Disclaimer
I say right about now is a bad time to be owners of a Windows PC. No matter how well you safeguard your machine from Malware and virus attacks,there's always a new schemes that'll make your computer vulnerable to hacks. You also as of late witnessing the ole bait and switch type applications that appear to be harmless to the naked eye,yet deep down when all is said and done, as soon as you install the application, there is a back door of vulnerability left open for bad guys to compromise your machine.
The latest such exploits,Superfish, which by way is created by yours truly Lenovo,your trustee computer manufacturer.
What exactly is Superfish? Its a advertising company that has created all types of advertising supported software based on the computer users visual search engine. How the software operates is simple,the software scans SSL-encrypted web traffic, the installed software includes a universal self signed certificate of authority, the certificate then allows middle-man attacks thus placing ads on even the most secure webpage. For an example, it's like seeing strange popup ads on a Amazon website.
The same certificate of authority has authenticated keys placed on Levono laptops which allows third-party snoopers to intercept HTTPS most secured connection, all without allowing your web browser to trigger off any alarm if the private authentication keys are extracted. This comparable to the Sony DRM rookit debacle that took place several years ago.
To put everything in a nutshell, Superfish is basically Malware that tracks your surfing habits, only thing it's rather deadly in that its shifting through the most secured encryption on the Internet without being detected.
Good news,there is a fix for this mess and some accountability on be half of Levono. First lets detail the fix,apparently Microsoft has already released an update for Windows Defender which by the way removes Superfish in its entirety. Levono on the other hand has quoted by saying : " We did not know the potential security vulnerability" the pretty much fessed up to their mistake of allowing adware to compromise your computer. As of now, Levono is resorting to removing Superfish entirely from their laptops.
If you're thinking about getting a Levono laptop,my advice is to wait until the manufacturer removes the bug from all of their machines.