Skip to main content

Lenovo owns up to ‘Superfish’ with free virus protection software offer

lenovo owns superfish free virus protection software offer yoga tablet 8 back logo
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Lenovo, which started shipping out computers with preloaded adware known as “Superfish” back in September 2014, is officially backtracking. The company is now offering six months of the McAfee LiveSafe Program free to Lenovo customers, or a free six-month extension to existing McAfee subscribers, who own a “Superfish” computer. This is in addition to the 30-day trial of the software, so new users can expect to acquire up to seven months of use.

“Superfish” is known to intercept HTTP and HTTPS communications to display targeted advertisements to users. Worse, it replaces the security certificates normally used by websites with its own security certificate, making it possible that hackers could compromise the false certificate and imposter secure websites. Lenovo, which had been calling the ads “helpful recommendations,” is now looking to make amends for the troublesome software.

Related: Lenovo’s CTO apologizes for Superfish debacle

Lenovo has posted a list of the systems that may have come with “Superfish” preloaded onto them:

  • G Series: G410, G510, G710, G40-70, G50-70, G40-30, G50-30, G40-45, G50-45
  • U Series: U330P, U430P, U330Touch, U430Touch, U530Touch
  • Y Series: Y430P, Y40-70, Y50-70
  • Z Series: Z40-75, Z50-75, Z40-70, Z50-70
  • S Series: S310, S410, S40-70, S415, S415 Touch, S20-30, S20-30 Touch
  • Flex Series: Flex 2 14D, Flex 2 15D, Flex 2 14, Flex 2 15, Flex 2 14(BTM), Flex 2 15(BTM), Flex 10
  • MIIX Series: MIIX 2-8, MIIX 2-10, MIIX 2-11
  • YOGA Series: YOGA 2 Pro-13, YOGA 2-13, YOGA 2-11BTM, YOGA 2-11HSW
  • E Series: E10-30

McAfee LiveSafe is a cross-device security solution designed to protect users from identify theft. Devices are protected from malware and viruses through LiveSafe. The free software offer is slated to go live by March 16, 2015, and Lenovo computers can learn more about registering for the free trial on the company website.

Editors' Recommendations

Krystle Vermes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Krystle Vermes is a professional writer, blogger and podcaster with a background in both online and print journalism. Her…
4 CPUs you should buy instead of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D sitting on a motherboard.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is one of the best gaming processors you can buy, and it's easy to see why. It's easily the fastest gaming CPU on the market, it's reasonably priced, and it's available on a platform that AMD says it will support for several years. But it's not the right chip for everyone.

Although the Ryzen 7 7800X3D ticks all the right boxes, there are several alternatives available. Some are cheaper while still offering great performance, while others are more powerful in applications outside of gaming. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a great CPU, but if you want to do a little more shopping, these are the other processors you should consider.
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Read more
Even the new mid-tier Snapdragon X Plus beats Apple’s M3
A photo of the Snapdragon X Plus CPU in the die

You might have already heard of the Snapdragon X Elite, the upcoming chips from Qualcomm that everyone's excited about. They're not out yet, but Qualcomm is already announcing another configuration to live alongside it: the Snapdragon X Plus.

The Snapdragon X Plus is pretty similar to the flagship Snapdragon X Elite in terms of everyday performance but, as a new chip tier, aims to bring AI capabilities to a wider portfolio of ARM-powered laptops. To be clear, though, this one is a step down from the flagship Snapdragon X Elite, in the same way that an Intel Core Ultra 7 is a step down from Core Ultra 9.

Read more
Gigabyte just confirmed AMD’s Ryzen 9000 CPUs
Pads on the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

Gigabyte spoiled AMD's surprise a bit by confirming the company's next-gen CPUs. In a press release announcing a new BIOS for X670, B650, and A620 motherboards, Gigabyte not only confirmed that support has been added for next-gen AMD CPUs, but specifically referred to them as "AMD Ryzen 9000 series processors."

We've already seen MSI and Asus add support for next-gen AMD CPUs through BIOS updates, but neither of them called the CPUs Ryzen 9000. They didn't put out a dedicated press release for the updates, either. It should go without saying, but we don't often see a press release for new BIOS versions, suggesting Gigabyte wanted to make a splash with its support.

Read more