Lenovo spyware etc

1. Has there been any improvement to Lenovo management or business practices since the SuperFish and WPTB rootkit days? 2. As of right now, is there anything specific to be aware of with Lenovo computers? Is it a safe period to buy? 3. Is Lenovo any different from other OEMs, or did they just receive more publicity? Should I just buy a Lenovo and try to fix it if necessary instead of OEM-hopping? 4. There are still posts in 2025 about the hardware whitelist. Is it a practical concern for upgrades and repairs?

You can only be sure it’s clean by using Linux. Just look for a used Thinkpad that has good compatibility. Lenovo is good because it’s easier to get parts once it breaks. Newer designs will break as much as other brands, but at least you can repair it. Hardware whitelist is real, the only way to avoid is to use older hardware that can have the bios flashed to a modified version. Pay close attention to soykafty things like soldered ram.

>>27637 >You can only be sure it’s clean by using Linux. This is something I want to believe, but maybe shouldn't. Compromising a Linux installation would require actual exploits, not just bundling an SSL certificate or using a built-in Windows UEFI feature. But since they already demonstrated a willingness to attack their customers, exploits might be a line they're willing to cross. >the only way to avoid is to use older hardware that can have the bios flashed to a modified version. I would rather not buy older hardware (especially batteries) or flash unknown BIOS. How restrictive is the whitelist? I also assume that even if I wanted to buy something that was on the list, I'd have to pay a markup price?

>>27641 That’s the basic idea, if you buy a wifi chip, you have to buy the one meant for Lenovo laptops, it’s the same thing but more expensive with a slightly different firmware. If it’s off the list it won’t work, so you cannot upgrade to new things unless Lenovo decides to whitelist it in a bios update and you can only use original batteries even if Lenovo decides not to sell them anymore. As far as I know those are the items that are whitelisted but there might be other things.

>Is Lenovo any different from other OEMs Dell tried something similar to SuperFish: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/11/superfish-20-now-dell-breaking-https

>>27657 Unbelievable that Dell would be stupid enough to ship their own version of Superfish on their products. When Lenovo did it, I crossed them off the list of of brands I would ever buy in the future. Now Dell gets crossed off, too. Once a company does something like this, you can never trust them again. And their "apology" wasn't even an apology. It was an excuse. fuarrrk Dell, up the ass with a cactus.

>>27657 Jesus christ. Still, anyone who buys a new laptop and uses it with the shipped OS is asking for bullshit like this.

>>27658 They shouldn't be trusted not to do something similar again, but as long as it stays "the same soykaf", it can be dealt with, as usual. It's all still just bloatware, more or less.

>>27662 That assumes that the firmware on your specific model has been looked at by people with the skill to catch it, and even then you'll still have to worry about every future update. There are other companies that haven't been caught doing this - what's so special about Lenovos that buying one is still worth considering?

>>27657 Should keep in mind to look for other products made by a company. For example Samsung and Sony have been caught using spyware on smart TVs.