Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide
http://www.techspot.com/news/43063-s...keylogger.html
I'm not a Samsung laptop owner, but I thought this would be of interest for you guys. The article cites the issue came up with the R450.
I certainly hope it's not true...
Reply 1 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Absolutely unforgivable if so. That'll end whatever hopes Samsung had for good US sales here.
Believe me, I'll continue to do my clean installs for now on. On any computer I own and buy.
Believe me, I'll continue to do my clean installs for now on. On any computer I own and buy.
Reply 2 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Samsung responds to installation of keylogger on its laptop computers
Bad news for Samsung in terms of PR. Will it impact my future buying decisions? No. I pretty much haven written off Samsung as a consumer brand. Samsung is a hopelessly clumsy company when it comes to PR. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the "explanation" is entirely genuine. The real problem is that Samsung is clueless when it comes to the consumer market. A keylogger to figure out how customers use their products? Yup.
Personally, I think that Samsung should simply ditch all of its consumer products. Period. I'm not suggesting a boycott, just that Samsung products aren't worth buying to begin with. Samsung is a capable supplier of components for consumer brands, not a viable consumer brand, at least in my informed opinion.
Bad news for Samsung in terms of PR. Will it impact my future buying decisions? No. I pretty much haven written off Samsung as a consumer brand. Samsung is a hopelessly clumsy company when it comes to PR. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the "explanation" is entirely genuine. The real problem is that Samsung is clueless when it comes to the consumer market. A keylogger to figure out how customers use their products? Yup.
Personally, I think that Samsung should simply ditch all of its consumer products. Period. I'm not suggesting a boycott, just that Samsung products aren't worth buying to begin with. Samsung is a capable supplier of components for consumer brands, not a viable consumer brand, at least in my informed opinion.
Reply 3 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by linuxwanabe 
Personally, I think that Samsung should simply ditch all of its consumer products. Period. I'm not suggesting a boycott, just that Samsung products aren't worth buying to begin with. Samsung is a capable supplier of components for consumer brands, not a viable consumer brand, at least in my informed opinion.
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John
Reply 4 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Well looks like it was a false alarm due to the guy's choice of antivirus software:
UPDATE: Samsung keylogger could be false alarm
Samsung's sadly going to have to do major damage control. I can't help but worry that their response wont be good enough. Only their Korean language only blog appears to have any news refuting this while it should really be on the homepage for each region they sell laptops in. We also know how people love to pick on Samsung statements who's meanings are often lost in translation (7 inch galaxy tab sales, quote about how the old tab 10.1 was "inadequate"...etcetera)
UPDATE: Samsung keylogger could be false alarm
Samsung's sadly going to have to do major damage control. I can't help but worry that their response wont be good enough. Only their Korean language only blog appears to have any news refuting this while it should really be on the homepage for each region they sell laptops in. We also know how people love to pick on Samsung statements who's meanings are often lost in translation (7 inch galaxy tab sales, quote about how the old tab 10.1 was "inadequate"...etcetera)
Reply 5 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
that so called 'security expert' is a loser. if he had done the leg work like analyzing hashes of the hidden file, find drivers, registry entries, etc that ultimately lead to the false positive at least he gets some respect. But no, he uses a commercial virus scanner and doesnt check anything himself and then proceeds into a hissy fit. lol, hilariously lame.
its also hilarious so many people are acting like simpletons/plebeians. they listen to hearsay and they ignorantly run with it.
wow, the 'oriental'? i didnt know we still lived in the 60s?
its also hilarious so many people are acting like simpletons/plebeians. they listen to hearsay and they ignorantly run with it.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by John Ratsey
...the oriental origin ...
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Reply 6 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by John Ratsey
I agree that Samsung still have a lot to learn. Perhaps the oriental origin means that they don't yet understand western customers. However, to say that their products are not worth buying means that you haven't looked very hard at their product range.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by John Ratsey
Samsung are among the market leaders in mobile phones and TVs while some of their notebooks are outstanding. See the new Series 9 / ZX310, for example.
John |
I think it's pretty telling that Apple has taken the unprecedented step of doing market research to reinvigorate the MacBook Air line. Rumor has it that we'll be seeing Sandy Bridge MacBook Airs in the next couple of months.
Reply 7 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by linuxwanabe
I've looked very hard at their current tablet and smartphone offerings. I might not be an Apple fan, but offerings like the Galaxy Tab have convinced me that Apple product might just be worth the premium.
