my data to advertisers. Should they start trying? All of these tech companies are getting away with it!
The company who sold me a TV sent out an update that embeds advertising in the UI
Thanks Samsung.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#58Buying a windows laptop these days seems like putting your hand in an Alligator Gar filled bog (also see the other post about the Synaptics driver) And restoring from the OEM copy is no guarantee it will be clear of all the preinstalled crap
I use the windows firewall to block all apps' out going tcp connection except firefox and chrome. It works well. All apps includes IE, Edge, svchost etc. "netstat -nbt" is the command I used to monitor all outgoing connections. Anything I don't like, I block it with firewall. Windows 10 is usable after that. CPU usage go from normally 30-50% to 5-15%. The Laptop CPU fan doesn't kick in anymore. Windows also doesn't w…
Little Snitch is a Mac firewall that can block outgoing TCP connections.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your best bet is to buy a laptop from Microsoft (no 3rd party software) or buy an extra Windows license and do a fresh install.
I'm not sure if that's safe either. I installed Windows 10 recently and the install included apps like Facebook and Twitter. In fact a good portion of the start menu was essentially mini-billboards.
Windows 7 is still supported on Skylake and earlier machines.
Re: FTC slaps Lenovo on the wrist for selling computers with secret adware
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't give couch manufacturers any ideas! Couches need telemetry too.
During the peak of frothy VC investments, our hypothetical couch startup will have the money to hire ML and AI experts. 1) Sell the couch at a loss. 2) Acquire customer voice data. 3) Run it through ML/AI 4) ???? 5) Pivot the company.
don't forget the ecosystem. SitBit is building a competitive social relaxation tracker to pair with this couch.