If you own a brand-new Samsung laptop, you might want to check out whether it can record whatever you type in, including private information like passwords and credit card numbers, and send that data to a remote location.A security researcher claims he has found that two recently-released Samsung laptops have keylogging software installed, which is used to monitor all activities on the computer remotely.
Mohamed Hassan of NetSec Consulting has discovered StarLogger software on Samsung laptops with model numbers R525 and R540 (pictured) using a security scanning software. This report was published today on his guest column in Network World.
StarLogger works on Windows-based computers and starts up once the PC is turned on. It records all keystrokes made on the computer and can even periodically send stealthy e-mails containing information gathered from the computer to a predetermined e-mail address.
Hassan has said he called and reported the incident with Samsung last March 1, with the support personnel initially denying any existence of a keylogging software on Samsung laptops. Eventually, a supervisor called him and confirmed that the company did install StarLogger, but as a means to “monitor machine performance and to find out how it is being used.” This could mean that Samsung is gathering data without consent from laptop owners.
A Samsung representative, meanwhile, stated that they are looking into Hassan’s claims “very seriously” and have launched an internal investigation into the issue.
Source: CNET
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