As far as the Series 9, I'm not sure why Samsung is trying to market a MacBook Air clone, since the air line hasn't been such a hit and the whole subnotebook market has been a flop? I think it's pretty telling that Apple has taken the unprecedented step of doing market research to reinvigorate the MacBook Air line. Rumor has it that we'll be seeing Sandy Bridge MacBook Airs in the next couple of months. |
the MBA is currently gaining a lot of sales recently.. in 3 months, apple sold just a bit over 1 million. as ultraportables get more performance out of their portable sizes.. i believe that sales will continue to grow. the MBA was a flop at first due to the gpu being weak (apple initially used intel igp), but once nvidia was included, along with adding SSD (which really took care of the bottleneck) this improved overall performance greatly.
Reply 8 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ledzepp14
i agree about the current galaxy tab.. bulky, heavy, and runs an older android os.. but i'd wait to see how the new galaxy tab 10.1/8.9 are and compare those to the ipad.
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As far as upcoming Android tablets, the Motorola Xoom has gotten 3.0 off to a rocky start - no Flash on display models. I can't help but think that someone will eventually produce a decent Android tablet, although I'm still waiting...and waiting....and.....
Personally, I think that Samsung was badly damaged as a tablet brand by how they launched the 7" Galaxy. The display model's I tested felt unbelieveably slow and laggy - almost as bad as a crappy $100 resistive touch e-reader. And the initial pricing.....$700 plus a two year contract....no way.
Yes, I know they're discounted now, but it's pretty much a dead product at this point. As far as Samsung phones, none has the perceived quality of the iPhone. I'm not impressed.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ledzepp14
the MBA is currently gaining a lot of sales recently.. in 3 months, apple sold just a bit over 1 million. as ultraportables get more performance out of their portable sizes.. i believe that sales will continue to grow. the MBA was a flop at first due to the gpu being weak (apple initially used intel igp), but once nvidia was included, along with adding SSD (which really took care of the bottleneck) this improved overall performance greatly.
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As far as sales, Apple still isn't apparently happy with MacBook Air line. No, I don't believe the rumored shift to ARM processors, at least not for the models coming in the next couple of months.
Reply 9 : Gizmodo: Samsung Installing Keyloggers?
@John Ratsey
First off, as a Korean and for the phrase 'oriental origin' to come up does sound rather... discriminatory. Well, at least that's what it sounds like it's implying. But that's my opinion. And you're of course entitled to yours.
Samsung and Korean tech is on par and on quite a number of fields surpasses Japanese products in term of price and reliability (LCD panels for example; Samsung supplies Sony the displays for their low-mid end offerings). From what you're implying, Japanese tech (eg Sony) being also oriental == primitive. It is just not the case. I have worked at Korean research facilities and trust me. We're high tech and the Japanese are just managing to keep up. And from what I (and many others) see, Samsung LCDs are darn common and sort after in Western countries, as are mobile phones, fridges, washing machines etc etc etc.
On the subject though.
This news was quite a surprise. I have had instances of keyloggers in Samsung machines, but not in laptops.
I bought a 1GB YP-T8 (MP3 player) back in late 2005. It was a high-end device having motion detection and all. The moment I got home from the store I connected her up to my PC and Norton 2005 (which I was using at the time) threw up messages of keyloggers trying to autorun. It was stopped, so not too much of an issue. Though I was wondering WHY a new product (sealed and all) had a keylogger in memory in the first place.
Skip forward to early 2007 and I bought another Samsung MP3, this time a low-end 1GB YP-U2. Again, brand new and sealed packaging. And again, I connected her up to a PC the moment I got back from the store to charge and move songs.
...and AGAIN, another keylogger, this time stopped by AVG. I should have kept a screenshot of the issues.
Once, ok, maybe a coincedence. Twice? I don't think so. Though since I assumed that the factory making these devices were using bad NAND chips, I didn't think much about it. It's common for Chinese-assembled flash-chips to come loaded with malware even today. Though granted, the T8 and U2 supposedly have Korean-made Samsung chips (and not Chinese built Samsung chips / no-brands) so there was that inconsistancy. But with both devices being MADE IN CHINA, that's what I assumed and dismissed the issue; probably some jerk-ward who wasn't taking his / her quality-control job seriously or a nutter thinking it's funny loading run-off-the-assembly-line devices with malware. Anyways, that UNTIL THIS PIECE OF NEWS REGARDING THE LAPTOPS EMERGED (albeit a false alarm).
I remember having a scrap piece of paper around from 2005 on which I wrote down the keylogger's generic name and what it was targeting. Will have to search for it (provided it hasn't been thrown out) but I'll update once I find it. I unfortunately did not keep a record of the keylogger from 2007 so can't confirm whether the 2005 and 2007 versions are the same.
I also have an old Samsung NT-R45 never came across malware with the factory OS installation. I'd like to revert back but have no idea how to boot the recovery partition. Currently running a clean install of XP Home with a seperately purchased driver disc from Samsung Korea.
