Samsung denies dangerous StarLogger installed on its notebooks

by Steven Mostyn - Mar 31 2011, 13:22

When it comes to keeping your computer clear of potentially malicious hardware threats, the last place you'd consider a source of danger would be the hardware manufacturer itself... until now.

Specifically, Korean electronics specialist Samsung is back-peddling wildly after the apparent discovery of pre-installed key-logging software (which records user keystrokes) on R525 and R540 portable computers.

The StarLogger key-logging program was uncovered by Mohamed Hassan of security firm NetSec Consulting, who, after approaching Samsung for an explanation, was told it's used to monitor system performance and track usage.

“Samsung's conduct may be illegal; even if it is eventually ruled legal by the courts, the issue has legal, ethical, and privacy implications for both the businesses and individuals who may purchase and use Samsung laptops,” commented Hassan in a Network World report.

“Samsung could also be liable should the vast amount of information collected through StarLogger fall into the wrong hand,” he warned.  

However, Samsung has since issued a reactionary statement insisting that internal checks have failed to locate any form of keylogging software in the highlighted systems, and that Hassan's claims fall into the category of mistaken identity.

“Our findings indicate that the person mentioned in the article used a security program called VIPRE that mistook a folder created by Microsoft's Live Application for a key logging software, during a virus scan.”

Hassan's mystery key-logger was identified in the 'SL directory' of Windows, which Samsung believes led VIPRE to mistakenly label it as StarLogger—when it is actually nothing more than an 'SL' multi-language support folder for Live Application.

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