Microsoft has updated its Windows Defender anti-malware software to remove the ‘horrifically dangerous’ Superfish adware which made Lenovo computers vulnerable to hacking attacks.
Lenovo has recently been accused of selling laptops with pre-installed ‘Superfish’ malware that tracks users every move online and renders the computers vulnerable to hackers.
Acknowledging the issue, Lenovo on Thursday said it has disabled the offending software and will provide customers with a tool that permanently removes the program from their computers.
The company said it shipped “some” laptops with Superfish between September and December last year, before it stopped because of customer complaints. It still remains unclear as how many laptops have been affected by the problem. Laptops preloaded with the Superfish software were from the company’s G Series, U Series, Y Series, Z Series, S Series, Flex Series, MIIX Series, YOGA Series and E Series.
Filippo Valsorda, a security researcher at Microsoft, noted that the latest Windows Defender update will remove the Superfish software and will also carry the task of resetting any SSL certificates that were bypassed by Superfish, and restore the system to proper working order.
Superfish-affected Windows users are required to update their version of Windows Defender within the program and scan as soon as possible in order to get over the Superfish threat.