EDIT
Can't find the scrap paper. It used to pop up once every two months or so when I extreme-cleaned my place up. Can't do that now with due dates and whatnot looming. I do recall seeing the thing once last year but can't remember where I put it (if I didn't throw it out that is).
Don't get me wrong. As a Korean I suffer from a sorta brand-loyalty syndrome. I'm not the type to bash a company as long as it produces reliable, usable, and well-respected-by-the-masses devices. But this recent issue, coupled with my 2x personal experiences in the past, does question my personal brand-loyalty-foundations with Samsung... This despite the nutter who found the so-called malware being discredited. I now have lingering doubts...
Can't comment on Samsung products these days as the last Samsung I bought was a YP-U2. Been using my phone (a Sony Ericsson) as a MP3 player and camera since 2008 so haven't had the chance to go by a new product. Would I buy a Samsung today if I had the opportunity? Probably, yes. Though I'd scour the net for reviews and research heavily before commiting. Actually, I've had my sights set on the GT-S8500 recently...
First off, as a Korean and for the phrase 'oriental origin' to come up does sound rather... discriminatory. Well, at least that's what it sounds like it's implying. But that's my opinion. And you're of course entitled to yours.
Samsung and Korean tech is on par and on quite a number of fields surpasses Japanese products in term of price and reliability (LCD panels for example; Samsung supplies Sony the displays for their low-mid end offerings). From what you're implying, Japanese tech (eg Sony) being also oriental == primitive. It is just not the case. I have worked at Korean research facilities and trust me. We're high tech and the Japanese are just managing to keep up. And from what I (and many others) see, Samsung LCDs are darn common and sort after in Western countries, as are mobile phones, fridges, washing machines etc etc etc.
On the subject though.
This news was quite a surprise. I have had instances of keyloggers in Samsung machines, but not in laptops.
I bought a 1GB YP-T8 (MP3 player) back in late 2005. It was a high-end device having motion detection and all. The moment I got home from the store I connected her up to my PC and Norton 2005 (which I was using at the time) threw up messages of keyloggers trying to autorun. It was stopped, so not too much of an issue. Though I was wondering WHY a new product (sealed and all) had a keylogger in memory in the first place.
Skip forward to early 2007 and I bought another Samsung MP3, this time a low-end 1GB YP-U2. Again, brand new and sealed packaging. And again, I connected her up to a PC the moment I got back from the store to charge and move songs.
...and AGAIN, another keylogger, this time stopped by AVG. I should have kept a screenshot of the issues.
Once, ok, maybe a coincedence. Twice? I don't think so. Though since I assumed that the factory making these devices were using bad NAND chips, I didn't think much about it. It's common for Chinese-assembled flash-chips to come loaded with malware even today. Though granted, the T8 and U2 supposedly have Korean-made Samsung chips (and not Chinese built Samsung chips / no-brands) so there was that inconsistancy. But with both devices being MADE IN CHINA, that's what I assumed and dismissed the issue; probably some jerk-ward who wasn't taking his / her quality-control job seriously or a nutter thinking it's funny loading run-off-the-assembly-line devices with malware. Anyways, that UNTIL THIS PIECE OF NEWS REGARDING THE LAPTOPS EMERGED (albeit a false alarm).
I remember having a scrap piece of paper around from 2005 on which I wrote down the keylogger's generic name and what it was targeting. Will have to search for it (provided it hasn't been thrown out) but I'll update once I find it. I unfortunately did not keep a record of the keylogger from 2007 so can't confirm whether the 2005 and 2007 versions are the same.
I also have an old Samsung NT-R45 never came across malware with the factory OS installation. I'd like to revert back but have no idea how to boot the recovery partition. Currently running a clean install of XP Home with a seperately purchased driver disc from Samsung Korea.
EDIT
Can't find the scrap paper. It used to pop up once every two months or so when I extreme-cleaned my place up. Can't do that now with due dates and whatnot looming. I do recall seeing the thing once last year but can't remember where I put it (if I didn't throw it out that is).
Don't get me wrong. As a Korean I suffer from a sorta brand-loyalty syndrome. I'm not the type to bash a company as long as it produces reliable, usable, and well-respected-by-the-masses devices. But this recent issue, coupled with my 2x personal experiences in the past, does question my personal brand-loyalty-foundations with Samsung... This despite the nutter who found the so-called malware being discredited. I now have lingering doubts...
Can't comment on Samsung products these days as the last Samsung I bought was a YP-U2. Been using my phone (a Sony Ericsson) as a MP3 player and camera since 2008 so haven't had the chance to go by a new product. Would I buy a Samsung today if I had the opportunity? Probably, yes. Though I'd scour the net for reviews and research heavily before commiting. Actually, I've had my sights set on the GT-S8500 recently...
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