Author: Sean Hollister
Your new Windows laptop typically ships with an awful lot of bloatware you don’t need. Often, it’ll just slow down your computer a tad. But occasionally, a pre-installed piece of manufacturer cruft can pose a serious security risk — and that’s why you should probably update or uninstall Dell’s SupportAssist right away.
The app, which Dell’s support page states is preinstalled on “most of all new Dell devices running Windows” and billed as “the industry’s first automated proactive and predictive support technology,” has apparently been vulnerable to a hack since at least last October, according to 17-year-old security researcher Bill Demirkapi. It’s not clear why it’s only getting patched just now.
It’s a potentially nasty one: Dell’s...
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Continue reading...
Your new Windows laptop typically ships with an awful lot of bloatware you don’t need. Often, it’ll just slow down your computer a tad. But occasionally, a pre-installed piece of manufacturer cruft can pose a serious security risk — and that’s why you should probably update or uninstall Dell’s SupportAssist right away.
The app, which Dell’s support page states is preinstalled on “most of all new Dell devices running Windows” and billed as “the industry’s first automated proactive and predictive support technology,” has apparently been vulnerable to a hack since at least last October, according to 17-year-old security researcher Bill Demirkapi. It’s not clear why it’s only getting patched just now.
It’s a potentially nasty one: Dell’s...
Continue reading…
Continue reading...