Neowin: Microsoft updates Windows Defender, fries Superfish adware

[Neowin]

This week has been one that Lenovo would love to forget after it was discovered that software they were loading onto laptops opened a huge security hole in Windows. The adware, called Superfish, placed its own security certificate on your machine and intercepted encrypted traffic to inject advertisements, also known as a man-in-the-middle attack.

That's the bad news and Lenovo is trying to backtrack and repair its brand image as the company has taken a serious reputation blow following this incident. Because of the nature of what Superfish did, it is a security threat to Windows and this is where Microsoft has stepped in.

Microsoft has pushed out an update to Windows Defender that kills Superfish. As you can see in the image at the top of this post, Windows Defender is removing the Superfish certificate and frying it like the piece of Carp that it is.

Read the complete article.

This article is brought to you in partnership with Neowin.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/59813-microsoft-updates-windows-defender-fries-superfish.html

 

[stewi0001]

Props to Microsoft (not something that happens too often)

 

[lipe123]

Stopped using defender completely since it has no PuP scanning option. Traditional virus infections is a thing of the past and doesnt happen at all anymore.
What really is a problem is the super ultra mega optimizer pro 2000 +9000 all-in-one registry booster virus cleaner and malware destroyer Tm. now with 200% more bullpoop included gauranteed to make your computer 90X faster and make web pages load quicker even if you are not connected to the internet.

Every single computer I see lately is just littered with these junk apps to the point where a web browser takes 2minutes to open with 90 coupon extensions etc..

Bottom line, Avast antivirus kills these things FAR better than MSSE does, wish microsoft would step up their game properly.

 

[OneSpeed]

I would

Stopped using defender completely since it has no PuP scanning option. Traditional virus infections is a thing of the past and doesnt happen at all anymore.
What really is a problem is the super ultra mega optimizer pro 2000 +9000 all-in-one registry booster virus cleaner and malware destroyer Tm. now with 200% more bullpoop included gauranteed to make your computer 90X faster and make web pages load quicker even if you are not connected to the internet.

Every single computer I see lately is just littered with these junk apps to the point where a web browser takes 2minutes to open with 90 coupon extensions etc..

Bottom line, Avast antivirus kills these things FAR better than MSSE does, wish microsoft would step up their game properly.

In this case, I wouldn't blame Microsoft all that much. Lenovo knowingly placed this in their systems, and for what????

 

[Uncle Al]

Big slap on their little pee pee!!!

 

[captaincranky]

Bottom line, Avast antivirus kills these things FAR better than MSSE does, wish microsoft would step up their game properly.

Just curious, how did this post go from damning Windows Defender, to an assault on MSSE?

Besides, I've never actually heard an Avast user that wasn't willing to fight to the death claiming, "it's the best".

Moving on, I'd be almost willing to bet all the crapware, is burned into the Lenovo restore discs. If you ever have to reformat, it will be reinstalled, and you're back to square one.

Lenovo should show that its heart is in the right place, go through the restore discs, and if they've got a bunch a garbage on them, reburn them, and offer a free set to its registered laptop owners.

That's not a joke. If I reformat my ancient eMachines, I get AOL installed, over and over, and over again...

 

[valentyn0]

Stopped using defender completely since it has no PuP scanning option. Traditional virus infections is a thing of the past and doesnt happen at all anymore.
What really is a problem is the super ultra mega optimizer pro 2000 +9000 all-in-one registry booster virus cleaner and malware destroyer Tm. now with 200% more bullpoop included gauranteed to make your computer 90X faster and make web pages load quicker even if you are not connected to the internet.

Every single computer I see lately is just littered with these junk apps to the point where a web browser takes 2minutes to open with 90 coupon extensions etc..

Bottom line, Avast antivirus kills these things FAR better than MSSE does, wish microsoft would step up their game properly.

Avast is ****, did u come here to promote it ? There is already a FREE (comes even preloaded with win 8) antivirus and malware protection, guess what's it called ? Yea, the one u called it doesnt have PUP scanning (which it does, MSE is incorporated into win def on win8 and later)...

 

[cliffordcooley]

Stopped using defender completely since it has no PuP scanning option.

Potentially unwanted Programs, you mean programs like Google Chrome?

Just curious, how did this post go from damning Windows Defender, to an assault on MSSE?

Because Microsoft relabels MSSE to Windows Defender. They are the same thing now.

 

[captaincranky]

Because Microsoft relabels MSSE to Windows Defender. They are the same thing now.

IDKT. My MSSE is set to auto update.

But, I was thinking along the lines of Windows, "Malicious Software Removal Tool", which AFAIK, is still a separate entity. That would be the software which, (theoretically / allegedly), should be addressing itself to PuPs, and the like.